Lolita Ritmanis

• Name — Lolita Ritmanis • Born — 1 November 1962 • Birthplace — Portland, Oregon, United States • Origin — Latvian • Genre — * Film score • Television score • Classical • Occupation — Composer

Born on November 1, 1962, in Portland, Oregon, Ritmanis is the daughter of Andris Ritmanis and Asja Ritmanis, who fled Latvia during World War II and immigrated to the United States in 1949. Ritmanis has a sister, Brigita Ritmanis-Jameson, and a brother, Alberts Ritmanis. Throughout her childhood, Ritmanis studied piano, flute, guitar, and voice, performing in both jazz and classical music ensembles. Ritmanis composed her first song at age 11. By age 16, she had toured the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, composing for and performing with the Latvian popular music group Dzintars. Latvian song festivals throughout the world provided Ritmanis with the opportunity to conduct and perform her works before larger audiences. Ritmanis graduated from Cleveland High School in Portland, Oregon in 1980. She moved to Los Angeles to study at the Dick Grove School Of Music, where she graduated from both the Composition Program and the Film Music Composition Program. At the Dick Grove School, Ritmanis studied with composers Dick Grove, Mundell Lowe, Lalo Schifrin, Henry Mancini, Allyn Ferguson, and Jack Feierman, among others. Ritmanis also studied privately with teachers Mauro Bruno, Gibner King, and Matt Dennis.

Ritmanis's concert works have been and continue to be performed throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Taiwan, Latvia, and Australia. The symphonic poem Farewell To Riga was performed at Portland Civic Auditorium in 1982. Her cantata A New Day was performed at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center in 1986. In 1989 Tas vakars piektdienā (That Evening On Friday), a musical, was performed at the Terrace Theatre in Long Beach, California and throughout Latvia in the summer of 1990. Turp un atpakaļ (There and back), a musical revue, was performed throughout the United States and Canada in 1999 and 2000. The musical Skudra un sienāzis (The Ant And The Grasshopper) was performed at the Latvian Song Festival in Thousand Oaks, California in 1999. In August 2003, the musical Gudrais padomiņš (Wise advice) was performed at Cathedral Hill in San Francisco. Rudentiņš pie durvīm klauvē (Autumn is Knocking on the Door), a work for choir and chamber orchestra, was performed at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco on August 8, 2003. In 2004, Eslingena, a musical, was performed at the Isabel Bader Theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and in 2005 it was performed at the National Theatre in Riga, Latvia. In 2007, Ritmanis began work on a new musical, which premiered in fall 2008 in Ventura, California.

As of 2007, Ritmanis and her colleagues Michael McCuistion and Kristopher Carter formed the Dynamic Music Partners (DMP). DMP has worked on the Warner Bros. series Legion of Super Heroes. In addition to their work in animation, DMP completed the score for the Thomas Callaway feature film Broke Sky, which premiered at the 2007 SXSW Film Festival.

Ritmanis is married to music producer Mark Mattson. They live in Studio City, California, with their three children – Andris, Ilze and Aija. They maintain two recording studios.