Lolita Ritmanis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (April 2007)

Sections should be added to this article, to conform with Wikipedia's Manual of Style. Please discuss this issue on the talk page.

Lolita Ritmanis is an eight-time Emmy Award winner American composer, having won this award in 2002 for her work on the animated series Batman Beyond. Born on November 1, 1962, in Portland, Oregon, Lolita is the daughter of Dr. Andris Ritmanis and Asja Ritmanis. Lolitas' parents left Latvia during World War II and immigrated to the US in 1949. Lolita has a sister, Brigita Ritmanis-Jameson, and a brother, Alberts Ritmanis. Throughout her childhood Lolita studied piano, flute, guitar and voice, performing in both jazz and classical music ensembles. Lolita composed her first song at age 11. By age 16 she had toured the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, composing for and performing with the Latvian popular music group Dzintars (Amber). Latvian song festivals throughout the world provided Lolita with the opportunity to conduct and perform her works before even larger audiences.

Lolita 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 the Composition Program as well as the Film Music Composition Program, studying with noted composers: Dick Grove, Mundell Lowe, Lalo Schifrin, Henry Mancini, Allyn Ferguson and Jack Feirman among others. Lolita also studied privately with noted teachers Mauro Bruno, Gibner King, and Matt Dennis. Upon completing her studies, Lolita began working at Warner Bros. as well as Walt Disney Studios, which led to work in the field of orchestration for film and television. She quickly secured a steady supply of work for such composers as Michael Kamen, Basil Poledouris, Shirley Walker, Mark Snow, Paul Chihara, Bennett Salvay, Elliot Goldenthal, Louis Febre, Burt Bacharach, Snuffy Walden, Carter Burwell to name but a few. She has orchestrated on well over 100 films, mini-series and television programs including Lethal Weapon 4, The X-Files, Swimfan, Jeepers Creepers 2, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Final Destination, The West Wing and Demolition Man score with Goldenthal on one of the latters first big studio works. Lolita also orchestrated a portion of the closing ceremonies of the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta.

In 1991, with the help of composer Shirley Walker, Lolita began her career as a film and television composer. Her collaboration with Ms. Walker provided an opportunity for her to write music for Batman: The Animated Series at Warner Bros. Studios. She continued at Warner Bros. with work on the Superman, and Batman Beyond series’. During this period of time, Lolita met and began a professional collaboration with composers Michael McCuistion and Kristopher Carter. The trio went on to compose music for The Zeta Project, Teen Titans, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Legion of Super Heroes, as well as several long form projects.

Lolitas concert works have been and continue to be performed throughout the USA, Canada, Europe, Taiwan, Latvia and Australia: Farewell To Riga (symphonic poem): performed at Portland Civic Auditorium 1982, A New Day (cantata) performed at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center New York 1986, Tas Vakars Piektdiena (Same Time Next Friday) musical performed at the Terrace Theatre Long Beach, Ca. 1989 as well as throughout Latvia in the summer of 1990, Turp Un Atpakal (musical revue) performed throughout US and Canada 1999 –2000, Skudra Un Sienazis (The Ant And The Grasshopper) musical performed at the Latvian Song Festival in Thousand Oaks, CA 1999, Gudrais Padomins (Good Advice) musical performed at Cathedral Hill in San Francisco, August 2003, Rudentins Pie Durvim Klauve (work for choir and chamber orchestra) performed at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco August 8, 2003, Eslingena musical performed at the Isabel Bader Theatre in Toronto, Canada 2004 as well as performed at the National Theatre In Riga, Latvia 2005.

Along with her colleagues Michael McCuistion and Kristopher Carter, otherwise known as Dynamic Music Partners [www.dynamicmusicpartners.com], Lolita is currently working on the Warner Bros. series Legion of Super Heroes. Alongside their work in animation, DMP recently completed the score for the Thomas Callaway feature film Broke Sky, which premiered at the 2007 SXSW Film Festival. Lolita has begun work on a new musical, set to premiere in fall 2008 in Ventura; CA. Lolita is married to music producer Mark Mattson. They live in Studio City, California with their 3 children, and they maintain two recording studios.

[edit] References

This article does not cite any references or sources. (April 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.