Gifted with a unique voice, a terrific musicality, and an artistic vision that makes her stand out from the crowd, M-Ritz is one of those artists who know how to reach their audience!

I always loved to sing and was surrounded by a lot of wonderful musical influences growing up. As a child, my parents raised (my brothers and) me on lots of “Oldies”–what was then MoTown, the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, Aretha Franklin, etc., as well as on Rogers and Hammerstein musical films. My parents both played some guitar, and from that shared passion for music they taught the joy of us all singing together on road trips and hikes. I also grew up in the Lutheran Brethren church (my paternal grandfather was a Lutheran pastor) and was molded by Christian liturgy. Linked to that religious community, I traveled fairly extensively during my pre-teen and teenage years to places in Central America and East Africa, and I was affected by the intensity I would hear congregations effuse during services. Things like my mom taking me to the ballet also instilled within me a deep appreciation for Classical music. And as an adolescent, after my younger years of listening to Britney Spears, N’SYNC, and the Backstreet Boys, I got super into Rock–Punk Rock, Heavy Metal, Ska, and Alternative. I also loved Dance, House, Disco, and Trance. I also absorbed the music of my three older brothers, such as ’90s Hip Hop, R&B, and ’80s Rock. So I feel that I was definitely drawn towards and influenced by edgier, heavier sounds as I grew older.

During high school, I basically had three phases during the development of my passion for music: Rock, Jazz, and Opera. My parents were supportive of me furthering my musical talent, and as such, I was vocally trained in Classical and Jazz, beginning at the age of 13, at the recommendation of my elementary choir teacher. I sang in school, church, and local choirs and participated in some vocal competitions. I strummed some power chords on my father’s guitar with dreams of becoming a rock star. The school I attended participated in the international Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Boise, Idaho, every year, and I was fortunate to witness some major jazz talents during the 6 or so times I attended. Ella Fitzgerald’s “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” was the first jazz piece I ever performed completely solo when I was 13, and when I took some lessons from Seattle’s jazz vocalist Greta Matassa later in high school, I was introduced to Peggy Lee, whom Greta felt was a good vocal influence for me. Another voice teacher, Sharon Angle–although our focus was more Classical and Musical Theater for my training, introduced me to Eva Cassidy. I listened to her “Songbird” album on repeat and utterly fell in love with her version of “Autumn Leaves.” Then finally, the last voice teacher I had in high school before doing training in college was Sherri Brookfield-Jordan. Originally from New York, she was fabulous and confident, and she got me started on Opera by placing me in a little Operetta production she and her husband orchestrated during my senior year of high school. I subsequently became interested in Opera, and soon she introduced me to Maria Callas, with whom she felt I had some similar potential for becoming a Dramatic Soprano. I became all but obsessed over Maria and absorbed all the information and music I could gather on her as well as about the opera world. 

Although music and singing have been a major part of my life since I was very little, it was not until 2016 when I developed a passion for creating my own music. I began looking over poetry I’d written over the years, got a keyboard, and started experimenting with songwriting. I loved it. After some time, I felt like I had something substantial that was developing, so I decided to pursue it. Once I started working with other people on making music, I became hooked. Creating music is now one of my greatest passions, and I am very grateful for all the circumstances in my life that led up to me discovering and then developing that passion.