Meet NYCA singer Alexander Ritter (VIC)

Tell us about your musical background…I started singing in the Australian Boys Choir at the age of 8 and haven’t stopped since! 

How many NYCA seasons have you participated in? I have participated in two NYCA seasons – 2016 and 2017 – and can’t wait for my third.

Why are you coming back to NYCA? The weeks at NYCA have been some of the best weeks of my life - there’s nothing better than making great music with great people. 

Favourite NYCA memory? At the very first rehearsal of my first season, we sight-read straight through the first movement of the Pizzetti Requiem without stopping. It was only a small moment but it was incredibly exciting and set the tone for the musically special experience that was going to follow. 

What makes NYCA different? It’s just so refreshing to be part of a group where you can work at pace much higher than what you might experience in choirs back home. Living together and rehearsing intensely adds to such a strong communal feeling of shared responsibility for the musical quality of your performances. 

What do you do when you’re not singing with NYCA? This year I’ve started studying a Masters of Science leading towards Theoretical Particle Physics research. It’s very different from singing but I still manage to sing with four groups on the side - two community choirs, a church choir and an a cappella jazz quintet. 

What I’m most looking forward to most about the 2018 season is… Seeing all my friends from other states who I only really get to see during NYCA! The repertoire for this year also looks super exciting.  

What’s coming up for you next? Continuing to try and balance assignments and exams with as much singing as I can possibly do!