Anthony Ritchie (b.1960) was born and educated in Christchurch. He received his first commission in 1982, his final year at Canterbury University, resulting in the Concertino for Piano and Strings. Anthony went on to complete a PhD on the music of Bartók, and studied composition with Attila Bozay at the Liszt Academy. He has worked as a freelance composer since 1994, and has written for a wide variety of performers including the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Auckland Philharmonia , Michael Houstoun and Wilma Smith, and also choreographers such as Shona Dunlop and Dan Belton. As well as having composed a large variety of vocal and instrumental works he has also written music for theatre and dance. Many of his works have been performed overseas, and a growing number are being recorded and published commercially.