Sean Ritenauer

One of New York City’s most in demand percussionists, Sean Ritenauer has performed on Broadway, as a concerto soloist, for film and television, and with the world’s most prominent symphony orchestras. Well versed in classical, contemporary, and popular music styles, the Ohio native’s multi-genre fluency has led to his similarly disparate career.

Mr. Ritenauer has become one of the industry’s most active commercial musicians, performing in award-winning television and film soundtracks like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, White Noise, Tick, Tick… Boom!, A Dog’s Purpose, Zoolander 2, and Moonrise Kingdom, with several other projects yet to be released including Barbie, Only Murders in the Building and Salem's Lot. He made his Broadway debut on the 18-month national tour of Hair, followed by holding the percussion chair of Something Rotten! and Pippin on Broadway. As a substitute, he has performed in countless Broadway productions. Currently you can find Sean at The Lunt Fontanne Theater performing in the new Broadway production of Sweeney Todd.

Ritenauer holds a deep affinity for classical repertoire, proudly serving as Principal Percussionist of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra (AL) since 2016 (member since 2005). As a guest musician, Sean enjoys performing regularly with National Symphony Orchestra (D.C.), and the New York Philharmonic, whom he accompanied on tours of Europe (2017), Asia (2018), and Germany (2022), and in residencies in Vail and Shanghai. In the summer 2023, Ritenauer will join the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra (Santa Cruz, CA) for his second season as a member of the percussion section.

With the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, he has often appeared as a concerto soloist, including the second-ever performance of Andy Akiho’s Percussion Concerto in January 2020. The Akiho marked Ritenauer’s third solo appearance with the orchestra, joining performances of Gregory Vajda's Drums, Drums, Drums and Jennifer Higdon’s Percussion Concerto. Reviewing his interpretation of the Higdon, The Huntsville Times praised Ritenauer for “mesmerizing dexterity”, and recounted “an immediate standing ovation” from the audience.

Perhaps most at home as an artistic leader and chamber musician, Sean co-founded Rocket City New Music in 2021. Determined to make Huntsville, AL a “meeting place” for the best in contemporary music, Sean has combined his affection for music by living composers with his passion for curating performance opportunities for like minded artists from across the country. In addition to performing with his own organization, Sean is frequently featured as a chamber musician with the world famous Mark Morris Dance Group.

Ritenauer also places a premium on excellence as an educator. As Adjunct Assistant Professor of Percussion at Hofstra University, he teaches privately, is the director of the Hofstra Percussion Ensemble and Hofstra New Music Ensemble. Sean is also the newest addition to the faculty of the Music Advancement Program at The Juilliard School. As a private teacher, his Manhattan-based studio features alumni admitted to the country’s top music programs, including Juilliard, Eastman, and the New England Conservatory to name a few. Mr. Ritenauer strives to find the detailed self-critic and the careless artist in all of his students in an attempt to help them become generous educators and marketable musicians.

A proud graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy, Mr. Ritenauer holds degrees in Classical Percussion (B.M.) and Orchestral Performance (M.M.) from the Manhattan School of Music. He resides in New York City with his wife, the oboist Hsuan-Fong Chen. They share a home with their cockapoo, Hiro.