Mr. Ritchie's Interests & Hobbies

 

I am currently playing keyboards in a band called ReWind. We do top 100 hits from the 60's and early 70's. It is the type of stuff you would have heard on Cousin Brucie's radio show on WABC radio in the 60's on your transistor radio.

I also in my spare time play bagpipes at various special occasions like weddings, funerals, and special events. I was a member of the City of Brockville Royal Canadian Legion Pipe Band .




I enjoy working with computers to record and edit original music.  I also like making aliens using graphic programs. (My version of Brainiac)

I have been teaching at Harrisville Central School 27 years. Before teaching in Harrisville I was employed as a Medical Technologist at Community General Hospital in Syracuse for 5 years. When I had the opportunity to move back to the north country and teach science I jumped on it.

My teaching credentials include  from Canton College, an AAS degree in Medical Laboratory Technology, a BA from Potsdam College in Biology with a minor in Chemistry, a MS from Potsdam in Science Education. I did my student teaching through St. Lawrence University.

 

My pet dogs.
I have until recently enjoyed playing double bass in the summer time with a  band called The Atkinson Family. I still fill in once in a while. The band has since gone professional and I was unable to go with them due to job and family restraints. They play a style of music called Bluegrass. They have CD's  out and  are receiving air play from various radio stations around the country and via internet around the world. They play bluegrass festivals from Maine to Kentucky. One of my favorite jobs was playing for the American Consulate General in Quebec City, Canada.
I have recently worked with a bluegrass band called the Delaney Brothers Bluegrass Band. They have retired after  celebrating  their 27th anniversary only to start playing again.

One of my past bands was called Messenger and we did Christian Rock. We currently have two self-titled compact discs out and have finished recording another at Pond Rock Studio which is the name of my recording studio.