Music Director

The Oceanaires Chorus is under the very capable musical direction of Mr. Ritchie Lavene. He brings to us an expertise developed over thirty-five years of experiences with barbershop harmony singing and directing. Ritchie's first barbershop chorus directing position was in 1986 with the Cherry Hill Pine Barons Barbershop Chorus. Since that time he has directed four other barbershop choruses, the most recent one being a ten year stint as the Music Director of the award winning Princeton Garden Statesmen Barberhop Chorus. In addition to his multiple talents as a Music Director, Ritchie is a versatile quartet singer and is often asked to coach choruses and quartets in their singing presentation. In addition, he has Barbershop Harmony Society certifications as a Director, Trainer, and Presentation Judge. He has also been a faculty member at the summer time Harmony College East since 1997. The Oceanaires are fortunate indeed to have such a talented and versatile musician as our Music Director.