Patrick De Ritis was born in 1959 in France and started to play the piano in the age of 8. At 14 he began to take bassoon lessons and continued to study this instrument at the Conservatory Santa Cecilia in Rome with Marco Costantini. Afterwards he attended the Mozarteum in Salzburg and was taught by Milan Turkovic.
In 1984 he won the competition for the 1st bassoonist at the Italian Radio A. Scarlatti in Napels and worked there for two years. During this time he performed several times as soloist. Afterwards he got the chance to work in the Opera Orchestra in Rome for two years. During the following two years he was invited by RAI in Rome to overtake the position of first bassoonist.
In 1990 Patrick De Ritis was the winner of the chamber music competition in Martigny (Switzerland) and many of his concerts were broadcast on the Swiss Radio. After this period he got the big chance to show his talent in Vienna at the Orchestra of the Wiener Symphoniker. Since 1991 he has been first bassoonist in this world famous orchestra. He has toured throughout the world and played under conductors like Georges Pretre, Vladimir Fedosejev, and many others and has soloed in world famous concert halls in Japan, the USA, Europe, China and India.
In 1996 he premiered the concerto for bassoon and orchestra by Peter Maxwell Davies in the Musikverein in Vienna. In Moscow, he performed Mozart's concerto for bassoon and orchestra composed, conducted by Maestro Fedosejev. He teaches bassoon and chamber music at the conservatory L. d’Annunzio in Pescara and is invited to hold many special courses for talented students worldwide.
Besides his musical work as soloist, he also conducts.
He has lead the Orchestra of Pesaro, Orchestra of Bari, Chamber Orchestra of Fielsole, Orchestra of the Bratislava-Radio, Chamber Orchestra Concertverein Vienna, Chamber Orchestra of the Wiener Symphoniker, Matav Orchestra in Budapest, Philharmonic Orchestra in Ljubljana, Orchestra Sinfonica Abbruzzese. He is the founder and leader of the Wind Ensemble d’Annunzio and the chief conductor and musical leader of the Camerata Italiana in Vienna.