Alicia Rhyner Rytlewski

Class of 2010: Classical pianist and vocalist

After starting her music career as a piano teacher in Milwaukee, Alicia Rhyner Rytlewski has expanded her reach and now is also a composer, performer and recording artist.

She was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in September 1987. At Ripon, she majored in music with minors in Spanish and studio art. She participated in Jazz Ensemble and the Jazz Combo, and Laurel Honor Society.

“Going to Ripon gave me so many opportunities to perform in many different capacities, including being involved in musicals, accompanying instrumentalists and vocalists and performing a concerto with the orchestra,” Rytlewski said.

“One of the best things about Ripon is supportive and attentive professors who want the best for you,” Rytlewski said. “Sarah Mahler Kraaz (professor emerita of music) was my musical mom. She was always in my corner and endlessly encouraging. I knew I had done an extra-great job when Kurt Dietrich (professor emeritus of music) would give me a compliment for my work. Suzanne Katz (former associate professor in educational studies) got me some of my first paid gigs. And Eugene Kain (professor emeritus of art) reminded me to always pursue music, no matter what. These professors helped lay my musical foundation, and I’m forever grateful to them. And having amazing teachers made me want to be one as well.”

For more than 10 years, she has taught piano in Milwaukee and been an active composer.

Her interest in composing began when she was in high school but didn’t solidify until the summer of 2016, when she served as an artist-in-residence at Three Sisters Community Farm in Campbellsport, Wisconsin. It allowed her the time to focus and immerse herself in composition.

Inspiration for her work comes from personal connections with people in her life, her experiences, and the landscapes of Wisconsin.

Her debut album, “When We Were Bears,” was released in 2025. She performed its release show at the Pabst Theater, with Field Report and Collections of Colonies of Bees, beloved Milwaukee bands. The 14 tracks on “When We Were Bears” were composed over eight years “across Wisconsin, from a biodynamic farm in rural Campbellsport to the snow-blanketed streets of Milwaukee,” Rytlewski said.”

Classical Music Daily praised the album as “a testament to the power of contemporary piano composition,” writing that it “is clearly the work of someone who is trained in the idiom and canon of Western classical piano composition and who has, nonetheless, decided to take a highly original path.”

Rytlewski wrote the title track about a friend she met in Milwaukee. “I realized we came from similar backgrounds, and I felt an interesting connection with her. The song is specifically about reincarnation, or thinking about being connected to different people in different lifetimes. And that life is infinite. We have all these intimate connections with people that sometimes transcend some common acquaintance.

“I think that idea pervades the album, in that the album is about connection. It’s about people who inspire you and make you feel connected to something much bigger than yourself,” she said.

“When We Were Bears” is available on all streaming platforms. Information is available at aliciarytlewski.com.