About 

Justin Rito (b. 1986) composes music inspired by poetry, fiction, and spirituality. In his music you’ll hear dense expressionism, stark simplicity, and the intersections between.

Justin’s music has been featured on concerts throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, where his works have been performed by the Fifth House Ensemble, Latitude 49, the Arx Duo, the MITT3N Trio, and the Grand Valley New Music Ensemble among others. Current and upcoming projects include pieces for Matthew Tracy (saxophone and piano), a setting of the Magnificat for Westminster Presbyterian Church in Grand Rapids, and an album of spacious works collectively called The Simple Songs.

As a consistent promoter of contemporary music, Justin has established concert series and ensembles that bring living music to new audiences throughout his career. Justin founded “Unwind” in East Lansing, Michigan, a series of casual performances of contemporary music in bars, and served as the musical coordinator for the Sonic Salon series at the Broad Art Museum in East Lansing. Justin also founded ensembles devoted to contemporary music at Central Michigan University (2010), Northern Vermont University (2018) and Alma College (2024).

Justin began his musical training as a pianist, and remains an active collaborative performer. He studied composition with Murray Gross, David Gillingham, Ricardo Lorenz, and David Maslanka. Justin has also written and presented research on rhythmic transformations in twenty-first century music at conferences nationally and internationally.

Justin is currently Assistant Professor of Music at Alma College in Alma, Michigan, where he teaches theory, history, and composition.