The oldest of five children, DellaRatta studied at the New England Conservatory, earning a bachelor's degree in Piano Performance and a master's degree in Jazz Composition.
He studied jazz piano with Jackie Byard, Kenny Werner, Charlie Banacos, and Richie Bierach and classical piano with Thomas Stumpf.
In 1997 Rick DellaRatta with Eddie Gomez, Dave Liebman, and Lenny White released the album Thought Provoking.
In 2000 he was nominated for a MAC award for Recording of the Year [1] DellaRatta witnessed the 9/11 attacks from a rooftop in New York City.
While watching the unfolding tragedy in front of him, he was inspired to write a poem which later became known as "Jazz for Peace".