James Richards

(Chair, Department of Music / Conductor of University Orchestra)

James Richards serves as chair of the Department of Music and conductor of the University Orchestra at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He holds a doctorate from the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester and degrees in orchestral conducting and music theory, as well as a Performer's Certificate in Violin, from the University of Texas at Austin. He studied orchestral and opera conducting with Walter Ducloux, Paul Vermel, and Gustav Meier, and was selected to participate in the Conductor's Program of the Aspen Music Festival.

Dr. Richards currently serves as conductor and music director of the Saint Louis Chamber Orchestra and the Gateway Festival Orchestra of St. Louis. Prior to this appointment, he served as Conductor of the Kirkwood Symphony for nineteen seasons and as associate conductor of the Kammergild Chamber Orchestra. He has appeared frequently as a guest conductor and clinician for band and orchestra festivals throughout the United States, including numerous guest appearances with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra Discovery Series.

Dr. Richards has served the American String Teachers Association at the state and national levels in a variety of capacities. Currently, he is President of the Missouri Chapter of the ASTA. He has been a reviewer of new string literature for the American String Teacher Journal, served for three years as national chair of the ASTA Merle J. Isaac Composition Competition, and was recently invited to present at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago.

As a violinist, Dr. Richards has performed with a variety of ensembles including the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, the Kammergild Chamber Orchestra, the Fox Theatre Orchestra, the St. Louis MUNY Orchestra, and the Landolfi String Quartet. In 1999, Dr. Richards received a University of Missouri Research Board Grant to study Baroque violin performance at the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute. In 2000, Dr. Richards was the recipient of the St. Louis Suburban Music Educator's Association's Merit Award "in recognition of significant contributions for the advancement of music education." In 2002, Dr. Richards was received the Artist/Teacher of the Year Award from the MoASTA. Among his violin, viola, and string pedagogy mentors are Leonard Posner, Francis Tursi, Lazar Gosman, and Phyllis Young.

In 2004, Dr. Richards was selected to participate in the UM Leadership Development Program of the President’s Academic Leadership Institute. He is currently President-elect of the Missouri Association of Departments and School of Music (MADSM).

Contact Information

314-516-5936
jamesrichards@umsl.edu