Thickman Faculty Lecture Series: Musical Journeys: Sounds Across Borders
Thursday, Mar. 11, 6:00 pm
Kinnison Hall, Free.
With Dr. Eric Richards, Music Faculty
- Self-described “contemporary American eclectic” composer-arranger will explore the background, creative processes and performances of two recent works with international reach:
- Samba For Sensei—a Brazilian-influenced composition
- The Crucible—a concert work for jazz orchestra commissioned by the Royal Air Force.
- An engaging artist talk on creativity, collaboration, and contemporary composition.
Biography:
Dr. Eric Richards is the Director of Bands and Jazz Studies at Sheridan College where he serves as Music Director of the SC Symphony Band, Jazz Ensemble, Jazztet, Concert Brass Ensemble, Trombone Choir, and teaches applied brass, composition, History of Jazz, Keyboard Theory, Music Fundamentals. He also serves as the Music Director and Lead Trombone of the Bighorn Jazz Orchestra, Sheridan College’s professional big band-in-residence.
From 2008 – 2015, he served as tenured Associate Professor of Composition and Jazz Studies in the Glenn Korff School of Music at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he led the Composition Program. At UNL, he mentored first-year through doctoral students in applied composition (classical and jazz/vernacular styles), and organized and led the award-winning UNL Jazz Orchestra “2.0”, an innovative 21st Century jazz ensemble combining traditional big band instrumentation with strings, horn, and percussion. He is the recipient of the 2012 Distinguished Teaching Award in the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts at UNL. Eric has led the Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming All State High School Jazz Ensembles as well as the Southern California Honor Jazz All-Stars in concert performance at the 2018 NAMM Convention in Anaheim.
His work as an educator is energized by his professional practice as a widely performed composer/arranger, conductor, and instrumentalist. Eric’s music has been heard on six continents in performances and recordings in major concert venues across North and South America, Europe, Australia, Asia, and India.