Stephanie "Steph" Richards (born May 2, 1982) is a Canadian-American composer, trumpeter, bandleader and producer known for her contributions to the contemporary jazz and experimental music scenes.[1] Her multidisciplinary approaches to composition, including her Supersense[2] project for scent and music with Jason Moran, Kenny Wollesen and Stomu Takeishi, have earned critical acclaim.[3] In 2014 Richards was appointed to the music faculty at the University of California, San Diego.[4]
Richards was born in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada, and grew up in Calgary, Alberta. She studied music at the Interlochen Arts Academy (Interlochen, MI), the Eastman School of Music (BMus. and Performance Certificate Honors), McGill University (MMus.), California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) (MFA).[5]
Upon moving to New York City in 2008, Richards recorded and performed with notable pioneers of the avant-garde, ranging from composers Henry Threadgill,[6] Anthony Braxton, Lawrence D. "Butch" Morris and John Zorn to art-pop oriented artists Laurie Anderson, Yoko Ono, David Byrne and St. Vincent and contemporary composers John Luther Adams, Helmut Lachenmann, Nico Muhly and Louis Andriessen.[7][8][9]
As an ensemble collaborator Richards is founding member of Bang on A Can's Asphalt Orchestra[10] and has also worked with the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Anthony Braxton's Tricentric Orchestra, Henry Threadgill's Kestra and alongside the Kronos Quartet. As an improviser she has worked with Ravi Coltrane, Jason Moran, Nicole Mitchell, Mark Dresser, Anthony Davis, Vijay Iyer, Tyshawn Sorey, Mary Halvorson, Ingrid Laubrock, Tom Rainey, Gerald Cleaver, Stomu Takeishi, JT Lewis, Tomeka Reid, Kenny Wolleson, Wayne Horvitz, John Hebert, Oscar Noriega, Liberty Ellman and Sylvie Courvoisier. Richards' work as a composer includes interdisciplinary elements including choreography,[11][12] film,[13][14][15] scents[16] and site specific works.[17][18][19] As a conductor, she has worked with orchestras in Mexico,[20] Europe and the US[21] employing the musical language of "Conduction," which she gained under the mentorship of the late Butch Morris and J.A. Dino Deane.
The New York Times calls Richards "an emerging maestro of extended technique"[22] and "boldly inventive."[23] Downbeat says that Richards has proven herself "a virtuoso of nonlinear trumpet playing."[24]
Richards is a Yamaha artist.[31]
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