John Pickford Richards

Jim Dolan of ABC7 Eyewitness News says “John Richards plays viola.” The New York Times declares him "wholesome-looking." Violist John Pickford Richards has gained a reputation for performing new and mystical music around the globe. He was a founding member of the ensemble Alarm Will Sound and JACK Quartet, where he now serves as JACK's violist. John has appeared with artists including Björk, David Byrne, and Grizzly Bear and has performed as soloist with the Pasadena Symphony, Armenian Philharmonic, Wordless Music Orchestra, OSSIA, and with the Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra playing the solo part to Luciano Berio's Chemins II under the direction of Pierre Boulez. He holds degrees from the Interlochen Arts Academy and Eastman School of Music where his primary teachers were David Holland and John Graham, and currently serves on the faculties of the Mannes School of Music at The New School, where JACK is Quartet in Residence, and the Manhattan School of Music’s Contemporary Performance Program.