Richard was born in 1970 in Quebec City, and began playing trumpet at age 13 in high school.

He pursued his studies at the Quebec and then Montreal Conservatories, graduating in May 1994.

That summer, he auditioned with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and won a one-year contract to play third and Assistant Principal Trumpet. The next year he played Principal Trumpet with the Hamilton Philharmonic and the National Arts Center Orchestra in Ottawa, before moving to his current position of Principal Trumpet with Symphony Nova Scotia in September 1996.

Since moving to Halifax, Richard has been heard on many occasions as soloist with Symphony Nova Scotia. Many of those performances have been recorded and broadcasted nationally by the CBC. His other musical activities include performing brass concerts with the Maritime Brass quintet, which is a newly formed professional brass ensemble.

Richard has been on faculties of such universities as Acadia University in Wolfville, Université de Moncton, and Dalhousie University in Halifax. He also acts as artist in residence at the Scotia Festival of Music held in Halifax.

When Richard is not performing on the trumpet, he enjoys spending time outdoors, mostly hiking and camping.

Richard is a Yamaha Artist and performs on Yamaha trumpets.

Q&A WITH RICHARD

How long have you played the trumpet?
I’ve played since I was 13.

What made you start playing the trumpet?
The sound of the trumpet totally captivated me when I went to see the movie Star Wars in 1977 (even though I was only seven!). The fact that I listened a lot to the soundtracks from those movies growing up made for an easy choice, since the trumpet is an instrument that’s very prominent in this style of music.

If you couldn’t be a musician, what would you like to do?
If I wasn’t a musician, I would like to be a pilot.

What are your outside interests?
I love camping and hiking.