Phone: 858-534-7311
Office: CPMC 345
sfrichards@ucsd.edu
Exploring the space between new music, improvisation and performance art, trumpeter and composer Stephanie Richards examines the physical, visual and auditory interactions of live music performance. As reflected in recently commissioned works, Rotations for twelve choreographed musicians and carousel and Trading Futures for six hundred found sound surfaces, Stephanie's theatrical tendencies often result in compositional collaborations of sound, sight and movement. Stephanie has become a prominent voice in experimental improvisation, collaborating with artists such as improvisational pioneers Henry Threadgill, Butch Morris, John Zorn and Anthony Braxton, composer Helmut Lachenmann and performance artists Mike Kelly and Yoko Ono. As a founding member of Asphalt Orchestra, created by the new music collective Bang on a Can, Stephanie has worked with David Byrne, St. Vincent, Susan Marshall, Tyondai Braxton among others, and performed alongside Kronos Quartet, The Pixies and hip hop artists Kanye West, A-Trak and Common. Championing new music for brass, Stephanie has premiered works from stages such as Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Barbican, the Blue Note NYC, the Guggenheim Museum and others. She holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music, McGill University, California Institute of the Arts and has held residency at Stanford University. In addition to performing and composing, Stephanie encourages the performance and commissioning of new music and jazz as Vice-President of the Festival of New Trumpet (FONT). Drawing from experience in creative performance practices, Stephanie looks forward to providing opportunities for dialogue and active performance in the community through courses focusing on improvisation and new music curation, aiming to collectively question and challenge conventions of music presentation.