Howard Richards

About Howard Richards

I grew up in the Chicago area. Since then, I've made music in Michigan, Arizona, and now live in the Atlanta area. Howard was born on July 10, 1955 in Evanston Illinois and began his musical journey at the age of 5.

Upon receiving a small Magnus Chord Organ for Christmas, he began learning songs from the radio by ear and it prompted his parents to enroll him at the Bettis School of music in Lake Zurich IL. In one year he was ready to play in recital at the organ even though he couldn’t yet reach the pedals. Over the next 10 years he achieved a great deal and earned four 1st place awards through the National Society of Student Organists.

He later turned his attention toward Classical music and studied with Dr. Wayne Wyrembelski from the University of Michigan. Within a few years he performed recitals including the works of Bach, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Rheinberger, Boelmann and Franck. In 1979 he performed in Master Class with Dr. John Obetz.

After leaving Michigan in 1979 he traveled to Tucson AZ and was enrolled in Pima College for two years and then the University of Arizona. It was during this period that he became acquainted with the piano. It was in this genre that he discovered his true forte. After several years of serious Jazz studies under the tutelage of Michael Greco he a