2008 Studio - VCUarts - Virginia Commonwealth University

like I’d experienced something truly transcendent. The audience responded the
same way – people were ecstatic, and couldn’t believe the work was over thirty
minutes long – it was as if no time had passed.
Where are your favorite places to tour, and why
This is not an easy question to answer, really, because I
love to travel and I find every place intriguing in one way or another. Touring
overseas is always most fascinating. I find that connecting with people through
music, whether we can speak to each other or have anything else in common,
is a profound thing. I feel tremendously blessed to say that I have close friends
in England, Greece, Turkey, China, Australia – the list goes on. And music is the
one denominator. It’s pretty amazing.
What is your relationship with Yamaha
I have been a Yamaha Performing Artist for about thirteen
years now, since joining Rhythm & Brass. In the last five years or so I’ve become
much busier as a soloist, so my relationship with them – which involves playing
their instruments, working with them on educational initiatives, and receiving
support from them for just about any educationally-oriented project I have – has
been moving more in that direction. It’s been a great association for me. They’re
a great company, always trying to improve their products and very supportive of
education. I love playing their trumpets, and I think their support has really helped
to raise my profile as a performer and clinician.
Tell me about your podcast with Yamaha.
In September of 2007, I was invited to record a podcast
for Yamaha. They decided to do an interview of me and to throw in some
performance footage from various places, and from a Rhythm & Brass demo
video. So we recorded the interview in New York last winter, gathered the
performance footage, and let the editor do his thing. I’m really happy with
how it turned out. They did a wonderful job with it. You can see it at
www.yamaha.com/thehub.
Because you so frequently travel, how do you manage your
teaching schedule
Well, as I implied earlier, it’s not always easy! Thankfully,
because my activities as a performer are pretty well integrated into my role
at VCU, the structure of my teaching load is designed to accommodate these
challenges. The trumpet studio has done well with this arrangement. Partially
this is because I have such great colleagues in the trumpet and brass areas.
It takes an entire faculty to shape a successful musician, really. And this is
partially because my students recognize the value of studying with someone
who is out there on the international stage, doing the very things they hope to
master themselves as performers.
How has the VCU School of the Arts been a beneficial aspect of
your career
the importance of our placing the growth and future of our students above all
things. I couldn’t be happier as a teacher and as an artist, and there’s no doubt
that the VCU School of the Arts is hugely responsible for setting up this context
in which I feel like I’ve thrived.
What do you envision for your future with VCU
This is a great question – I think it’s natural that anyone in
my position – that is, anyone who sticks around long enough – will grow into a
role of greater leadership in the music department. However, I think my own
leadership is less important than my finding a way to contribute to the general
trend, which is one of great growth, both in terms of the quality of our work and
our impact on the community.
This is a very exciting time to be a part of VCU Music, whether you are a
student or a teacher. We’re witnessing a period of tremendous change,
brought on by several factors: exciting new faculty hires; a renewed sense of
enthusiasm among those of us who’ve been here longer; higher quality work
being done by our students; increased support from the School of the Arts and
the community; and the buzz that’s going around in this region of the country
about all of these things. All of these factors contribute to the others. What
does it mean Only time will tell. What I’d like to see is for this department to
grow into a true regional powerhouse. I want students and music teachers up
and down the eastern seaboard, and far beyond, thinking about VCU when they
think about top places to study music.
Where can we find more information about you, your adventures
and your music
Well, there are a few online sources. I have accounts under
my name on Myspace, Facebook, and themusicpage.com. Yamaha has a page
for me too. My recordings are on Summit Records. There’s my website
at www.rextrumpet.com, and my email address is errichardson@vcu.edu.
I’m always very happy to hear from people.
Wow… where to begin VCU has been a fantastic home to
me for the past six years. I don’t think I could expect a better setting in which
to work. My colleagues are exceedingly able, dedicated, and fun to be around.
The students are a blast – great people, whose talent and enthusiasm are
inspiring. The leadership of the department and of the School of the Arts has
been supportive of all of my activities, on and off-campus.
It really comes down to vision. All of us on the faculty have different ideas and
strengths, but the department as a whole has shown the collective wisdom
to value these differences, to understand that this is what makes us succeed
on the department and School levels. All of our differences fall under the
umbrella of shared values – the importance of the arts in peoples’ lives, and