Born into a musical family, Richard sang on his first professional recording at the age of ten. Shortly thereafter he began teaching himself to play piano. He made his first public appearance at the age of fifteen and formed his first band while in high school. After a performing and recording career with a pop, vocal-instrumental group, he relocated to far northern part of California to raise a family and to pursue opportunities to compose for the theatre and the educational choral field. Jazz has always been a major influence on Richard’s musical endeavors and in 2007 he recorded his first solo CD featuring standards from the Great American Songbook and two original compositions. His new CD, "Collaborations"
was released in October and features all original vocal jazz compositions.