Bill is a musician and teacher in the Washington, DC area. With degrees in both music and music education, Bill moved to DC after securing a spot as a percussionist in the United States Army Band. Now retired from the Army band, Bill teaches percussion at Howard University and out of his home. In addition to his teaching career, Bill remains active as a freelance musician in the DC area, performing with both the Washington and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Kennedy Center Opera, and several world renowned ballet companies.
Transcript
My name is Bill Richards. I am a musician and a teacher in the Washington D.C. area. When I was finishing up my undergraduate work at Temple, I won the audition for the United States Army Band. And we moved down to Washington in 1977. So, that was my first playing job. Once I got down there and established, I started to take on some private students and have been doing that ever since. I retired from the Army Band in 1997. During my time with the band and what I continue to do today, is work as a freelance musician around Washington D.C. In 2000, I also took on the job of percussion instructor at Howard University. Two to three days at Howard. The other days I would teach at my house. Amongst all that, again, I am a freelance musician now. Last week, I performed with the Washington Ballet. We had seven performances and three rehearsals. That was quite a busy week. This week, I have two concerts this weekend in the district. When I would get the email, the first thing I do is I go down and check my book, my date book, to see if I'm available. If I'm available, I'll respond and they will say, "Okay. Someone will be in touch with you regarding music." And if I know the repertoire and I know who's on the job, it's pretty easy to figure out what I'll be playing. Then, the process begins, as far as the preparation. So the ballet that we just finished took place in the Eisenhower Theater at the Kennedy Center. And the group that we were working with was the Washington Ballet and they do not own equipment. They asked me to bring everything, which involved three tympany, concert bass drum, cymbals, snare drum, and a set of orchestra bells. So, that was my responsibility for that. Not this week, but next week, I'm also doing a ballet week, but that's with a touring company, the Mariinski Ballet. And that is in the opera house of the Kennedy Center. That orchestra does have their own equipment. So, next week, I just come in and play.
Download transcript