Biography
Stephanie "Steph" Richards is a dynamic improvisor known for her innovative approach to the trumpet and interdisciplinary expression as a composer. An “innately adventurous trumpeter,” (Downbeat), she has collaborated with visionaries Henry Threadgill, Anthony Braxton, Muhal Richard Abrams and John Zorn as well as art pop luminaries Yoko Ono, St. Vincent, David Byrne and Laurie Anderson. Characterized by The New York Times as “boldly inventive…Richards composes in ways that standard notation could never document,” her works span interactions with film, poetry, electronics, choreography and scent and have garnered critical acclaim including Record of the Year by the New York Times and Downbeat. Her seminal record Supersense (2019) featuring all-star improvisers Jason Moran, Stomu Takeishi and Kenny Wolleson includes multimedia artist Sean Raspet creating singular, abstract scents to both inform and converse with the recording.
Her work as an improviser has brought her into contact with progressive voices in jazz and experimental music, including Ravi Coltrane, Roscoe Mitchell, Mary Halvorson, Tomeka Reid, Nicole Mitchell, Ingrid Laubrock and Jeff Parker while her conducting work, informed by the concept of "Conduction" developed by Butch Morris, has taken her to orchestras around the world, where she continues to push the boundaries of musical expression.
As a founding member of Bang on a Can's Asphalt Orchestra and a collaborator with the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Anthony Braxton's Tricentric Orchestra, Henry Threadgill's Kestra, and the Kronos Quartet, Richards’ ensemble work has resulted in hundreds of premiered works by composers including Nico Muhly, Tyondai Braxton and John Luther Adams, interdisciplinary artists Mike Kelley, Laurie Anderson and Yoko Ono, and with choreographers Susan Marshall, Paul Taylor, David Dorfman and the Merce Cunningham company. Prior to her arrival at the UW in Fall 2024, where she serves as professor of music, she was a longtime faculty member at the University of San Diego, California. Richards is a Yamaha artist.