John Pickford Richards

Called “wholesome-looking” by the New York Times, violist John Pickford Richards maintains a reputation for performing new and unusual music around the globe. He was a founding member of the ensemble Alarm Will Sound before founding the JACK Quartet, hailed by the New York Times as “our leading new-music foursome”. JACK maintains an unwavering commitment to their mission of performing and commissioning new works, giving voice to underheard composers, and cultivating an ever-greater sense of openness toward contemporary classical music. In addition to his work with JACK, John has performed as soloist with the Pasadena Symphony, Armenian Philharmonic, Wordless Music Orchestra, OSSIA, and the Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra, playing the solo part to Luciano Berio’s Chemins II under the direction of Pierre Boulez. He holds degrees from the Interlochen Arts Academy and Eastman School of Music, where his primary teachers were David Holland and John Graham. John also serves on the faculty of the Mannes School of Music, where JACK is Quartet in Residence.