Biography
Composer Jay Richards earns descriptions such as gifted and persistent for the emotional breadth his scores convey, often leaving audiences with the impression that they have participated in something truly enchanting. Utah artist Cecelia Benson observes, “Jay Richards has been given a gift that is so needed in our society today,” adding that this talent “elevate[s] the human soul” because “you simply cannot listen to his music and not be changed.” Only through unflagging determination did listeners gain access to that music at all.
Richards’s childhood piano lessons sparked little enthusiasm, and once they ceased, he began exploring the family instrument on his own, discovering techniques formal training had never imparted. Summers spent accompanying summer-stock productions further broadened his palette; as he recalled in an online interview, “There I had exposure to more different musical styles than anywhere else,” noting that directors asked him to turn pieces into ragtime or blues versions and that the repertoire ranged “from torch songs to Wild West shows with tap-dancing Indians.” He concluded, “It wasn’t Julliard but I wouldn’t trade the real-world skills gained there for any degree from anywhere.”
Despite these experiences, Richards initially chose another path, qualifying as a licensed social worker. When he later returned to music studies, conventional coursework again proved uncongenial, yet he produced his first original composition. Lacking confidence, he stored the score away and waited another year and a half before approaching record labels, collecting numerous “heartfelt rejections.” Eventually he secured investors, assembled members of the Utah Symphony, and recorded his debut album at LA East studios in Salt Lake City. Two years afterward, while tracking a second project, percussionist and Deseret Book A&R representative Kenny Hodges heard the sessions, spoke with Richards, and within two days arranged a five-year contract with the label. Hodges later remarked, “Jay is an incredibly gifted composer, with interests in film composition.”
Director Echo Gaffney soon engaged him for the award-winning short film The Silence of Speed, praising the music’s cinematic quality: “although he had a limited experience in composing for film, when I listened to his CD, it was so moving, so emotional, so perfect. His music truly took my film to a whole new level, both professionally, emotionally.” Cecelia Benson likewise attests that Richards’s recordings “are universally appealing to everyone. They fill you with energy. They fill you with a sense of hope. They fill you with peace. My, how the world needs this music.”
Richards’s childhood piano lessons sparked little enthusiasm, and once they ceased, he began exploring the family instrument on his own, discovering techniques formal training had never imparted. Summers spent accompanying summer-stock productions further broadened his palette; as he recalled in an online interview, “There I had exposure to more different musical styles than anywhere else,” noting that directors asked him to turn pieces into ragtime or blues versions and that the repertoire ranged “from torch songs to Wild West shows with tap-dancing Indians.” He concluded, “It wasn’t Julliard but I wouldn’t trade the real-world skills gained there for any degree from anywhere.”
Despite these experiences, Richards initially chose another path, qualifying as a licensed social worker. When he later returned to music studies, conventional coursework again proved uncongenial, yet he produced his first original composition. Lacking confidence, he stored the score away and waited another year and a half before approaching record labels, collecting numerous “heartfelt rejections.” Eventually he secured investors, assembled members of the Utah Symphony, and recorded his debut album at LA East studios in Salt Lake City. Two years afterward, while tracking a second project, percussionist and Deseret Book A&R representative Kenny Hodges heard the sessions, spoke with Richards, and within two days arranged a five-year contract with the label. Hodges later remarked, “Jay is an incredibly gifted composer, with interests in film composition.”
Director Echo Gaffney soon engaged him for the award-winning short film The Silence of Speed, praising the music’s cinematic quality: “although he had a limited experience in composing for film, when I listened to his CD, it was so moving, so emotional, so perfect. His music truly took my film to a whole new level, both professionally, emotionally.” Cecelia Benson likewise attests that Richards’s recordings “are universally appealing to everyone. They fill you with energy. They fill you with a sense of hope. They fill you with peace. My, how the world needs this music.”
Albums
Singles
