Alexander Richards

Courses taught at UVic

• MUS 140-440: Individual Tuition
• MUS 345-445: Individual Tuition: Performance

Brief Biography

Dr. Alexander Richards is an active pedagogue and performing artist, having appeared in concert in Canada, the United States and Europe. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of North Texas, where he studied saxophone with Dr. Eric Nestler, and contemporary music performance with Dr. Elizabeth McNutt. He also holds a Master of Music from the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Victoria, where he studied with luminaries Dr. Eugene Rousseau and Wendell Clanton, respectively.

As a concert saxophonist, Alexander has been a featured soloist with ensembles at the University of Victoria, the University of Minnesota, and at the University of North Texas, as well as Victoria’s own Meridiem Wind Orchestra, and the Reynolds Secondary School band. Alexander has presented recitals at many prestigious festivals and conferences, including the Darmstadt International Musikinstitut, the Texas Music Educators Association conference, and many North American Saxophone Alliance conferences. As both a performer and pedagogue, Alexander devotes himself to the creation and dissemination of contemporary music for saxophone, having commissioned and premiered many works for saxophone in all capacities, from a double concerto with flute and orchestra, to chamber music, electroacoustic music, and unaccompanied works.

In addition to teaching at the University of Victoria, Alexander serves as saxophonist with the Naden Band of the Royal Canadian Navy, and is on faculty at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, where he has taught for Camosun College’s Diploma in Music Performance, Certificate in Music Creativity and Performance Foundations, and the Conservatory’s Advanced Independent Music Studies Certificate, as well as community students of all ages and stages.