Brad Richter
Guitarist, composer, and educator Brad Richter is one of the most influential classical guitarists in the United States, and his compositions for solo guitar and guitar in ensemble are played by guitarists around the globe. Brad has played close to 1,000 concerts on some of the most important stages in North America and Europe, and is a regular performer on NPR’s Performance Today. He has played in duos with legendary artists such as his teacher at the Royal College of Music, Carlos Bonell, Grammy winners Andrew York and David Finckel (Director of Chamber Music at Lincoln Center) and, of course, his long-time collaborator in the Richter Uzur Duo, cellist Viktor Uzur. That said, the element of Brad’s career that has had the greatest impact may be ‘Lead Guitar’, the not-for-profit he founded and directs that has established guitar programs in more than 50 public schools and taught more than 10,000 at-risk youth to play classical guitar. In 2013 Lead Guitar joined the University of Arizona to become the music education initiative for the University of Arizona’s UA Presents.
Viktor Uzur
Viktor Uzur has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician in many countries in Europe, Asia and North America including important concerts and collaborations with composers such as Tikhon Khrennikov, Petris Vasks and Lewis Nielson. His engagement as the principal cellist and soloist withARCO Moscow Chamber Orchestrabrought him many CD releases and international tours and his performances, interviews and compositions have been broadcast nationally on television and radio stations in the former Yugoslavia, Russia, and United States, including NPR’s “Performance Today”. He has given concerts and has been an artist in residence at festivals in Austria, Spain, Italy, France, Russia, Canada, Korea, Latvia, Brazil, United States and the former Yugoslavia. Uzur is cello professor at Weber State University in Utah.
Richter Uzur Duo
The Richter Uzur Duo plays a whimsical mashed-up blend of classical, world, and rock music. Viktor Uzur and Brad Richter are each master musicians of the highest caliber with global solo careers, major international awards and intensive training from two of the world’s most lauded musical institutions (The Moscow Conservatory and The Royal College of Music respectively), but their musical interests and abilities are far from limited to classical music. In their teens and twenties, while developing into classical virtuosi, theycut their teeth in rock bands – Viktor as an electric guitarist and Brad as a guitarist and singer. They also delved into folk and world music but eventually put those interests aside as they pursued their classical concert careers. However, since the Duo was founded in 2005, they have discovered a way to blend all of the musical styles they love, and audiences are having as much fun listening to the results as Brad and Viktor are playing.