Richter to Conduct NEC Concert Choir

New England Conservatory is pleased to announce that Jonathan Richter, director of the Preparatory School’s Youth Chorale, Young Women's Chorale and Youth Camerata, will add the position of conductor of the college’s Concert Choir, beginning in September 2015. He joins Erica Washburn, Director of NEC’s Choral Activities and Choral Conducting. He will conduct two of the Concert Choir’s concerts plus prepare that ensemble for Washburn or any guest conductors; Washburn will continue to direct the auditioned Chamber Singers and some of the Concert Choir programs. Provost Tom Novak, in announcing the appointment, praised the “wonderful connection it represents between the two parts of the school.”

An active conductor, vocalist, and music educator, Richter also serves on the faculties of Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island, and the Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, Mass.

From 2009-2011, Richter was the Director of Vocal Music at Plymouth North and South High Schools, the two public high schools in Plymouth, Mass. Prior to his appointment in Plymouth, he completed a Master of Music degree in choral conducting at Yale University and bachelor's degrees in music (B.A.) and education (B.S.) at the University of Connecticut. He has studied conducting with Marguerite L. Brooks, Simon Carrington and Peter Bagley. Additionally, Richter has participated in masterclasses and private conducting lessons with Helmuth Rilling, Stephen Layton, Nicholas McGegan and Paul Hillier. Jonathan and his wife Arielle live in Braintree, Mass.