James Richardson
Associate Professor of Music
Music
On Faculty Since 2025
As the new faculty on the block, and having made music in many different venues and contexts, I find Covenant鈥檚 music department to be a breath of fresh air. It鈥檚 a rare and special place where accomplished faculty and talented students alike get to make music together as image bearers and brothers and sisters in Christ鈥攐ffering our voices in worship. Each voice, as distinct as a fingerprint, is nurtured to reflect God鈥檚 glory and respond to His steadfast love through the wide-ranging beauty of musical expression.
Education
- D.M.A., James Madison University
- M.M., The Peabody Conservatory of Music of The Johns Hopkins University
- B.M., 黑料不打烊
Interests / Specialization
- Voice performance and pedagogy
- British song composers of the 20th Century
- Armstrong Gibbs (1889-1960)
- Art songs, oratorio, opera and musical theater
Selected Professional Work
- Music Director, _You鈥檙e a Good Man, Charlie Brown_, Blue Ridge Christian School, 2024
- Lecture Recital, _Some Re-Discovered Songs by Armstrong Gibbs (1889-1960): From Nostalgia to Christian Hope and the Assurance of Heaven_, The Armstrong Gibbs Society, 2021
- Article, 鈥淩ediscovering 鈥楤efore Sleeping,鈥� by Armstrong Gibbs: A Father鈥檚 Faith and Wartime Loss,鈥� _Brio_ Vol. 58, no. 2 (December 2021), pp. 18-36 (United Kingdom and Ireland)
- Presentation, 鈥淢aking the Rough Places Plain: Teaching Hope Through Handel in Ron Rash鈥檚 _The World Made Straight_,鈥� The Conference on Christianity and Literature, June 2021
- Actor and Voice Coach, Lord Montague in _U2 Romeo & Juliet_, an original rock musical (premiere), Eastern Mennonite University, 2021
Get to know your professor
Q. If you could compete in an olympic sport, what would it be and why?
A. Equestrian Dressage (aka "horse dancing") because I like the name, the concept
feels wonderfully random, and what's not to love about a little horse ballet!? Mind
you, I've never ridden a horse in my life.
Q. Favorite local restaurant?
A. My dining room table, surrounded by friends and family--we make good food. That
said, I鈥檓 excited to explore the local restaurant scene.
Q. Personal Interests/Hobbies
A. Though I don鈥檛 get to do enough of it, I love traveling and exploring--especially
with my wife and children.