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Bradley Nathan Richter (born August 9, 1969 in Enid

Enid, Oklahoma

Enid is a city in Garfield County, Oklahoma, United States. In 2010, the population was 49,379, making it the ninth largest city in Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Garfield County. Enid was founded during the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in the Land Run of 1893, and is named after Enid, a...

, Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

, is a Classical guitarist. He currently lives in Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...

 with his wife Kerstin and their two children.

Education and background

Brad began teaching himself to play his guitar at the age of 12. At age 18, having had no formal musical training, he was awarded the Presidential Scholarship to the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago where he began performing, composing, and eventually teaching professionally. After completing his undergraduate degrees in performance and composition, Brad accepted a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London where he studied with guitarist Carlos Bonell. He became the first guitarist in the college’s history to win the coveted Thomas Morherr Prize, and went on to win the Royal College of Music Guitar Competition before completing his Master's degree.

Career highlights

Since completing his Masters degree at the Royal College of Music in London, Brad has performed throughout North America and Europe as a soloist and in duos with artists such as Grammy-winner David Finckel of the Emerson String Quartet. Festival appearances have included The Aspen Music Festival, The London International Guitar Festival and the Walnut Valley Festival, where he won the National Finger-picking Championship in 1999.

Brad is also an accomplished composer. In addition to his collections of concert music for solo guitar (published by Mel Bay and GSP) Brad is an avid composer of chamber music. He is a winner of the International Composers Guild Competition, he wrote and performed a score for the Emmy award winning PBS television series, The Desert Speaks. Brad is regularly featured on NPRs Performance Today as a soloist, and with his duo partner cellist Viktor Uzur. Brads critically acclaimed solo CD: A Whisper in the Desert is available from Acoustic Music Records.

Residency and outreach

He has taught at the Sherwood Conservatory of Music in Chicago and the University of Arizona, given workshops around the United States since 1995 and he is the founder and Artistic Director of Lead Guitar, a not-for-profit organization that establishes guitar programs in schools with large populations of at-risk kids.

Published books and recordings

Year	Title	Type	Publisher/Record Company
1994	Dance of the Harvest Fires	CD	Harmon E Records
1996	Fractal Reflections	Sheet Music, Solo Guitar	Guitar Solo Publications
1996	The Harvest	Sheet Music, Solo Guitar	Guitar Solo Publications
1996	Eight Preludes	Sheet Music, Solo Guitar	Guitar Solo Publications
1997	Fractal Reflections	CD	Harmon E Records
1998	Four Native Tales	Sheet Music, Solo Guitar	Guitar Solo Publications
2000	When the Caged Bird Sings	Sheet Music, Flute/Guitar	Lathkill Music Publishers, England
2001	Frost Songs	Sheet Music, Sop./Guitar	Lathkill Music Publishers, England
2003	A Whisper in the Desert	CD	Acoustic Music Records, Germany
2004	Master Fingerstyle Guitar Anthology	Book/CD set	Mel Bay Publications Mel Bay Publications Mel Bay was a musician best known for his series of music education books. His Encyclopedia of Guitar Chords remains a bestseller.-Childhood and early life:...  Inc.
2004	Nouveau Classic Guitar	Anthology Book/CD set co-authors include: Sergio Assad, Andrew York	Mel Bay Publications Mel Bay Publications Mel Bay was a musician best known for his series of music education books. His Encyclopedia of Guitar Chords remains a bestseller.-Childhood and early life:...  Inc.
2005	The Brad Richter Solo Collection	Book/CD set	Mel Bay Publications Mel Bay Publications Mel Bay was a musician best known for his series of music education books. His Encyclopedia of Guitar Chords remains a bestseller.-Childhood and early life:...  Inc.

Publications Pending

Year	Working Title	Type	Publisher/Record Company
2007	Arranging for Guitar	Instruction Book/CD	Mel Bay
2007	Brad Richter with David Finckel	CD	tba
2007	Song of the Wild, A Musical Journey through the Animal Kingdom 32 Imaginative Etudes for Young Guitarists	Book/CD set?	Acoustic Music Books/Mel Bay
2007	Navigating Lake Bonneville	Book with CD	Weber State University Press