Alumni Feature: Jack Richman
“I graduated from Berklee College of Music this past May with a Bachelor of Music in Contemporary Writing and Production and a double minor in Musical Theater Conducting/Music Direction and Musical Theater Writing, with a focus in Composition. My final semester was a busy one, and the highlight was presenting a staged reading of the first act of my newest musical, "Athanasia"—a sci-fi drama about a pioneering geneticist who awakens on a colonized Mars after a 200-year cryosleep, only to find that the progress built on her research may have gone too far. Other recent work includes music directing a production of "Daddy Long Legs" at Emerson College, presented by Musical Theatre Against the Grain, and playing piano for Berklee's annual "Curtain Up" concert, which features new musical theater works by Berklee students and alumni. I’ve just begun a music direction internship at The MUNY in St. Louis and am thrilled to be a part of their summer season."
Scroll down to learn a little more about Jack, his background and his advice for young performers.
About College & Pre-College Training
I attended Berklee College of Music, a very fast-paced, non-stop kind of program where I was constantly busy with theater music opportunities around campus. It was an exciting experience—especially collaborating with fantastic, creative musicians who always inspired me—but also a challenging one due to the intense workload. One of the highlights was music directing one of the Broadway Band shows and serving on the board for multiple semesters.
BYE Memories …
One of my favorite memories at BYE was performing at Carnegie Hall for Tim Janis' Christmas Show in 2016. More broadly, I loved the sense of community BYE provided—rehearsals were always fun and meaningful because of the incredible people involved.
A little advice from Jack …
One piece of advice for current BYE students is to build strong connections with everyone around you—you never know who you might work with in the future or how those relationships can help you grow in this industry. Be kind to everyone, including yourself; it's easy to forget that the people beside you are the future of the arts world.
