In today’s installment of our “Meet the Salvatones” series, we profile member Richard Saunders! Tenor Richard Saunders has been with The Salvatones since 2013. Jonathan Ryan, a concert organist and choral conductor colleague of our artistic director Daniel Brondel, recommended we audition Richard and said he would be a great addition, and he was right! Richard hails from Simsbury, Connecticut, and has lived in the NYC area for two years. His early music training came from being a member of his family band! Along with his parents and two older brothers, Richard sang in a bluegrass group that would play at various parties and get togethers. His oldest brother played the mandolin, and the next oldest played the bass. His mom and dad loved the soundtrack from the movie “O Brother Where Art Thou?” and would often play selections from that soundtrack along with works by Joni Mitchell, Willie Nelson, and Bob Dylan. Richard knew he wanted to pursue music from about the 5th grade, and at the time he wanted to become a chorus director. A shift to pursuing a career as a songwriter came about in 7th grade when he started writing music and lyrics of his own, and so took many lessons throughout his grade school years in jazz piano, classical piano, and classical voice. His formal education came from the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Dominique Eade and received his bachelor’s degree in jazz voice. You may remember a couple of weeks ago we profiled Tomas Cruz; this is where they met, and it is from Richards recommendation that Tomas auditioned for us! For Richard, singing is important because it lets him express emotions and tell stories that he says otherwise might not be told. It allows him at this point in his life to spend most of his time being creative. Besides singing with The Salvatones, Richard is a regular chorister at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church. He also writes and performs with a pop/jazz vocal trio called Thirdstory. This eclectic soul music group is inspired by everything from Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young to Amy Winehouse. They perform all over NYC in venues such as The Delancey, Rockwood Music Hall, and The Bowery Electric. Besides singing and playing piano, Richard will sometimes write his own songs and arrangements for the group, and other times they write and arrange together. Check them out here and see Richard singing his heart out in this cover of “I’m not the only one” by Sam Smith: youtu.be/3Y7Vq9749s8. We wouldn’t mind stumbling across this kind of performance in the park! (check out the video to see what we mean). Since joining The Salvatones in 2013, Richard has performed in the concerts/mass at Our Lady of Refuge in Brooklyn, various holiday events, and our Many Sounds of Christmas concerts in both New Jersey and Manhattan. He said that one of his favorite memories was from last spring when The Salvatones sang at a winter/holiday themed wedding. Richard said it was strange to sing holiday music off-season, but the way the whole thing was put together allowed them to pull off the theme in a very tasteful and beautiful way. When asked about what he likes about performing in an ensemble, Richard responded, “You can forget about yourself and just think about making great music.” Richard, we are lucky to be making great music with you! Thank you for being a part of The Salvatones!
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 21:53:46 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015