Kailey Richards

Kailey Richards is currently completing her Doctorate at the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Julia Wedman and Jeanne Lamon. She is a graduate of the Master of Historical Performance Program at the University of Toronto and of the Bachelor of Music Program at Indiana University where she studied with Stanley Ritchie, was the recipient of a Premier Young Artist Award, and was named an Indiana University Founders Scholar. She has performed with many ensembles including the Theatre of Early Music, Talisker Players, Musica Viva Orchestra, Rezonance Baroque Ensemble, Cor Unum Baroque Ensemble, and the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra. Kailey is extremely passionate about education and outreach. During her studies at Indiana University, she worked with Dr. Brenda Brenner and Mimi Zweig in the Indiana University String Academy (where Joshua Bell began his studies). She has combined what she has learned working in the string academy with the teaching philosophies of the Suzuki Institute and the El Sistema programs into her own teaching approach. "Even into his 80s, my teacher, Stanley Ritchie, always said that the key to his success was his curiosity that propelled him to discover what new possibilities exist on the violin. Even Yo-Yo Ma has said: “I’m a curious kid, always going to the edge.” My goal as a teacher is to encourage this curiosity for knowledge and to give students the tools and techniques to find their own answers and voices on this beautiful instrument."