2024 marked the 57th year of Mark Richman’s career as a music educator, and he continues to be in demand as a master class teacher, lecturer, artist teacher, and adjudicator. Currently, he is Lecturer in Piano at the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication at CSUN. As part of his duties, each Spring he teaches the historically legendary Master Class for all piano majors in the piano department.
Concert pianist Mark Richman holds a summa cum laude B.A. degree from UCLA, an M.M. degree in piano from the Juilliard School of Music, and has pursued doctoral work at Boston University. His principal teachers include Leonard Shure, who was famed pianist Artur Schnabel’s assistant in Berlin, as well as Aube Tzerko, Rosina Lhevinne, and Leah Effenbach. For five years, Richman was a Visiting Lecturer in Music at UCLA, where he taught piano, chamber music, and music history. He also has been a member of the Artist-Faculty of the International Institute for Young Musicians, working with young students from all over the world. Currently, he is a member of the Artist-Faculty of Junior Chamber Music, and formerly was the Artist-Teacher at the Yamaha School of Music in Diamond Bar.
Mr. Richman has received high acclaim for his recitals in California, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Massachusetts, Mexico, Jamaica, and the former USSR. He has been a frequent guest soloist with leading orchestras in Southern California, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Glendale Symphony, the Beach Cities Symphony, the San Fernando Valley Symphony, and the American Youth Symphony. As a chamber musician, Richman has performed on the Dame Myra Hess concert Series, at the Sierra Summer Festival in Mammoth Lakes, and at the Leo S. Bing Theater. As an accompanist, he was personally selected by renowned violinist Jascha Heifetz to assist him in his master classes at USC and has collaborated with many of the world’s finest concert artists, including the late violinist Michael Rabin, flutist James Galway, and Principal Concertmaster of the L.A. Philharmonic, Martin Chalifour.
Mr. Richman has been the recipient of many awards, among them a Career Grant from the Young Musicians’ Foundation, First Prize in the Frank Sinatra Competition, First prize in the Aaron Richmond Competition, and the Grand Prize in the Atwater Kent Competition. With his former duo-piano partner, he won second prize in the UC San Diego International Duo-Piano Competition and captured the Grand Prize at the Fullerton College Duo-Piano Competition. He has received the Official Resolution of Commendation from the City of Los Angeles for his many musical accomplishments. Recently, he was a winner in the First Annual Moments of Music Foundation Piano Concerto Competition for teachers.
In addition, Mr. Richman maintains a very active teaching studio, and several of his alumni have earned music degrees at the nation’s most prestigious universities and conservatories and have also gone on to win major prizes and awards at the state, national, and international levels.