Richard Riccardi – Piano (Faculty Member Since 2024): Richard holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin College and a Master of Music Arts degree from the Yale University School of Music.  He is the 2006 recipient of the Mister Holland’s Opus Foundation award for music teaching (presented at Carnegie Hall) and the 1971 Bruce Simonds award for excellence in chamber music.  Richard has accompanied such greats as Joel Grey, Martha Raye, Diahann Carroll, Tom Jones, Wesla Whitfield, Sharon McNight and Mel Tormé, and was associate conductor for the Third National Broadway Tour of Annie, as well as pianist for the San Francisco leg of the Broadway National Touring Companies of Peter Pan (with Cathy Rigby), Umbrellas of Cherbourg, and La Cage Aux Folles. He has played for the San Francisco Symphony under Maestro Seiji Ozawa, has played for the San Francisco Opera and Ballet, music directed for the Lamplighters, the Pocket Opera, the Summer Song Opera program, and The San Francisco Boys Chorus. At Davies Symphony Hall he conducted the acclaimed Edith Piaf show by Raquel Bitton. He and his wife have taken social media by storm with their parodies and original comedy song cabaret, with over 40 million hits and over 80,000 followers, which they perform in NYC, Cape Cod, San Francisco, Baltimore and Denver on a yearly basis.