OUR DIRECTOR, John Richardson has served as the Zionsville Concert Band’s Music Director and Conductor since the organization’s inception in 2002. He is a native of Fort Wayne, Indiana and a graduate of Fort Wayne South High School. At age 15 as a student at the National Music Camp at Interlochen, Michigan, he performed as French horn soloist in the Mozart Horn Concerto # 3 with the camp orchestra. At age 17 he was the soloist with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Igor Buketoff playing Haydn’s Concerto # 2 for Horn.

John received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York studying French horn and piano, studying French Horn with Milan Yancich. He also earned a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. His other major French horn teacher was Max Pottag, retired hornist of the Chicago Symphony. He studied piano with Monica Marshall Agnew in Fort Wayne, Indiana and with Margaret Gilbert at the Eastman School. John was a conducting student of Mr. Paul White at the Eastman School and John Paynter at Northwestern.  He was a member of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band and was French horn soloist in the White House Orchestra.

John was a church musician for 34 years serving three different churches in Boone County. He retired from Christ Lutheran Church of Zionsville after 22 years where he served as organist and pianist, and earlier was Music Director, conductor of the hand bell choir, and director of the classical and contemporary instrumental ensembles. He has appeared as guest conductor of the Indiana Wind Symphony and the Indianapolis Municipal Band, and he conducted the band that assembled for the Bohumir Kryl Project at Wabash College's Visiting Artist Series.

In addition to teaching piano and band instruments to students of all ages,  John is a member of the Board of Directors of the Indianapolis Brass Choir.  On Sundays he is one of the organists for church services at Hoosier Village Chapel in Indianapolis and at Trinity Lutheran Church of Lebanon.