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 Side 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 with Milan Yancich, and 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 French hornist in “The President’s Own”, United States Marine Band and was solo horn in the White House Orchestra.

John was a church musician for 34 years serving three different churches in Boone County. He is retired from Christ Lutheran Church of Zionsville after 22 years, where he served as organist and pianist, and earlier had been the Music Director, and conductor of both the classical and contemporary instrumental ensembles plus the handbell choir. In addition to teaching piano and band instruments, John is a member of the board of directors of the Indianapolis Brass Choir and is one of the organists for church services at the Hoosier Village Chapel, Indianapolis. John also is Music Director and pianist with “Frozen In Time” performing American Popular Music.