Richard Shulman, composer and keyboardist, creates music that is a positive influence on himself, his audience and the society. Richard has recorded 26 albums, as well as several other recordings for which he has contributed compositions, performances, and/or musical production. He is a classical and jazz musician who has developed a deep understanding of these styles. However, he focuses a lot of his music on meditation, healing, and inspiration. His concert schedule currently includes performances of his meditation music as well as his original jazz, as embodied by The Richard Shulman Band. Shulman has performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Art Park, The United Nations, The Kool Jazz Festival and The Amenia Peace festival, as well as many other venues in North America and Europe. Shulman is a composer and has composed over 80 pieces for the jazz quartet, as well as songs for chamber ensembles, chorus, and symphony or orchestra. He composed music for jazz quartet and orchestra during residencies at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in 1986 and 1987. Shulman was the principal composer of “Theatre of the Heart,” an ensemble of musicians, dancers and singers dedicated to the promotion of community and the preservation of the environment. A piece was written for the Amherst Saxophone Quartet. “May Peace Prevail On Earth” was composed for singers, symphony orchestras, three choirs, and a jazz quartet. It was created for the World Peace Prayer Society. He has also created hundreds of ‘Musical Soul Portraits’ recordings for couples, individuals, and groups. He was born in Niagara Falls, New York and began piano lessons at the age of seven. Richard was a teenager who played the organ in various churches and served as the music counselor at a summer camp. He also joined a band that featured future jazz recording artists Bobby Previte and Thom Rotella. Shulman received a double-major bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester in music (piano performances) and psychology. He also continued to play with Bill Savino and drummer Previte in Thermopylae, a jazz-fusion band. Shulman attended the Eastman School of Music, where he studied jazz improvisation and orchestration with Donald Hunsberger, as well as arranging with Rayburn Wright. While earning his Masters Degree in Musical Composition at the State University of New York, Buffalo, Shulman continued his jazz studies with Frank Foster. He also studied composition with William Kothe, Lejaren Hiller and piano with Yvar Mihashoff. He recorded Wonder, his first jazz album, while performing onstage with jazz legends like Thad Jones, Eddie Gomez and Pepper Adams. He played in Buffalo with Bilal Abdullah and Sabu Adeyola as well as Abdul Rachmann Kadir (Chip Fadale), Rick Fadale, Jim Kurzdorfer and James Clark. Shulman, who moved to New York City in 1995, was a session musician in the studio with Ron Carter and Grady Tate. He also performed with The Richard Reiter Swing Band and Providence, and recorded and performed alongside Bobby Previte (Lenny Pickett and Tom Varner).
