Stan Richardson (2)

Stan Richardson was born in Coventry, England in 1952. He began his interest and study of music at age five with the recorder and soon progressed to violin and viola. At age eight he was composing classical music and had completed a string quartet by age eleven. Stan was also an avid singer and became head choir boy in his local church. He sang often at the famous Coventry Cathedral and was present at some notable premiers including the first performance of Benjamin Britten's Noah's Ark. Stan became interested in ethnic music from the spiritual traditions of Japan and China and in 1972 began study of the shakuhachi. He has studied with Ronnie Seldin in New York and some of Japan 's greatest masters including Yoshio Kurahashi in Kyoto . Stan is currently head of Mujuan Shakuhachi Dojo in Texas, a branch of his teacher's school based in Kyoto and founded by Yodo Kurahashi. He received his Shihan or Masters teaching license and the shakuhachi name Kakudo from Yoshio Kurahashi sensei. He has approximately ten students from around Texas and his teaching emphasizes the ancient meditation music of the Zen tradition.