E. Earl Richards II is Director of Choral Studies at LaSierra University. Richards' undergraduate studies included a degree in Business Administration from LSU and three years of piano study in England at Newbold College. He received an M.Mus. in choral conducting, studying with Donald Neuen at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he received both a graduate fellowship award and a teaching assistantship.

Richards began music studies at the age of six and developed an early passion for choral music when as a thirteen-year-old he served as accompanist for his church choir. He is also Artistic Director of the Canto Bello Master Chorale, a local community group he started conducting in 2001. He previously served as Director of Choral Activities for the Milwaukee High School of the Arts in Wisconsin and for the Claremont High School in California. Richards' teaching has been recognized in Who's Who of American Teachers and by California State University, San Diego.

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