We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Emily Richardson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Emily, thanks for joining us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I have a feeling that every artist asks themselves the same question at least once in their lives about the “What if?” beyond their artistic path! Creative pursuits can feel so rewarding but also often beget an incredible investment of time, energy, and other resources… especially musicians, who have to purchase and maintain such expensive equipment!

But when I’m working on my music, I really feel so connected with myself in a way that’s difficult to replicate anywhere else in my life! I’ve taken lots of breaks from my violin – for instance, in college, I suffered from a playing injury that forced me to stop performing for months at a time, and so I had to lean on other passions to keep myself moving forward (I found that I love swimming and moral philosophy, and I worked hard on my business minor, among other things!). But when I found I could play my violin again, it felt as if a vital part of me suddenly returned..! It was as if I didn’t quite realize that I felt empty in some way until I was back in touch with my instrument.

For that reason, and despite many others, I seem to come back time and time again to this thing I love and can’t seem to live without. Regular jobs are great, but I love my crazy dream path that I’ve somehow have been lucky enough to pursue!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a freelance violinist in Houston! I was trained classically, but I enjoy playing so many different kinds of music! I’ve been lucky enough to play a lot of Candlelight concerts here in Houston – from Beyonce to Radiohead to Anime music. I’m also about to enter a Baroque music competition in October in New York, so every week, my schedule looks totally different in a really exciting and beautiful way. I also perform in events like weddings, anniversaries, corporate parties… anything, really!

My first time playing the violin was at three years old, when my mom encouraged me to start playing! My mom is also a fantastic musician and would practice me every day even as I was still a toddler. I really took to it, and one day, I realized I could hear a tune and replicate it on my violin with the right pitch! It was something fun and I made lots of friends as a kid through musical communities in Las Vegas, Nevada, where I grew up.

In middle school, my family and I started to realize that I was outgrowing the opportunities present in Vegas and that if I wanted to pursue it seriously, I would need to move away. I applied to a boarding school called Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences in Santa Monica, CA, and spent my high school years in LA, trying to take in all of the amazing cultural and musical experiences LA had to offer.

I wasn’t quite sure music would become my future, but I applied to a bunch of double degree college programs before I finally landed on Rice University and decided to take a chance on myself and work on just my music degree… and here we are now! I think the leap of faith was really important and allowed me some time and space to figure out my relationship with music and trust myself that I’d make things work!

Now, I’m lucky enough to be living out my dream life and digging into exciting projects every day!! This season, my good friend Victor Cui (pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts at Rice University!) is writing me a violin concerto, set to premiere in Spring 2025! I play with the Mercury Chamber Orchestra in Houston, which is a historical performance ensemble that uses instruments made in the Baroque era (back in the 1600s!!) and brings them back to life! I also play regularly with a really exciting group called KINETIC, which is a conductorless ensemble that champions newly composed music of diverse backgrounds.

I love teaching young musicians and helping them on their journey! I give little recitals and perform (even just for friends!) whenever I can in order to bring music into the lives around me and to share everything I’ve been given and taught. Anything that connects me with music is a thing I love to do!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is to be able to create new exciting art, opportunities, and friendships! Especially in the world of classical music, there’s always (believe it or not!) new music being written all the time that push the boundaries of what we know about music and how we listen to music!

This season, my string trio called the ArcoNaut Trio (Arco meaning bow, because we play bowed instruments like violin!; and a pun on the mythological Argonaut ship because we love collaborating and having other artists “on board” with us for our projects!!) has commissioned three exciting new string trio works that we’re set to perform in 2025! This project is all about our heritage – I’m half-Japanese and born in Japan, violist Nick Lindell has bluegrass roots, and cellist Caio Alves-Diniz is Brazilian! We’ve asked the composers to take aspects of our musical heritage and write new music inspired by it (I can’t wait to hear bluegrassy-Japanese-Brazilian music, personally!). Nick and Caio are also two of my best friends in Houston, and it’s really amazing to be able to make music with the very people I care most about!

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I think any individual can support musicians in so many ways! The most powerful way might be to attend live performances and events. After the pandemic especially, musicians sort of had a collective moment where we didn’t know if our field had much of a future, and we’re all so thankful now that we can still pursue what we love! It’s so magical for me to sense art in any way, and I think a live music event (even something you might not necessarily be used to (like an opera, a Baroque ensemble, or a symphony!) can be such a wonderful novel experience that is joyful, energetic, and thought-provoking. Treat yourself to a night of good music or an art museum, or any such event, and know that you’re doing so much good for the cultural life around you! :)

Contact Info:

• Instagram: emily_sakurako
• Youtube: @emilys.richardson