Jamilyn Richardson has established an active career as a violinist and music educator in the Phoenix area.
A native of Arizona, Jamilyn earned both a performance and music history degree from Arizona State University. She studied with Dr. Katherine McLin during her undergrad, and Dr. Danwen Jiang as a graduate student, while concurrently writing her master’s thesis under the direction of Dr. Sabine Feisst. Her former violin teachers include Dr. Frank Spinosa, Dr. Louise Scott, and Erich Eichhorn of the Cleveland Orchestra.
Active as a freelance violinist and orchestral musician, Jamilyn performs regularly with the West Valley Symphony, MusicaNova Orchestra, and the Sedona Symphony. She also enjoys playing with Arizona Opera, Phoenix Theater, and the Phoenix Chorale. As a chamber musician, she has worked with members of the Brentano, Juilliard, and St. Lawrence String Quartets, and often plays weddings and other special events around the Valley. Abroad, Jamilyn has performed at international music festivals such as InterHarmony International Music Festivals in Italy, Chengdu International Sister Cities Music Festival in China, and OperaMaya Orchestra in Mexico.
Maintaining a large private studio in the Valley since the early 2000s, Jamilyn’s students regularly participate in Regional and All-State honor ensembles, are members of the Metropolitan and Phoenix Youth Symphony orchestras, and participate in organizations such as the YOLA National Symphony orchestras. Several of her former students have pursued music studies at major universities, such as Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, and many other private colleges and universities around the country. Jamilyn also has experience as an orchestra director. Following her graduate degree, she became the Director of Orchestras at BASIS Ahwatukee, where she developed a string program, which continues to thrive under new direction. Subsequently, her passion for music history led her to accept an Adjunct Faculty position at Grand Canyon University, where she taught Violin, Chamber Music, String Technique, and Music History.