Conductor

Dr. Marguerite Richardson

Marguerite Richardson holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, a Master of Music degree from the University of South Carolina, and a Doctor of Music in Music Performance degree from The Florida State University. Currently, Dr. Richardson is Professor of Music and Director of Orchestral Studies at Jacksonville University (JU), where she teaches courses in Orchestral Conducting, Violin and Viola Pedagogy, and Violin and Viola Literature, as well as coaching the Honors String Quartet and teaching the violin and viola studios. Additionally, she conducts the Jacksonville University Orchestra and Camerata. Dr. Richardson performs as violinist in the Kinne Trio with JU colleagues Dr. Shannon Lockwood, cello and Dr. Scott Watkins, piano. The group’s debut recording features works by composers Clara Schumann and Amy Beach (available on Amazon). In February of 2017, Dr. Richardson made her international conducting début with the Piccadilly Symphony Orchestra in a series of performances in Manchester, England. She presented at the National Conference of the College Orchestra Directors Association (CODA) in 2014, 2017, 2019, 2024, and 2025, and served as President of CODA in 2022-2023, hosting the 2023 CODA National Conference on the campus of Jacksonville University.

Known around the state of Florida as an enthusiastic educator, Dr. Richardson presented at the Florida Music Education Association (FMEA) State Conference in 2018, and conducted a performance of the Jacksonville University Orchestra at the Florida Orchestra Association (FOA)/Florida American String Teachers Association (FLASTA) Fall Professional Development Conference as the invited ensemble for 2018. Her presentation at the 2023 FOA/FLASTA Fall Conference titled The Geometry of Intonation: Shaping the Approach to the Fingerboard reflects her interest in the integration of mathematical concepts to string teaching. Dr. Richardson has conducted the 9 th /10 th Grade Honors Orchestra for Hillsborough County, the FSU Philharmonia, the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestra, and, in 2025, conducted the All State 9 th -12 th Grade Honors Orchestra at the state FMEA Conference. Dr. Richardson has been conductor of the Civic Orchestra of Jacksonville since the fall of 2016, a community ensemble which serves northeast Florida by providing free access to symphonic music at venues throughout the Jacksonville area. Since 2017 she has served as co-director of the JU Summer Chamber Music Intensive, along with Shannon Lockwood and Scott Watkins. In 2012 and 2014, Dr. Richardson was a Visiting Foreign Scholar at Beifang University (Yin Chuan, China) where she presented solo recitals, taught master classes and private lessons, and worked with the Beifang University Orchestra. Prior to her appointment at JU, Dr. Richardson taught at the University of North Florida, where she began the string program and created the University of North Florida Orchestra, and was a full-time member of the Jacksonville Symphony as a violinist.