“I create music for performing musicians and seek to fully engage them as they learn and perform my compositions.” – Richard J. Chandler
Updates for this week of May 18, 2026
Featured Release:
May This Day Choral Collection
The May This Day choral collection began with a series of poems by Lawrence Schug that have stayed with Richard for many years. The collection includes both a capallea and accompanied works that are intentionally concise. They can open a concert, begin the second half after intermission, or close an evening with a sense of completion.
Explore All Compositions
Richard's compositions range from wind ensemble to solo piano, chamber orchestra works to saxophone duets.
About Richard
Richard J. Chandler's music is written for performing musicians. He is a Minnesota-based composer and performing musician whose work is shaped by a lifelong practice of listening—from the inside of an ensemble to the page of a score.
Trained as a woodwind player, Chandler has performed on saxophones, bassoon, contrabassoon, and recorders in chamber music ensembles and the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra and the Amadeus Chamber Symphony.
His studies include formal education at the McPhail Center for Music, St. John’s University, a BA in Music from St. Cloud State University, and graduate studies in music composition at the University of Minnesota. His composition teachers include Jerome Collier, Edward Turley, Alex Lubet, and Edie Hill.
He enjoys collaborating with the musicians who perform his works to co-create a rich, rewarding experience. Designed to engage musicians and audiences, Chandler’s work is accessible and rewarding to perform.