A trumpeter and composer whose “skillset explodes every category,” (Nate Chinen) Steph Richards has “steadily established herself as one of the most engaging experimentalists” (Free Jazz Collective) and "proved herself a virtuoso of nonlinear trumpet playing" (Downbeat). Richards has earned recognition by recording with pioneering artists ranging from Henry Threadgill, Anthony Braxton and John Zorn to David Byrne, St. Vincent and Yoko Ono. Driven by a curiosity how listeners interact with music and what sensory variables are open to experimentation, her own compositions have featured across the US, Mexico, Canada and Europe and premiered on stages at Carnegie Hall, the Blue-note and Lincoln Center, to include various chamber works for carousel and choreographed ensemble, underwater percussion and 600 found objects. Her “spellbinding” (NPR) debut record Fullmoon (Relative Pitch Records) was hailed as a “bold pronouncement” by the New York Times and voted on multiple “Best of 2018” year end lists. Her “ingenious” (WBGO) 2019 record “Take The Neon Lights” has earned high praise, with NextBop calling the record "mesmerizing...fans of avant-garde jazz should definitely give this one a listen". Alongside trumpeter Dave Douglas Richards co-curates the Festival of New Trumpet (FONT Music) and is a Yamaha artist.