Richard Kaufman has devoted much of his musical life to conducting and supervising music for film and television productions, as well as performing film and classical music in concert halls and on recordings. The 2018-2019 concert season marked his 27th season as Principal Pops Conductor of Orange County’s Pacific Symphony. He holds the permanent title of Pops Conductor Laureate with the Dallas Symphony, and is in his 13th season with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert series, “CSO at the Movies.” Mr. Kaufman regularly appears as a guest conductor with symphony orchestras throughout both the United States, and in May, 2015, made his conducting debut with the Boston Pops, substituting for John Williams at the Annual Pops Film Night.
As a violinist, Mr. Kaufman performed on numerous film and television scores including Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Saturday Night Fever, and (in a moment of desperation) Animal House. He has recorded with artists including John Denver, Burt Bacharach, Neil Sedaka, The Carpenters, Neil Diamond, and Ray Charles.
Mr. Kaufman joined the Music Department of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios in 1984 as Music Coordinator, and for the next 18 years supervised music for all MGM television and animation projects. He received two Emmy Award nominations, one for the animated series “The Pink Panther” in the category of Outstanding Music Direction and Composition, and another for Outstanding Original Song co-authored for the series “All Dogs Go to Heaven.”
In April, 2012, Mr. Kaufman received the “Distinguished Alumni Award” from his alma mater, California State University Northridge, where he earned a B.A. in Music. While a student at CSUN, he composed the University’s Alma Mater and Fight Song.
Mr. Kaufman will speak on Friday, July 3