All my music now in one place:

The 2021 Quadfecta of new music:

I am Richard Ball, a multi-instrumentalist out of Evergreen, Colorado. I have specialized in learning woodwinds and other instruments from around the world. I have traveled extensively through the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Native America, collecting instruments, learning how to play them, and, especially, learning about the history and traditions of the instruments and the roles they play in the cultures who cherish them. I combine my understanding of these world instruments and traditions with modern jazz, in which I was trained, and which I still perform.

I have played since I was four years old and sat at the family piano. Since then, I have developed some level of proficiency on over 100 instruments. I have most thoroughly studied techniques and theory and philosophy of the North Indian bamboo flute (bansuri), the Native American Flute, and the Japanese Shakuhachi and the Australian didgeridoo. I have also studied flamenco theory.

Beginning as a performer, playing in jazz and rock bands, and playing for musicals and other forms of entertainment, my travels and studies through Native America allowed me to discover the spiritual and healing wonders of music. As I have worked to integrate these two disparate concepts, I have recently completed a course of study through The Intercultural University of Mexico, and am one of five Americans to hold a certificate in Vibrational Sound Healing through this institution.

My journey continues to take me to explore the many traditions and uses of sound. I have also studied ancient vocal techniques, such as throat singing from Central Asia and Tuva, Tibetan deep throat chanting, and Sanskrit Mantra chanting.