CONDUCTOR / MUSIC DIRECTOR
Richard is the Music Director for THEATRE UCF’S PRODUCTION OFUrinetown in October 2025 and One Man, Two Guvnors in February 2026; he will serve as Musical Supervisor for Legally Blonde, which will be produced as part of UCF Celebrates the Arts at the Dr. Phillips Center in April 2026.
In the Summer of 2024 Richard was Festival Music Director for the Texas Shakespeare Festival. He conducted Sweeney Todd and was MD/onstage pianist for Peter and the Starcatcher. In June 2024 he presented a vocal musical theatre workshop / masterclass at North Texas Performing Arts Summer Intensive in Plano, TX.
In April 2024 Richard conducted Sweeney Todd with a full 24 piece orchestra in the Disney Theater at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Orlando as part of UCF Celebrates the Arts.
Crawley has extensive experience as a music director in opera, musical theatre and choral repertoire — having a particular interest in promoting new works that lift up the stories of under-represented groups. A project particularly close to his heart was music directing a workshop of Start From Hello, a new musical at the Syracuse University Department of Drama with book & music by SU alumna Michaela Vivona. The show features a cast of 4 female identifying characters and centers around LGBTQ+ themes. This musical went on to be presented in concert at The Green Room 42 in NYC on September 7, 2025. Richard is grateful to have played a small part in this show’s journey.
During the 2023-24 season, Richard was Music Supervisor for Peter and the Starcatcher and vocal music coach for Metamorphoses at UCF. In the spring of 2023 season, he was Vocal Director for Bright Star at the University of Central Florida, and Music Supervisor for the Reach for the Stars: UCF Alumni Showcase at the Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando as part of UCF Celebrates the Arts. Also during the 2022-23 season, he produced and directed two Cabaret Evenings featuring MT students at UCF in collaboration with instrumentalists from the UCF School of Music, both students and faculty.
Other MD/conducting highlights include Into the Woods, Godspell, A Little Night Music, Songs for a New World, Verdi's Macbeth, Don Giovanni, Red, Hot and Cole, Candide, Schubert’s Mass No.2 in G and Weill's Threepenny Opera. Richard has also directed a variety of opera and musical theatre scenes programs at educational institutions including Syracuse University, Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, Loyola College, Utica College and Binghamton University. He is a classically trained pianist and teaches college level courses in music theory, sight-singing/ear-training, score analysis & musical theater performance.
PC: Mckenzie Lakey
