The St. Louis Symphony is stricken by the loss of our dear friend and colleague, Richard Ashburner. Richard served as manager of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus for more than 20 years. He also worked closely with the Education and Community Partnerships Program, using his expertise in professional development to help musicians create effective classroom presentations in schools throughout the region.
Until Richard retired a couple years ago, his day job was with the Special School District of St. Louis County, for which he helped teachers become better teachers. So for over two decades, Richard would come to Powell Hall in the late afternoon or early evening, to whichever office he was allotted--he would joke that he'd been in nearly every office space in the building--and engage in the many large and small tasks involved in managing a 140-member chorus.
So Richard did a lot, tirelessly, graciously--and most of the things he did involved helping others, and in many ways helping others to better themselves, whether it was a chorus member whose confidence was waning, or a musician who was having trouble communicating with schoolchildren, or a second grader, who suddenly grasped a musical idea.
Richard was a delight to be around, to work with, to joke with, to drink too many bottles of wine with. He knew what truly mattered, in work and in life. He would return from his travels--to Prague, to Italy, to Costa Rica--and you'd see him glowing with the experiences he had there, and he'd share them with you, stories that were fascinating and funny and meaningful.
You'll find many thoughts and remembrances of Richard over the coming days all over the social media, and each one will give an impression that will go toward making a portrait. It will never be complete, but it will give a sense of how Richard inspired us, and still does.
