Director Biography
Dr. Richard Perez earned his Bachelor of Music (BM), Master of Music (MM) and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degrees in Music Education from the University of Southern California, Thornton School of Music. He is entering his 21st year of teaching music in the Capistrano Unified School District. As a traveling music teacher in his first eight years, he gained experience teaching music in grades K-12. His primary teaching home has been Marco Forster Middle School, in San Juan Capistrano, where he now works full time. Dr. Perez had the opportunity to work with and learn from many outstanding CUSD music teachers throughout the district. The ensembles he has taught include: Concert Band, Orchestra, Jazz Band, Marching Band, Brass Ensemble, Musical Pit Orchestra, Choir, Rock Band and of course Mariachi. Dr. Perez has also worked with the USC Trojan Marching Band.
Dr. Perez’s primary instrument is trumpet. Although his professional foci are educator, writer, and arranger, he continues to perform as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers Band at the Lakers home games. His most notable performances include: the 2010 BET Awards, 2003 Chinese New Year Parade in Hong Kong, China, the 2002 Emmy Awards, and a Performance for First Lady Laura Bush at the U.S. Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic in 2002.
In the summer of 2012, Dr. Perez presented his master’s thesis entitled Middle School Instrumental Music Students’ Perceptions of Their Practice Habits and Influences at the 30th International Society for Music Education Conference in Thessaloniki, Greece. In 2014, he attended the 31st ISME Conference in Porto Alegre, Brazil. In 2016, he attended the 32nd ISME Conference in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2022, he presented his doctorate dissertation at the 35th ISME Conference, A Crafted Intergenerational Band: A Bounded Case Study of Participant Experiences, which is published and available for download through USC libraries and ProQuest.
Dr. Perez is the recipient of the 2012 Music Education Department Award at USC and the 2015 Marco Forster Middle School Teacher of the Year. He is a member of the International Society for Music Education (ISME), the Southern California School Band & Orchestra Association (SCSBOA), the All-Discipline Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, and Pi Kappa Lambda (National Music Honor Society).
Dr. Perez is especially grateful for the expertise, guidance and support of Bradley Reyes, Mariachi Nuevo Capistrano, and the instructors of José Hernández’s Mariachi Nationals.