JAVS Summer 2026

Figure 1. Richard Young.

This article examines Young’s career as violist, teacher, and mentor, and explores how The Deal became a pedagogical philosophy that influenced generations of students both within and beyond the viola community. What’s Important About The Deal? Despite the Vermeer’s demanding schedule—scores of concerts a year, numerous recording projects, a residency at Northern Illinois University, a teaching fellowship at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England, and summer residencies throughout North America and Europe—Young consistently devoted significant time to teaching and mentoring young musicians. He helped students secure teachers, scholarships, and performance opportunities, often working with those who lacked financial resources. He accepted no compensation for these efforts, but his guidance came with one expectation: students were asked to commit themselves to The Deal. The impact of this commitment can be seen in the testimony of many former students. Violinist Deborah Wanderley dos Santos won a position with the São Paulo State Symphony in her native Brazil, then earned a master’s degree from Harvard, and is now completing a doctorate at Northeastern University in Boston. The subject of her doctoral research focuses on how to leverage music education to support cognitive development, specifically in communities where children face adversity. She credits Young with helping shape both her career and her sense of purpose, stating “he changed my life, and the lives of many other kids.” Mariel Godoy, now one of Chilie’s top violists, described Young’s mentorship as transformative: “Richard helped me grow

as a musician and as a human being through lessons that were not just insightful and inspiring, but empowering.”

Such responses raise an important question: What made Young’s influence so enduring? Beyond his accomplishments as a performer and pedagogue, his career offers a compelling case study in mentorship, service, and the transmission of values through music education. Throughout his teaching, Young has emphasized not only artistic excellence but also responsibility to others, encouraging students to view their own success as an opportunity to serve. foreshadow the extensive outreach and mentorship work that would later define much of his career. He grew up in Port Washington, New York, on Long Island’s north shore. Both of his parents were amateur musicians. His father, an airline pilot, had played piano in a dance band as a young man, while his mother, who had attended music school, became his first piano teacher when he was four years old. A year later he began studying violin. Although he showed early promise as a musician— including performing for Queen Elisabeth of Belgium at age thirteen—he did not initially envision a professional musical career. More interested in athletics, he imagined following Duke Snider as center fielder for the Brooklyn Dodgers. His commitment to music deepened in high school when he began studying with the distinguished violinist Aaron Rosand. “That’s when I got the bug,” Young recalled. Early Life and Musical Formation At first glance, little in Young’s early life seems to

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Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 42, Summer 2026 Online Issue