JAVS Summer 2026

The project had a profound personal impact on Young. In his bestselling 2005 book Echoes From Calvary , he described the experience as both a musical and spiritual journey: For many of us, life’s important answers are elusive. But even before the destination is reached, we appreciate that the process itself can yield a certain assurance. As we discern which questions to ask, as we learn how to ask them more intelligently and creatively, we see that the answers become not only more obvious but more valuable. Within the quartet, Young was widely regarded as a stabilizing presence. “His dedication and preparation set a high standard,” recalled Ashkenasi. “And he had a great sense of humor and was good at defusing tension and finding compromise.” Mathias Tacke, who joined the quartet in 1992, similarly remembered Young’s commitment to fairness and collaboration: “Richard was always very concerned that everyone should get a vote. In that sense he was an advocate for the weak—just like he is outside the quartet.” Young often described his years with the Vermeer as a dream job: “I felt very lucky to be doing what I was doing,” he said. His younger brother once gave him a coffee mug inscribed, “Success is doing what you love. Success is loving what you do,” a sentiment Young felt aptly described his life. Yet even amid extraordinary professional accomplishments, he felt a persistent need to give something back. Part of that impulse reflected the humility he had learned from Gingold, his teacher at Indiana University. Part may have stemmed from an awareness that talent and hard work alone do not always determine professional outcomes: “I was well aware of talented people who worked every bit as hard as I did, and might have been just as deserving. But maybe they weren’t in the right place at the right time. I felt I had to continue to earn my success by paying back.” That conviction would increasingly shape the next phase of his career, transforming artistic accomplishment into a broader commitment to teaching, mentorship, and service.

The Expansion of The Deal Young’s commitment to “paying back” took concrete form in 1986 when he learned of a community music school serving underprivileged children in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. Founded by the Juilliard-trained pianist and former Dominican nun Rita Simo, the People’s Music School provided free music instruction to students whose families often lacked access to private lessons. Rather than charging tuition, the school required students or family members to contribute through volunteer service. “He was the most enthusiastic musician I ever saw,” recalled Simo, who passed away in 2020. “He had a strong desire to help students who didn’t have money. He’d come by every week to teach string classes and chamber music, judge student recitals, organize master classes and juries, recruit and train teachers, and bring in guest performers. And he never accepted a penny.” In addition to teaching, Young helped raise funds for the school’s expansion and became a strong advocate for its mission within Chicago’s musical community. His philosophy was clearly reflected in his remarks at the groundbreaking for the school’s new building: Let’s be frank: the People’s Music School is not going to remove a single one of the obstacles that seriously jeopardize the futures of too many young people. But it can illuminate a path around some of these obstacles. It does so not just by offering free music lessons, but by stressing discipline and initiative, by encouraging excellence, and by demanding responsibility. These themes—discipline, excellence, responsibility, and service—would become recurring principles throughout Young’s teaching and mentorship. Around the same time, Young became deeply involved with Chicago’s International Music Foundation. Through programs such as the Do-It-Yourself Messiah, the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series, and Live Music Now!, he found additional opportunities to connect performance, education, and community engagement. After reading about the school in a Chicago newspaper, Young immediately volunteered.

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

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