Richard Begel has been a trombonist with the Dayton Philharmonic since 2003, Southwest Ohio Philharmonic since 2014, and he is in the Miami Valley Klezmer Ensemble, Malarkey, Trombones of Dayton, and The Greater Dayton Brass Ensemble.  He is a frequent substitute for the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus and in the summer of 2018 joined the Lancaster Festival Orchestra.  He has performed as a substitute with other ensembles such as the Naples Opera, Southwest Florida Symphony, Charlotte Symphony (FL), the Klezmer Company Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony, Columbus Symphony, Boston Ballet, Alabama Symphony, Kentucky Symphony, Summit Brass, Canadian Brass, Scythian, Enter the Haggis, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, The Beach Boys, The Indigo Girls, The Temptations, Sarah McLachlan, John Pizzarelli, Arturo Sandoval, & others.  He is a former member of the Springfield Symphony, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Tanglewood Festival, National Repertory Orchestra, Spoleto Festival, And Festival of Two Worlds (Italy).

Rich has been a soloist with the Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra, the Kettering Seventh Day Adventist Church Band, the Sinclair Community College Band, the Northwest Indiana Symphony, a chamber orchestra in Anchorage, Alaska, and he performs solo jazz at retirement facilities and Klezmer music at Jewish facilities.

Rich teaches Music Technology, Music Appreciation, and Low Brass at Sinclair Community College; Low Brass & Brass Choir Director at Earlham College; Low Brass at Indiana University East and Spring Valley Academy; and Brass at the Miami Valley School.  He has been a clinician for Sinclair, Valparaiso University, University of Alaska Anchorage, the USAF Band of the Pacific in Anchorage, the Raphael Mendez Brass Institute, & more.  Rich has taught at the Park City International Chamber Music Festival (UT), Pine Mountain Music Festival (MI), & other festivals.  In addition, Rich has been public-school certified in three states and taught general music, orchestra, and brass class.

He is the author of A Modern Guide for Trombonists & Other Musicians & the editor of Intonation Repair Tool (first edition). His students are now in youth orchestras, colleges & conservatories (on scholarship), professional performers, teachers, & administrators.

Rich received his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education & Performance from The Crane School of Music at The State University of New York at Potsdam and a Master of Music degree from New England Conservatory.  He later did doctoral work at Michigan State University.  Rich’s instruments include the trombone, alto trombone, and euphonium.