Richard Alvarado is a Band Director at Keller High School in Keller, Texas. Richard is a native of Mansfield, Texas, and a graduate of Lake Ridge High School. He graduated with Honors from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth and is currently a graduate student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

 

Prior to his appointment at Keller High School, Richard was a band director at Keller Middle School. Under his direction, the Keller Middle School Band notably performed as an invited ensemble at the 2022 TMEA Clinic & Convention, 2023 Midwest Band & Orchestra Clinic, was named 2nd Runner-Up in the 2023 TMEA CCC Honor Band Contest, and was invited to perform at the 2025 Music for All National Concert Band Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana.

 

Richard has also been extensively involved in the marching arts over the years. He spent three seasons as a member of the Bluecoats Drum & Bugle Corps from Canton, Ohio, earning the Outstanding Rookie Member award in 2017 and the Outstanding Brass Performer award in 2018. He has been a brass instructor for the Bluecoats since 2022. In 2024, the Bluecoats received their second DCI World Championship title as well as the organization's first ever Jim Ott Memorial Award for Excellence in Brass. Richard has also served as a consultant for the Gulf Breeze High School Marching Band in Gulf Breeze, Florida.

 

Richard is also an active tuba player, regularly performing around the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. A member of the Premier Lone Star Wind Orchestra under the direction of Eugene Corporon, he has also performed with the Dallas Winds under the direction of Jerry Junkin and guest conductor Col. Jason K. Fettig. In 2023, Richard performed as a featured soloist with the Keller Middle School Wind Ensemble at the Midwest International Band & Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, Illinois. He also serves as Principal Tuba of the Mansfield Philharmonic Orchestra and Mansfield Wind Symphony under the director of Brian Merrill.

 

During his time at TCU, he served as Principal Tuba of the TCU School of Music and Drum Major of The Pride of TCU Marching Band. His time in the TCU Wind Symphony and TCU Symphony Orchestra included performances at the Texas Music Educators Association Convention with both ensembles, the American Bandmasters Association Convention, and the College Band Directors National Association Conference. His tuba-euphonium quartet also earned the Bronze Medal at the 2018 South-Central Regional Tuba & Euphonium Conference. His collegiate mentors include Richard Murrow, Bobby R. Francis, Brian Youngblood, and Dr. Laura Singletary.

 

His professional affiliations include the Texas Music Educators Association, International Tuba-Euphonium Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, and Kappa Kappa Psi. Outside of teaching, Richard enjoys serving in the music ministry at his church, traveling, spending time with family, and all things college football. His wife Rachel is an elementary music teacher, and they have two cats: Pumpkin and Maple.