Richard Kapp, born on October 9, 1936 in Chicago, Illinois, was an American conductor. He earned a BA in German political history at Johns Hopkins University in 1957 and a Fulbright fellowship to study conducting, composition, and piano at the Stuttgart Staatliche Hochschule für Musik, later serving as a vocal coach at Basel Stadttheater. In 1963 he became music director of the Opera Theater of the Manhattan School of Music, and in 1968 founded the chamber orchestra Philharmonia Virtuosi of New York, leading it until his death. The ensemble released recordings such as Bach: Brandenburg Concertos (1984) and Vivaldi's Favorites, Vol. 1 (Six Concertos For Diverse Instruments) (1992), and performed at venues including the Performing Arts Center at the State University of New York at Purchase. Kapp died from cancer on June 4, 2006 in Danbury, Connecticut.
