Dr. Richards is an enthusiastic art and music lover and supporter of activities such as the Tiromoana Summer Concerts and the New Zealand School of Music Composer in Residence.

“Composers are often dependent upon commissions to enable them to devote time to full-time work on significant pieces. Many famous works in the musical repertoire resulted from private commissions, and in recent years I have begun sponsoring a range of both small-scale as well as larger-scale works by New Zealand (or New Zealand-based) composers, in order to help them enrich the New Zealand musical landscape.”