Richard Sparks

Richard Andrew Sparks (born August 29, 1950) is an American choral conductor. He is one of the leading figures in choral music in the Pacific Northwest and in Scandinavian, especially Swedish a cappella, choral music.

Sparks was raised in Seattle, Washington. He graduated from Shorecrest High School, and he received a bachelor of music in 1976 and a master of music in 1980, both from the University of Washington. While an undergraduate, Sparks founded Seattle Pro Musica, which he led until 1980. During this time, Seattle Pro Musica became known as a leader in the "authentic performance" of Baroque music, especially Johann Sebastian Bach's. Sparks conducted Seattle Pro Musica in Claudio Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 at St. Mark's Cathedral and Handel's Messiah. In the early 1980s, Sparks grew interested in Swedish choral music and the work of conductor Eric Ericson. He received doctor of musical arts in choral conducting from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and his doctoral dissertation on postwar Swedish choral music was later published as The Swedish Choral Miracle.