Richard Octaviano Kogima is a Brazilian conductor, composer and pianist currently based in Zurich, Switzerland. Richard has performed throughout Brazil, United States and Europe in venues that include: Tonhalle Maag and Tonhalle Kleiner Saal (Zurich), Salle Cortot (Paris), University Aula (Oslo), Howard Performing Arts Center (USA) and Sala São Paulo (Brazil). He was invited by Herbert Blomstedt to accompany and support him in a 6 weeks USA Tour with the main American orchestras, and had the opportunity to learn closely from Mr. Blomstedt during this period. Blomstedt's influence has impacted Richard’s development in countless ways. Since then, he enjoyed successful debuts such as conducting the season opening of the Neojiba Orchestra, as well as conducting the Orchestra Experimental at Sala São Paulo and the São Paulo University Orchestra. In 2023 Richard was an active participant at the Järvi Conducting Academy, training with Paavo, Neeme, and Kristjan Järvi. He has also taken part in masterclasses with Johannes Schlaefli and Marc Kissoczy. A laureate of several international piano competitions, Richard most recently received the “Nelson Freire Award” at the Geza Anda Piano Competition. He initially trained as a concert pianist under Konstantin Scherbakov at the Zurich University of Arts and then studied choir conducting at the same institution with Markus Utz. He also holds a Diplome Superieur d’Execution from Ecole Normal de Musique de Paris Alfred Cortot. In 2019 Richard received a Medal of Honor from the Association internationale pour la défense de la liberté religieuse in Geneva after performing a series of concerts dedicated to this cause.