Richard Greene is an educator (public policy and social statistics) along with being the creator and webmaster for Classical Music Recordings of Black Composers: A Reference Guide. A resident of Ardmore, he has developed one of the most comprehensive lists of accomplished Black composers whose achievements are, for the most part, ignored in the classical world.

We are sitting down to lunch at Azure Restaurant in Northern Liberties on what turned out to be the one year anniversary of philadelphiaclassicalmusic.com. One of Richard's passions is classical music. "There was always music in our house growing up. My father’s choice of music leaned towards classical; he listened to Scheherazade a lot and to the Paul Whiteman Orchestra.

I started piano lesson when I was five and went through a positive rebellion when I was twelve and started playing the violin. There was just something about the sound of strings".

Classical Music Recordings of Black Composers has been online for almost eight years. It now includes recorded works of 130 composers. In the 1970's, CBS released a collection of nine records of Black Composers. The impact from this music had a profound affect on Richard. "All of my years of playing strings, I’ve never heard of these guys. In terms of the late 50's and 60's, the civil rights movement is part of who I am. I never thought of extending it into my musical life. It opened my eyes". This new awareness exposed Richard to the work the Detroit Symphony was doing with composers like Hale Smith, T.J. Anderson, and Nigerian composer Fela Şowándé, in the late 1980's.

Researching and collecting information about the composers and their work, in this information age is not easy or readily available. "Most of the information I find is through detective work in libraries". While he admits that he didn’t do this to take on the cause of Black classical musicians, he finds himself in that role at times. "I recognize I am a rare individual with this focus. I get calls from musicians asking if I could help them. I am also exposed to a lot of new talent. This season, for example, the Chamber Music Society will present a concert by Imani Winds. I like them very much. There is a lot of talent in that group. I also have composers send me information on recordings I didn't know about".

The decision to call the site Classical Music Recordings of Black Composers wasn’t an easy decision. "It’s unfortunate that composers have to be labeled as Black composers as opposed to just composers. The label is a necessity, however, to bring attention to the work of these musicians in classical music. Most of the composers are European trained and carry on those traditions. You don’t hear this music and say "he must be a black guy." Instead, you hear the period of Bach, of Mozart or the period the composer is from".