Richard Will received his bachelor’s degree from U.C. Santa Cruz and his doctorate from Cornell. He joined UVa in 2001, teaching courses on opera, 18th-century music, and bluegrass performance. He is currently Chair of the Drama Department (2018-24) and was previously Chair of the Music Department (2010-15).

Will’s research focuses on opera, classical music, and folk music of America and Europe. His new book, "Don Giovanni" Captured: Performance, Media, Myth (University of Chicago Press), appears in 2022. Previous publications include The Characteristic Symphony in the Age of Haydn and Beethoven (Cambridge University Press, 2002); Engaging Haydn: Culture, Context, and Criticism (co-editor; Cambridge University Press, 2012); and numerous essays on opera, orchestral music, religious music, and folk music.

A fiddler and singer, Will performs frequently around Charlottesville and central Virginia.