Zen Village, Miami

Zen Village, Miami is a gathering held at Zen Village, 3570 Main Highway, Miami, Florida. It is led by Vicki Richards, a violinist, improviser, composer and educator who is also listed as a yoga teacher. It suits anyone in Miami looking for a contemplative, music-rooted event led by a teacher with deep training in North Indian classical music.

The Gatherings

Zen Village is one of several Miami-area venues where this series has been held. Others include a campus on Biscayne Boulevard, a Unitarian Universalist church in southwest Miami, and a church in Miami Beach. The series has also reached New York City. Each gathering has its own location and listing, so check the schedule for the one you plan to attend.

About Vicki Richards

Vicki Richards has worked as a professional musician for more than four decades. Her roots and training span traditional North Indian raga, classical European music and electric fusion. She began playing professionally with an orchestra while also playing electric avant-garde fusion.

She started in her public school's instrumental program at the age of nine, encouraged by her musical father, and at fourteen knew that music was her calling. She later commissioned a custom-built solid-body electric violin. Her study of Hindustani music took her to Banaras, India, where she became a disciple of Pt. Amarnath Mishra and also studied with the violinist Dr. N. Rajam and with Pandit Sharda Sahai. Grants from the American Institute of Indian Studies and the Smithsonian Institution supported her time in India, and she later toured for the Festival of India.

That mix of raga discipline, Western classical training and improvisation shapes how she plays and teaches, and it is the reason to seek her out if you are drawn to Indian classical music or to a practice that listens as much as it moves.

The Place

Zen Village sits on Main Highway in Miami, Florida, in the 33133 postal area. Other gatherings in the series use different Miami venues, so confirm the address for the specific event you choose before you travel.