In 1962 he and a quartet featuring the organist Lou Snider recorded two LP albums for the Canadian Talent Library Trust.

He started his performance career at the age of eight working as a violin soloist on radio programs in Ottawa and Hull.

After World War II he pursued further violin studies in Toronto with Elie Spivak in 1946 and Albert Pratz in the mid-1950s.

[3] From the 1950s through the 1990s, Richards spent most of his career working in Toronto recording studios as a contractor and/or concertmaster for radio and television programs and various orchestras.

He also composed scores for several CBC productions, including Sleeping Beauty (1957), I Knock on the Door (1968), and So Great a Sweetness (1969).