Mr. Richard Ney is the orchestra director of the Ephrata High School and Middle School Orchestras. During his tenure at Ephrata, Mr. Ney has had the privilege of taking students to County, District, Regional, State, All Eastern, and National level festivals. In 2000, Mr. Ney submitted a student string quartet recording to PMEA for review that was then selected to perform at the PMEA Convention in Pittsburgh, PA. In addition to local performances, in 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2025, he and the Ephrata HS orchestra toured to London, England for masterclasses and performances.

Mr. Ney graduated from Temple University's Esther Boyer College of Music with a double degree in Viola Performance and Music Education. In 2001, Mr. Ney completed his Masters of Music degree in Viola Performance from West Chester University. In addition to teaching at Ephrata, Mr. Ney performs in the viola section of the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra. He also performs as Principal Viola with Allegro Orchestra of Lancaster as well as freelances in the southcentral PA area. As a conductor, Mr. Ney is the former conductor of the Reading Symphony Junior String Orchestra. He held this position for 11 years and was the first conductor of the ensemble, which had its first season in 1998-99. Mr. Ney has served as conductor for PMEA, LLMEA, and OCMEA (NY) Orchestra Festivals and is the former Adjunct Professor of Violin and Viola at Elizabethtown College. In 2001, Mr. Ney joined the faculty of the Strings Excell Camp held at Elizabethtown College where he conducted the orchestra and coached chamber music. In 2013, Mr. Ney took on the role as Camp Director and retired from the camp in 2019. Mr. Ney lives in Lebanon with his wife Debra, and children Madeleine, Ryan, Andrew, and Goldendoodle Bentley.