As an active performer, Rico has performed at various venues across the United States and Europe including Carnegie Hall in New York City and the Congress Hall in Schladming, Austria. As an advocate of chamber music, Rico is co-founder of the Lotus saxophone quartet where he currently holds the soprano saxophone chair. Being a huge proponent of music education, Rico currently has a private saxophone studio where he teaches both classical and jazz students of all ages around the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. As an advocate for diversity, his dissertation, Total Praise: An Analysis and Performance Guide of Come As You Are (2020) by Steven Banks, and ongoing research center on broadening the horizons of saxophone repertoire by championing works from underrepresented communities, thus cultivating a diverse and inclusive musical landscape. Rico is currently on faculty at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music as Adjunct Instructor where he teaches Jazz Appreciation and Hip Hop History and Culture. He also serves as Adjunct Saxophone Instructor at Tarleton State University and the University of Texas at Tyler where he also teaches Fine Arts Appreciation and conducts Jazz Ensemble II. Rico earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Performance with a related field in Wind Conducting from the University of North Texas College of Music.