BIOGRAPHY
Richard Dawson is the Director of Music at Barnard Castle School in County Durham, Prior to this, Richard was the Deputy Director of Music & Head of Academic Music at Brighton College, Musical Director of the Esterházy Chamber Choir and Director of Music and Organist at St Paul’s Church, Brighton.
Richard read music at the University of Oxford, where he was also the Organ Scholar at Keble College. He was also organist at the Church of St Mary Magdalen, Oxford, Conductor and Manager of the Oxford University Student Chorus, and Founder and Director of the 8-16 voice chamber choir, the Henry Ley Singers.
Richard is in demand as an organ recitalist, liturgical organist, piano accompanist, choral conductor, and tutor of organ, piano and music theory.
Richard read music at the University of Oxford, where he was also the Organ Scholar at Keble College. He was also organist at the Church of St Mary Magdalen, Oxford, Conductor and Manager of the Oxford University Student Chorus, and Founder and Director of the 8-16 voice chamber choir, the Henry Ley Singers.
Richard is in demand as an organ recitalist, liturgical organist, piano accompanist, choral conductor, and tutor of organ, piano and music theory.
Choral Conductor |
Richard is currently the Director of Music at Barnard Castle School where he conducts the Chapel Choir, Chamber Choir and Choral Society.
Whilst at Oxford University, Richard founded and directed the Henry Ley Singers, a chamber choir comprised of 8-16 young singers. Under Richard, the choir performed several concerts in Keble College Chapel, including a concert for the Britten in Oxford festival in 2013. They also sang for services in Ely Cathedral, and recorded their first CD, 'The Leaves of Life', which featured music by Benjamin Britten and Clive Russell. Whilst at Oxford, Richard was also Conductor and Manager of the Oxford University Student Chorus (the largest student choir in Oxford), and regularly conducted the Chapel Choir at Keble College for their three weekly services. During his time in Brighton, Richard was the Musical Director of the Esterházy Chamber Choir and Director of Music and Organist at St Paul's Church, Brighton, where he conducted the choir for the weekly Sunday Mass. Recent conducting highlights include Bach's St John Passion and Haydn's The Creation with the London Mozart Players. Richard has studied conducting with Paul Spicer, Edward Higginbottom and Ralph Allwood. "Dawson’s direction is brimming with a musical maturity rooted in a deep emotional connection with the music..." Jake Robert Barlow, Online review of 'The Leaves of Life', 2015 |
Organist |
Prior to his roles at Barnard Castle School, Brighton College and St Paul's Church, Brighton, Richard held organist posts at Keble College, Oxford (Organ Scholar), Sherborne Abbey (Organ Scholar) and the Church of St Mary Magdalen, Oxford (Organist). During his time at Keble College, Richard accompanied the choir for their 3 weekly services, numerous tours and recordings (including a recording of Duruflé Requiem and Vierne Messe Solenelle) as well as for the College’s first live broadcast of Choral Evensong on BBC Radio 3.
As an organist, prizes awarded to Richard for his playing include the Michael Popkin Memorial Award for the highest marks in all organ classes at the Oxford Festival, and the Douglas May Prize for outstanding playing at the Oundle International Organ Festival. He has accompanied choral services in such venues as York Minster, Wells Cathedral and Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, and has recently accompanied the Brighton College Chapel Choir for an appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs. Richard has performed in a solo capacity at Westminster Cathedral, Birmingham Town Hall, Alexandra Palace, London, The Queens’ College, Oxford and Exeter College, Oxford. He has recently improvised a live organ accompaniment to the silent film The Phantom of the Opera in Brighton. Richard is an Associate of the Royal College of Organists, and has studied the organ with Stephen Farr, Andrew Fletcher and Toby Barnard. "Our organist was simply outstanding – such subtlety in his accompanying the choir, and his Toccata, mind-blowing. He's an excellent player." James Llewelyn Jones, Musical Director of the Canoldir Male Choir & Midlands Hospitals' Choirs (Following three performances at Birmingham Town Hall, December 2016) "Deft and brilliant, that's @richardjdawson" Ed Hughes, Head of the Music Department and Professor of Composition, University of Sussex (Following a performance of Professor Hughes' Chaconne for Jonathan Harvey for solo organ) "Richard Dawson seems to be at the beginning of his career, but he is an astonishingly good organist. An unfamiliar organ, an unfamiliar choir, a very difficult work, but he seemed the perfect accompanist." Patricia Kitto (Review of Bach St John Passion from Barnet Parish Church, 2015) |
