Richard Durrant
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Richard Durrant Dip RCM, ARCM, FLCM (born Brighton, Sussex, 2 November 1962) is an
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
guitarist and composer. He studied guitar,
cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...
, and composition at the
Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performanc ...
in London between 1981 and 1986. Since his debut at the
Purcell Room The Purcell Room is a concert and performance venue which forms part of the Southbank Centre, one of central London's leading cultural complexes. It is named after the 17th century English composer Henry Purcell and has 370 seats. The Purcell Roo ...
, London in July 1986. Richard Durrant has gained an international reputation as one of the great guitarists of his generation. He has pursued both performance and composition in an unconventional career that has avoided categorisation and he has built a faithful, ever expanding audience who warm to his unpretentious manner and natural skills of communication. He is one of the only classical guitar virtuosi who performs standing up.


Work

Durrant’s compositions include ‘The Girl at the Airport’ (for guitar and strings released 2016, recorded with the City of Prague Philharmonic Strings July 2015), ‘Cycling Music’ (for guitar, sequencers and bicycle percussion, released 2014), ‘The Polar Bear’ (for solo guitar with narrator, released 2013 and featuring the voice of Barry Cryer), ’Wilbury Summer’ (released 1997), ‘The Rucenitsa Guitar Quartet' (flute, guitar, viola and cello) and 'Superluminal' (voice, guitar, string-quartet & electronics). There is also a very early Clarinet Sonata (1982) and other instrumental works including numerous guitar solos (‘La Isla del Paraguay’, ‘Apreton de Manos’, ‘The Early Learning Sonata’), children’s songs and folk tunes as well as music for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, including the BBC1 skating penguins logo & music for the CBBC cartoon series ‘Metalheads' (Telemagination). Richard Durrant has written, and sung, numerous songs for BBC Schools TV programmes Numbertime and Watch. He has also produced recordings for other artists including The
Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain (UOGB) is a British musical ensemble founded in 1985 by George Hinchliffe and Kitty Lux as a bit of fun. The orchestra features ukuleles of various sizes and registers from soprano to bass. The UOGB is ...
(‘The Secret of Life’ 2004) and
Don Partridge Donald Eric Partridge (27 October 1941 – 21 September 2010)Report of death< ...
(‘The Highwayman’ 2002). In the early 1990s Durrant toured as lead guitarist with the band
Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...
. This was their last UK tour. Venues included the Barbican and The Royal Festival Hall, London. He went on to perform regularly with
Herbie Flowers Brian Keith "Herbie" Flowers (born 19 May 1938) is an English musician specialising in electric bass, double bass and tuba. He is noted as a member of Blue Mink, T. Rex and Sky. Flowers has contributed to recordings by Elton John (''Tumblewe ...
. /sup> One of his more challenging performances is a reinterpretation of Steve Reich's Electric Counterpoint for soloist and 20 pre-recorded guitars. His concerts are difficult to categorise as he covers many styles and often includes improvisations and electronic treatments – but he is, at his core, a classical performer.


Career

By the time he attended the
Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performanc ...
, Richard Durrant was an experienced performer with a growing reputation. The fact that he spent much of his time at college singing
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
songs in London's tube stations hinted that this musician was unlikely to follow a conventional route through the profession. Indeed, following his debut recital at the
South Bank, London The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Albert E ...
in 1986, Richard turned sharply left and pursued his diverse interests in electro/acoustic music, improvisation, composition and multi-media. These interests have, in part, contributed to Durrant treading a difficult and at times solitary path through the music business. His career, firmly outside the classical establishment, is noteworthy as much for its display of versatility as this musician's tendency towards perfectionism. For several years Durrant toured a solo show billed as "Richard Durrant – The Guitar Whisperer". The show used projections of specially commissioned, short films as occasional backdrops in this multi-media entertainment which was built around a classical guitar recital. Durrant also likes to include his striking interpretations of music by
J.S. Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...
on ‘wrong’ instruments such as banjo, tenor guitar and
ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...
. In 2014 Durrant released his minimalist styled album ''Cycling Music''. To promote the album and also to raise money for charity (''The Big C'' 2014 and the Cyclist Defence Fund – ''CDF'' – 2015) he has toured over 3,000 miles around the UK with his one-man show cycling the whole production from gig to gig on the back of his bike. The music from ''Cycling Music'' was used by the BBC during their coverage of ''Le Tour'' 2014. Richard’s ''Cycling Music'' tour was featured on ITV’s ''The Cycling Show'' in July 2014''.'' In recent years Richard Durrant has visited many UK venues including the Hawth Theatre Crawley,
Norwich Playhouse The Norwich Playhouse is a theatre in St George's Street, Norwich, Norfolk, England. The theatre opened in 1995 in a nineteenth-century building that was once a maltings, and is a 300-seat receiving house for theatre arts including comedy, music ...
, The Stables Wavendon, Yvonne Arnaud Guildford,
Brighton Dome The Brighton Dome is an arts venue in Brighton, England, that contains the Concert Hall, the Corn Exchange and the Studio Theatre (formerly the Pavilion Theatre). All three venues are linked to the rest of the Royal Pavilion Estate by a tunnel t ...
,
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
Proms Celebration in
Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...
, Keswick Theatre by the Lake, Theatre Severn,
The Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no governm ...
(with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra), Rose Theatre Tewkesbury, The Stables Milton Keynes, Bedford Prom in the Park, Aros Centre Isle of Skye,
Rose Theatre, Kingston The Rose Theatre Kingston is a theatre on Kingston High Street in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. The theatre seats 822 around a wide, thrust stage. It officially opened on 16 January 2008 with ''Uncle Vanya'' by Anton Chekhov, with ...
,
Epsom Playhouse Epsom Playhouse is the main theatre in Epsom and Ewell, Surrey, England. Performances This 406-seat theatre hosts internationally travelling casts and comedy acts as part of their tours and amateur productions.Birmingham Conservatoire The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is a music school, drama school and concert venue in Birmingham, England. It provides professional education in music, acting, and related disciplines up to postgraduate level. It is a centre for scholarly res ...
, The
De La Warr Pavilion The De La Warr Pavilion is a grade I listed building, located on the seafront at Bexhill on Sea, East Sussex, on the south coast of England. The Modernist and International Style building was designed by the architects Erich Mendelsohn and S ...
, Mold Theatr Clywd and the New Wolsey,
Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...
. He has also performed a large number of concerts over many years for the UK Rural Touring Network. UK festival performances include Wildlife Festival, Sidmouth, Adur, Brighton, and the International Guitar Festival of Great Britain. In Europe he has performed solo concerts in Belgium, Denmark, France, Holland, Switzerland and Spain. Durrant has played many concerts with the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as the Hanover Orchestra, BBC Midlands Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In May 2011, Durrant was invited to launch his latest solo album in
Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
and, whilst there, in recognition of his services as a champion of
Agustín Barrios Mangoré Agustín is a Spanish given name and sometimes a surname. It is related to Augustín. People with the name include: Given name * Agustín (footballer), Spanish footballer * Agustín Calleri (born 1976), Argentine tennis player * Agustín Cá ...
, he was officially proclaimed an Illustrious Visitor to Asuncion. He has since returned to South America many times playing in Paraguay, Buenos Aires, Argentina and Arequipa, Peru. In November 2010 Durrant was awarded a fellowship of the London College of Music for professional achievement. He has been an official ambassador for the Brighton Youth Orchestra since 2015. He was chairman of the Adur Festival for many years until his resignation in 2005. He is still closely involved with the arts scene in
West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...
especially since the opening of The Ropetackle Arts Centre in Shoreham by Sea. He is a passionate supporter of community arts projects. He is a regular visitor to local schools wherever he is performing. In October 2002, as recognition of his work promoting art in the community, Richard was presented with a '' Daily Mail'' Golden Jubilee Award by
The Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers o ...
.


Solo studio albums

*''Sarabande'' *''The Music of Castelnuovo Tedesco'' *''Music From the Colourdome'' *''Recuerdos – Guitar Classics'' *''The Number 26 Bus to Paraguay'' *''Hijo de Hombre'' *''Christmas Guitars'' *''Cycling Music'' *''The Girl at the Airport'' *''A Quiet Word From the 13th Century'' *''Stringhenge'' *''Rewilding'' *''The Sleep of a King''


Collaborative albums

*''Pandora'' (with
Herbie Flowers Brian Keith "Herbie" Flowers (born 19 May 1938) is an English musician specialising in electric bass, double bass and tuba. He is noted as a member of Blue Mink, T. Rex and Sky. Flowers has contributed to recordings by Elton John (''Tumblewe ...
) *''Nick & Dick – Acoustic Collaborations'' (with Nick Pynn) *''Guitar and Harpsichord'' (with
Howard Beach Howard Beach is a neighborhood in the southwestern portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered to the north by the Belt Parkway and Conduit Avenue in Ozone Park, to the south by Jamaica Bay in Broad Channel, to the east by 1 ...
) *''Durrant y Ledesma'' (with Ismael Ledesma)


Video releases

*''Richard Durrant – The Guitar Whisperer''


References


External links


Official websiteRpo.co.ukBrightonphil.org.uk
*
Youtube.comSoundcloud.comFacebookTwitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Durrant, Richard 1962 births Living people Associates of the Royal College of Music English male composers English male guitarists English record producers People from Brighton Place of birth missing (living people) Sky (English/Australian band) members 21st-century English composers 21st-century British male musicians