Westburn SMP Staff

Richard trained as a primary school teacher, specialising in music, at the North Shore Teachers’ College in Auckland graduating with Excellence in 1979. As a student, Richard played percussion in the Symphonia of Auckland and St Matthew’s in the City Chamber Orchestra. He also sang, played wind and percussion instruments, and danced in an early music group, the Kynges Companye, which performed concerts on a tour of England, Scotland, Germany, and Singapore. Whilst undertaking his teacher training, he also completed a BA majoring in music at Auckland University. In the Christmas / New Year holiday break, for several years he found the time to be Assistant Director of the Cambridge Summer Music School held at St Peter’s School in Cambridge, New Zealand. During his first three years of teaching in Auckland, Richard completed an MA (1st Hons) writing a thesis on a Florentine manuscript, a late 15th century source of secular music.

Moving to Christchurch at the end of 1982, Richard quickly became involved in the local music scene singing in local choirs and becoming accompanist, conductor, music director, and president of the Christchurch Schools’ Music Festival Association while maintaining a full-time teaching load. Since retiring as Deputy Principal of Elmwood Normal School at the end of 2015, Richard has worked as an itinerant teacher of music at several Christchurch schools and as a tutor with the New Zealand Graduate School of Education.