Biography
As the conductor of a diverse range of choral ensembles, Richard Brain is equally comfortable directing singers and instrumentalists on a large or small scale. Richard is currently Director of Music at Haileybury and Musical Director of Bishop's Stortford Choral Society. Previously he has been both Head of Music and Director of Chapel Music at The Peterborough School, Director of Music at Christ Church Southgate, and Musical Director of Barnet Choral Soceity, the de Merc Chamber Choir and the Sine Nomine Singers. He has also guest conducted the well respected St Albans based chamber choir Carillon. With his choirs, Richard has conducted orchestras including the London Mozart Players, Forest Philharmonic, Amadeus Orchestra, Bishop's Stortford Sinfonia, and Hertfordshire Philharmonia as well as the baroque period ensemble Musica Donum Dei.
Major works conducted (many with Barnet and Bishop's Stortford Choral Societies) include Bach Christmas Oratorio, Mass in B minor, and St John Passion, Beethoven Symphony No.9 and Mass in C, Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem, Duruflé Requiem, Elgar The Dream of Gerontius and The Music Makers, Handel Dixit Dominus, Judas Maccabaeus and Messiah, Haydn Creation and The Seasons, Mendelssohn Elijah, Mozart Mass in C minor and Requiem, Puccini Messe di Gloria, Poulenc Gloria, Rachmaninov All Night Vigil (The Vespers), Rutter Requiem, Smyth Mass in D, Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony and Dona Nobis Pacem, and Walton Belshazzar's Feast. Orchestral repertoire conducted includes Brahms Academic Festival Overture, Beethoven Fantasy in C minor, Haydn Symphony No. 82 The Bear, Holst Two Songs without Words and Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending.
Future programmed repertoire features Verdi's Requiem and Bach St Matthew Passion. Premiered works conducted include Jonathan Rathbone's new major concert commission, A Day at the Fair, with Barnet Choral Society in 2015.
As Director of Christ Church Southgate from 2013-2024,, Richard directed the Choir at some of the country's most beautiful and ancient places of worship such as Ely, Hereford, Gloucester, St David's, Winchester and St Paul's Cathedrals, as well as St George's Chapel Windsor and Westminster Abbey. Richard led the Choir on several international tours including to Amsterdam, Halle, Leipzig and Venice. In July 2022, Richard directed the Choir in a live TV broadcast of Sung Mass from St Nicholas Basilica, Amsterdam, with the Dutch broadcaster NRO NCRV. Richard also directed the choir for two CD recordings - Christmas at Christ Church Southgate (2019) and The Heavenly Architect (2017)
Richard is passionate about the versatility of a cappella singing and has conducted a number of extended unaccompanied works including Howells Take Him Earth for Cherishing, Martin Mass for Double Choir, Tippett Five Spirituals, and Vaughan Williams Mass in G Minor. Additionally in demand as a workshop leader, Richard has led events including, And there was Light - Singing and Exploring Haydn's Creation, In Paradisum - sing Duruflé’s Requiem, Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Choruses, Lift Up Your Heads: Exploring Handel's Messiah, and A Song For All Seas: Discovering A Sea Symphony. He has also run workshops on singing technique and intonation using repertoire from the Renaissance era.
Richard studied Choral Conducting under Patrick Russill and Cathal Garvey on the MA course at the Royal Academy of Music, where he was awarded the Irene Burcher Prize upon graduation in 2013. He subsequently gained his LRAM in 2016.