Since graduating from the Royal Northern College of Music, Richard has pursued a highly varied career in both classical and popular music. His performing career has encompassed everything from contemporary music groups such as the London Sinfonietta to film and TV sessions and membership of the critically acclaimed rock group Latin Quarter, best known for their 1985 hit Radio Africa. He has worked with musicians as diverse as composer John Adams, guitarist John Williams, English folk roots star Christine Collister and Zimbabwe’s legendary Bhundu Boys – and has appeared everywhere from New York’s Lincoln Centre to the Glastonbury Festival.

Above all, Richard is an internationally recognised teacher of the classical guitar and its pedagogy, with a special interest in the problems of early learning. He designed and delivered a teacher training course for guitarists in Venezuela on behalf of the Proyecto Cultural Mavesa and has lectured on guitar pedagogy in the UK, Holland, Germany and the USA. He led the classical guitar team for A Common Approach 2002, the Federation of Music Services’ national curriculum project for instrumental and vocal teachers. In 2004 Richard became the Yehudi Menuhin School’s first teacher of guitar.

In his capacity as a guitar consultant for ABRSM, Richard helped develop the Music Medalsscheme and the current guitar syllabus. He co-edited with Peter Batchelar the supporting publications for the syllabus, including the Scarlatti and Weiss albums and the two volumes of Time Pieces. In addition he co-wrote, with Alan Bullard, the guitar version of Joining the Dots, Bullard’s highly innovative series of sight-reading books. Richard’s groundbreaking edition for guitar of Bach’s Cello Suites I–IV was published by Cadenza Music in 2008.