A word from Richard

I play and teach several instruments across different instrument families. I have been teaching music for 15 years, with nearly 30 years of public performance experience in a multitude of musical genres. My particular passion is Scottish traditional music. I studied Gaelic Language and Culture at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, which gave me a deeper appreciation and understanding of our music.

In addition to working with my own private clients, I regularly tutor for Fèisean nan Gàidheal through weekly lessons, weekend workshops, summer music schools, primary school classes, and online. I provide music tuition comfortably in Scottish Gaelic, Scots, and English. Over the years, I’ve also been happy to provide training to other tutors for these sessions.

I’m fortunate to give live public performances very frequently as part of the Addie Harper Cèilidh Band, in which I play piano, and I often accompany members of the Wick Accordion and Fiddle Club, as well as friends and pupils at the Caithness Music Festival. From 2015 to 2021, I served as musical director at the Wick Players, where I was involved in extensive musical arranging, teaching, recording, and theatre performance. I’m particularly pleased to have appeared on several episodes of the TV show Caithness Music Television (hosted by button box virtuoso Brandon McPhee) and the online show Carmichael’s Ceilidh (hosted by the legendary John Carmichael), as well as on several commercial recordings by the late Fergie MacDonald, the Cèilidh King. A very memorable recent performance — live and live-streamed! — took place in Carlow, Ireland, as part of the International Pan Celtic Festival, in a band led by the extraordinary Robert Nairn (just minutes after I had transcribed our music by hand onto a hand-drawn stave for the adjudicators!)

I have experience teaching pupils of all ages and abilities. I aim to give my pupils both the skills and the confidence to perform publicly, and to apply what they learn from music in other settings — academic, social, and beyond.

In my free time, I’ve always enjoyed learning languages. I like to travel and am especially keen to try the local food wherever I go — perhaps as a reward for learning to order it in the local language! So far in 2025, I’ve managed to see (and eat!) a wee bit of Italy, Ireland, Poland and Croatia. In the last couple of months, I’ve also taken up chess and I now usually understand why I’ve lost a game.