Richard Cunningham, Music Director

Through his long career as a musician, Richard Cunningham has travelled throughout North America and Europe. Performing as a countertenor soloist, Richard has sung in Bulgaria, Germany (including both sides of that once divided country), Holland, Sweden, France, and Great Britain as well as coast to coast in the U.S.A and Canada. He has also travelled widely as a chorister, performing with the Elora Festival Singers, the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, La Chappelle de Quebec, Arcady, the Brott Festival Choir, the Taverner Consort, Winchester Cathedral Choir and St George’s Chapel Choir of Windsor Castle.

Richard earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from the University of Toronto. He has studied choral conducting with Derek Holman, Edgar Hanson, William Wright, Douglas Bodle, and Jon Washburn and orchestral conducting with Bruce MacGregor and Victor Feldbrill. As a concert artist, Richard’s studies began at U of T with Lillian Weichel and Edgar Hanson. The grateful recipient of three scholarship grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, Richard traveled to England to study with Timothy Penrose and James Bowman, two of the finest practitioners of the countertenor’s art. MORE

In the last 30 years, Richard has spent more of his time as a choral conductor, passing on the skills of singing individually and in a choir to musicians in Kitchener, Hamilton, Brantford and Toronto. As well as conducting the Grand River Chorus for the last fourteen years, Richard has taught courses in vocal methods and conducting at McMaster University. He is also one of the vocal teachers on staff at McMaster. The Grand River Chorus gives him the opportunity to perform the masterworks in the choral repertoire with a group of talented and dedicated singers who share his joy of tremendous music. Richard is very excited about working with the Canadian Orpheus Male Choir

When he is not directing a choir, singing or teaching, Richard may be found composing music (mostly vocal or choral with piano or orchestral accompaniment), playing with his grandchildren or driving between rehearsals and meetings.

 

Our members welcome Mr Trevor Price as our new Accompanist:

Trevor is an award-winning keyboardist with choral studies from the Royal Canadian College of Organists.  He brings a wealth of expertise and experience to his role, having served as Music Director in many religious and secular settings for decades across the Greater-Hamilton-Burlington-Niagara area.

He continues to enjoy being Musical Director for many musical theatre productions and beyond, including recently at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre and Conestoga College Convocations.

Trevor is a Music Teacher with the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, and Director of Music at Holy Rosary Parish, Burlington. He lives in Hamilton with his wife and their two wonderful young daughters.