Richard Birchall

Richard Birchall read Music at Cambridge University (studying composition with Giles Swayne) and studied as a postgraduate cellist at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London under Louise Hopkins. He later completed studies in Film Music composition at Goldsmiths College. Richard pursues a varied and colourful career as cellist, composer, arranger and orchestrator.

Richard’s arrangements and compositions have been performed at the BBC Proms, Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall, The Purcell Room, The Sage Gateshead and throughout the UK, and have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Classic FM and French and German national radio. Richard has completed numerous transcriptions for Cellophony cello octet, and also produced commissioned arrangements for artists including Lawrence Power, the Doric Quartet, and the Tippett Quartet (Psycho Suite, subsequently released on the Signum label); also the London Cello Orchestra and the Ernest Read Symphony Orchestra. In recent years Richard has turned increasingly to original composition. His piece Mirrors was written for Cellophony and premiered in the Park Lane Group series at the Purcell Room in January 2011; since then he has completed various works for chamber ensembles, following commissions by the Minerva Trio, the Piatti Quartet, and from individual artists. Recent works include Alice in Wonderland for eight cellos and narrator; Labyrinth for cello and chamber orchestra; Perhaps for soprano and orchestra, commissioned by De Montfort University; a second string quartet, Hands; and a set of miniatures for cello and harp.