About Us
David Richards BAED HONS Mus (QTS), PGDip SEN
Teaching Background
David is registered as a teacher with the Department for Education and the General Teaching Council, and holds a current CRB certificate. He is a qualified Primary School Teacher with 12 years experience of teaching in Mainstream and Special Needs schools. David currently works as an Instrumental Tutor for Education Bradford Music and Arts Service teaching small group and individual drum kit and percussion lessons, Samba, African drumming and Percussion classes and workshops, and Javanese Gamelan workshops.
David has been teaching drum kit and percussion for over 15 years privately while working as a classroom teacher, and in that time he also worked part time as a peripatetic tutor for Caerphilly County Council and CAVMS Ltd music service in South Wales. In additon to his own private teaching David has been a resident Drum Kit tutor at RAW Studios in Halifax since 2007 following his move from Cardiff to west Yorkshire.
In this time David has taught pupils with wide ranging tastes in music and musical goals, but all of David's pupils have gone on to enjoy playing at their own chosen level from playing in 'pub' bands, brass bands, and amateur orchestras to working as freelance musicians and teachers.
David is always looking continue with his own professional development in order to be able to provide his students with the best musical knowledge and skills. Over the last 20 years David has studied percussion with Mark Walker (BBC National Orchestra of Wales); Kevin Hathway (Philharmonia Orchestra) and Michael Skinner (Covent Garden Opera Orchestra), and on DrumKit has been part of a small group masterclass with Dom Famularo (International Clinician) and has studied advanced techniques with Steve White (Paul Weller); Craig Blundell (Dr Oktopus/Roland clinician) and Richard Wilson (RAW Studios).
Playing Background
David started playing percussion when he was 10 years old and drum kit when he was 12. From the age of 11 until he was 21 he played for the South Glamorgan Music Service orchestras and windbands progressing to hold the position of principal percussionist with both the County Youth Orchestra and the County Youth Windband. David was also a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Wales and the National Youth Brass Band of Wales. When he was 17 David joined the Tongwynlais Temperance Silver Band in Cardiff, spending 15 years as a member of the band holding the position of principal percussionist for 12 years until he left to relocate to West Yorkshire. In additon to his playing role David's last 5 years with the band saw him hold the post of percussion tutor youth section.
David played his first professional gig when he was 14 and went on to have a wide and varied range of freelance playing experiences, including Drum Kit and Percussion for musical theater, including 'West Side Story', 'Oliver', 'Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat' and 'The King and I'; 'Jazz Plus' Big Band, in a cabaret band and a Bavarian Bierkeller band as well as playing timpani and percussion for the Welsh Philharmonic Orchestra, Brecknock Symphonia, Cardiff Concert Orchestra, Cardiff Symphony Orchestra, Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra, Rhondda Symphony Orchestra, Parc and Dare Brass Band, Markham and District Band and Lofthouse 2000 Brass Band.
David has played in venues throughout the UK and Europe including The Royal Albert Hall, Festival Hall and Wembley Conference Centre in London; Saint David's Hall and the Cardiff International Arena in Cardiff; The Hexagon, Reading; Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow; and has appeared at the Edinburgh Festival.