Born 25-Sept-1953, London. Since graduating from the Royal College of Music in 1972, Richard Harvey has been a ubiquitous presence on the London music scene. His early forays into the professional world involved playing recorder and early woodwinds with his own group ’Gryphon’ and ancient music pioneers ’Musica Reservata’. His later work with composer Maurice Jarre led him into film composing in the late 1970s and it has been his principal activity ever since.
Richard’s passion for instruments from all around the world, old and new, has led him to work on a fascinatingly diverse range of projects - from feature films to documentaries, television dramas to live performances, whether it be conducting, playing, producing or writing.
He has recorded for and collaborated with Sir Paul McCartney, Hans Zimmer, Harry Gregson-Williams, Kate Bush, Elvis Costello, John Williams, Stanley Myers and numerous others.
Scoring countless television dramas - from Jane Eyre and Game, Set and Match to Alan Bleasdale’s G.B.H - has been a highlight of his career. A more recent television success was the feature length Granada Television film Colditz, for which Richard’s score received an Ivor Novello nomination.
Today, Richard is a prolific composer, an occasional guest conductor and a virtuoso performer on a vast collection of instruments - blown, plucked, keyed, bowed, beaten and programmed.