RICHARD STORRY

He composed the incidental music to Chekhov's "Three Sisters", recently seen in London‘s West End, starring Kristin Scott Thomas and subsequently broadcast on BBC4 television, and his music for "Rumplestiltskin" received over 300 performances in its first year alone.

 

Another of his musical productions, "Kennedy", was three times nominated for the RUTAC Drama Awards. He has also recently completed a five-volume set of pieces for solo classical guitar.

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In addition to being in constant demand as a teacher and adjudicator of musical festivals, Richard has also branched out internationally, writing for the Chinese Orchestra of Hong Kong. To date, two commissions have been premiered there: "The Fiery Phoenix" and a concerto for xylophone entitled "The Rise of the Dragon Prince". In 2008, Richard was elected Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM).

 

In April 2009, his musical adaptation of "The Brothers Lionheart" opened at London’s Pleasance Theatre, followed by a successful run at the Edinburgh Festival. Future projects include an adaptation of “The Selfish Giant“, by Oscar Wilde, besides a number of other chamber compositions.

 

Richard is the author of five novels, including the bestselling, "The Cryptic Lines", in addition to the 6-volume "Ruritanian Rogues" saga, as well as a collection of short stories, "The Book of Names", and two books for children. These are all available from Amazon, and you can find out more about them on the Cryptic Publications website here. He is also the ghostwriter for "This is Me", the biography of Tommy Cannon (of Cannon and Ball fame).

 

A native of the Lake District, Richard now lives in a leafy suburb of South London, but still relishes the occasional opportunity to ascend some of the more remote Cumbrian Mountains!

 

May 2026.

 

CV:

 

Royal Academy of Music (1984-89)
 
Areas of study:
 
Composition, Classical Guitar and Piano

Composition and Guitar Awards:

 

Julian Bream Prize winner, 1987
Evan Senior Prize for Composition
Lady Holland Award for the most outstanding student
 
Examining:
 
Twenty five years as an external examiner for The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, taking him to many different parts of the world as well as all over the UK.
 
Performance:

Richard was a founding member of the Tetra Guitar Quartet, with whom he remained for 13 years, releasing four CDs to great critical acclaim, and performing at many venues, including the Purcell Room, St John's, Smith Square and St Martin-in-the-fields.

TV & Radio:

 

Richard made reality TV history when he became the oldest person ever to win Big Brother on ITV in 2025.

He has also made appearances on:
Motormouth (ITV)
Newsnight (BBC1)
Barrymore Show (ITV)
Heno (S4C)
Primetime (HTV)
Morning Worship (ITV)
Radio 2, Radio 3, Classic FM and numerous regional stations. 

He has also appeared on LBC Radio, where he was interviewed by Clive Bull about his literary output.

 

Commercials:

 

N-power, John Smith’s Bitter, Murphy’s.

Theatre:

 

Benny Southstreet in “Guys and Dolls”
Filch in “The Beggar’s Opera”
Guitar accompanist for Recreation Theatre Company’s production of Sheridan'’s “The Rivals,” and for the Royal Albert Hall Christmas concert.
Piano accompanist and coach for West End singers from “Les Miserables”, “Cats”, Starlight Express”, “Doctor Doolittle” and “The Lion King.”
English National Opera: Guitarist in productions of "Wozzeck", and "Beatrice & Benedict".
Lounge pianist for two years at The Langham Hilton, Bentley’s of Piccadilly and Quintessence Thameside Restaurant.

 

Musical Plays:

 

Richard composed the incidental music for "Three Sisters" at the West End's Playhouse theatre, starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Eric Sykes, and “Uncle Vanya” at the Vaudeville theatre, both directed by Michael Blakemore OBE. This production has also been broadcast on BBC4.

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He also composed and performed the incidental music for the audiobook, "The Collection" by Christine Buxton, on the Fragile Menagerie label.

Musicals:

 

Richard has composed a number of musical theatre works: following its premiere at the Pleasance Theatre, "The Brothers Lionheart" was voted best childrens' show in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Another of his productions, "Kennedy", premiered at the Jermyn Street Theatre, with a subsequent production at the Hampton Hill Playhouse where it received three nominations for the RUTAC drama awards.

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"This Rabbit’s Habit" (Commissioned by Jelly-Beanz Children’s Theatre Co.),

“Arthur” with Barry Dix (premiered at St Dunstan’s College),

“A Musical Term” (with Stephen Deal, co-author of Cliff Richard’s Millenium Prayer),

“The Smell of the Greasepaint”,
“Alice in Wonderland’s Excellent Adventure” with Sarah Culverhouse,

"The Stegosaurus Chorus" (commissioned by Polly Mixtures Children’s Theatre Co.),

“Rumplestiltskin” commissioned by Golden Egg Productions.

Classical:

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Richard has formed an exciting collaboration with the guitarist Fabio Fernandes, who gave the premiere of his piece, "The Guitarist's Prayer" in the English Music Festival. Following the release of its recording in May 2026, Fabio will be releasing an additional new album of pieces especially written for him by Richard. Richard has also written for the Military Wives Choir, as well as receiving two commissions from the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, entitled "The Fiery Phoenix" and "The Rise of the Dragon Prince".

 

Adjudication:

 

Kingston-upon-Thames Performing Arts Festival (twice)

The Godalming Music Festival (twice)
The Sutton Schools Music Festival
Northampton Festival of Music and Drama (twice)
Kirklees Guitar Festival
Forest School Music Competition

Devizes Junior Eisteddfod

Teaching:
 
16 years at St Dunstan’s College, Catford (age range 5-18)
Wallington County Grammar School (age range 11-18)
Harrodian School, in Barnes.
Private teaching for over 25 years with many successful exam entries at all grades.