- Richard Link
Richard Link is a Canadian
composer ,musical director , teacher, and performer living in London. An accomplished pianist, he often music directs, conducts, and plays for his own productions.Personal history and education
Link was born in
Medicine Hat , Alberta, Canada. After graduating from high school, he moved toEdmonton , Alberta, where he attended theUniversity of Alberta and graduated with a bachelor of music degree. He worked professionally in Edmonton as a composer, musical director, and teacher until 1996 when he moved toSan Francisco ,California. He studiedkinesiology and taught musical theatre atSan Francisco State University . He attendedJohn F. Kennedy University where he completed a masters degree in Holistic Health Education. In his masters thesis "Art as a Spiritual Practice," he developed a new methodology for teaching performing arts. His thesis asserts that honoring the individual—and focusing on the process, not the product—creates the best possible performance, and ironically, the best end product. In 2006 Link moved to London, where continues to compose, teach, music direct, and perform.Compositions
The majority of Link's compositions are musical theatre and choral works, and he has also scored music for film, video, television, and dance. His musical theatre works include 15 one- and two-act musicals, plus music for plays and incidental music. Musicals include "
A Little Princess ", "Alberto the Dancing Alligator," "Dream World," "Gideon's Dream," "The Painter's Dream", and "Watch Me Shine." Three of his musicals were written for Children’s Musical Theatre San Jose as part of their "Theater as Digital Activity (TADA)" program. Link has written an extensive body ofchoral music , bothsecular andsacred . Secular works include three choral works, "Songs for Us," "Woven Together," and "Four Seasons," all forSATB mixed chorus. He's also written song cycles and art songs, mostly for one or two voices and piano, and has set three ofVikram Seth 's poems to music. His sacred music compositions include anthems andliturgical music .Musical direction
Link has directed over 100 shows, from well known shows by contemporary composers to obscure musical theatre pieces. His direction credits are fairly evenly distributed between professional theatre companies, high schools and colleges, fringe theatre, community theatre, and summer stock.
Awards
Winner, 1994/1995
Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award for outstanding composition and design. [http://www.sterlingawards.com] Winner, 1992/1993 Elizabeth Haynes Sterling Award for outstanding musical direction. Nominee, 1990/1991 Elizabeth Haynes Sterling Award for outstanding musical direction.ources and External links
[http://www.richardlink.com Official site] [http://www.cmtsj.org Children's Musical Theater San Jose] [http://www.sterlingawards.com Elizabeth Haynes Sterling Awards]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
