Richard Ayres, Huddersfield graduate, receives honorary award for services to music and composition

Born in Cornwall in 1965, Richard played trombone in the local brass band, and was encouraged to compose by the trombonist and composer James Fulkerson. After briefly studying theatre, he studied composition at what was then the Huddersfield Polytechnic. After graduating, he moved to The Hague for postgraduate study in composition with Louis Andriessen at the Royal Conservatoire.
Richard still lives in the Netherlands, and in addition to his work as a freelance composer he also enjoys teaching at the Amsterdam Conservatoire, and is a guest teacher at the Royal Conservatoire in Birmingham. His hobbies include composing music, recording sounds and trying to fix an old sailing boat.
“It really opened my eyes at Huddersfield in the 1980s, because I met people that were like me, people who were interested in music and arts that I just did not meet before. They were experts in their field. There was the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival as well, so I met all these amazing musicians and composers which was extraordinary.
“It was one of the first places to have an electronic music studio, which was fantastic. It was at the cutting edge of music and recording.”
His advice to his fellow Huddersfield graduates is to enjoy the moment.

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