meet the hosts
“It’s exciting for me to meet two completely different musicians and for them to use the versatility of the space. I am upstairs doing my less exciting admin and get to hear new musicians.”
Following his growing success as a private music tutor in Manchester, Richard has recently set up the Dinsmore Music Academy, where he is kept company by his sociable huskies, Luna and Loki. He doesn’t come from a musical family and started the piano “quite late” at age fourteen, but due to his determination and brilliant head of year at his grammar school, he went on to study music at Lancaster University. Richard aims to instil this musical drive in his students, and his well-equipped teaching studio boasts a brand new acoustic Hailun 161 Grand Piano and a Celviano Grand Hybrid Digital Piano. We chatted to Richard about why he wanted to be a mushRoom host, what kind of music he enjoys playing, and whether Luna and Loki ever sing along to the piano…
Could you describe the instruments in your piano rehearsal room?
RICHARD
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It has always been a dream of mine to have a grand piano – I think they look amazing and are actually easier to play. I now have a baby grand, which is the right volume level for the front room. When I was a student, my teacher upgraded to a grand piano and I think it is really aspirational. Some of my students won’t go on to study music further, so this may be their only opportunity to play on a grand. I also have a digital piano, which allows me to be more interactive with students since I can include duets and call and response games in lessons.
What made you want to host for mushRoom?
RICHARD
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I was definitely thinking about how I could make the most out of my space, particularly since I had recently upgraded my grand piano. I generally don’t teach in the day and thought mushRoom would be a great way to make the most of my facilities and connect with other musicians.
I hadn’t seen anything quite like mushRoom and hiring spaces can be a challenge in itself, so the service is a good way to have one point of reference. Judy is absolutely lovely, and I think when I work with new organisations, it is often about the people and if they have the same mindset. She was very gracious and I got to know the team, which was reassuring.
How has your experience been so far as a host?
RICHARD
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I have had two guests use the studio space so far, and both have been great experiences. The first was a local singer/songwriter and she was struggling to find a studio around the time of covid restrictions. The second was a singer who was doing a postgraduate course; she was singing some fantastic arias and preparing for an audition. It’s exciting for me to meet two completely different musicians and for them to use the versatility of the space. I am upstairs doing my less exciting admin and get to hear new musicians.
How did you get into music?
RICHARD
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My main focus is as a piano tutor but I am also now a trained singer, which I enjoy incorporating into my early years of teaching and musical foundation work. I started the piano at fourteen, which is quite late, and no one in my family is musical at all. Fortunately, I had a fantastic head of year at my school and it was thanks to her that I became a musician. I had to run through my grades in order to study music at university, and then took two gap years before studying at Lancaster. The degree was great because I did a combined course in German music and studied for a year in Germany, so I can now speak the language and can use that and my extra knowledge of German composers in lessons!
What kind of music do you enjoy? Do you have an inspirational album?
RICHARD
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Since music has become so widely available in a variety of formats, I don’t have a particular CD or album that has influenced me. I do however remember enjoying the music of my parents as a child. My parents also had an LP Player so I enjoyed listening to wonderful music by people such as Chris Rea and Leonard Cohen which were two of my father’s favourites and played often in the home. When I play at the piano, a lot of my repertoire is late romantic, including Chopin and Rachmaninoff.
I always enjoyed exploring lots of different styles of music and still listen to a full variety to this day!
Tell us about your huskies! Do they ever sing along?!
RICHARD
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I have two huskies: Luna is nine and black and white, and then a five-year-old tan huskie called Loki. I have studied the clarinet and when Luna was younger I tried playing high notes on the clarinet and she started howling! That hasn’t largely continued in terms of piano, so I can teach and have people over with no problem, though huskies do enjoy being in the thick of it. They aren’t generally in the teaching studio when I am teaching, but they love interacting with the students and milling around.
