Richard is a music critic, photographer and writer. More importantly, he is a father of four, grandfather of six and the loving partner of Alison Overtveld.

He has been writing music criticism for more than thirty years, mainly for the Ottawa Citizen during the last twenty-five. Though his family wasn't musical, he somehow caught the bug when he was very young and by the age of eleven he was listening seriously to whatever classical music he could find. There's an article here about a day when his interest turned into a passion. Afterwards it would only intensify.

One of the major themes of Richard's adult life has been the outdoors. For about forty years he spent as much time as he could hiking, cycling and especially canoe tripping. While various health issues have slowed down his "self-propelled" activities in recent years, he still enjoys paddling on quiet rivers and lakes; pedalling along rails-to-trails pathways; and walking through fields and forests to maintain his life-long connection with nature.

On another web site, Richard was asked to provide lists of his favourite things in several areas, to wit:

Interests

• Music
• Outdoors
• Photography
• Literature
• Poetry

Favorite Movies

• Wild Strawberries
• The Seventh Seal
• Fanny and Alexander
• Manon des sources
• Jean de Florette
• Up
• The Unbearable Lightness of Being
• Lucia y el Sexo
• Grave of the Fireflies
• Silent Light
• Jeux interdits
• Unforgiven

Favorite Music

• Too much to list but I have a special fondness for
• Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
• Appalachian Spring
• Sibelius 4
• Pelléas et Mélisande (the opera)

Favorite Books

• Anything by Alice Munro
• Anything by Mary Oliver
• Les emois d'un Marchand de Café - Yves Beauchemin
• Le vieux Chagrin - Jacques Poulin
• Les Yeux bleus de Mistassini - Jacques Poulin
• Laughing Boy - Oliver Lafarg
• Nine Gates - Jane Hirshfield
• The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway