ICYMI: “Newfoundland is where I began my studies in music and I owe Newfoundland everything for my entire career,” says Richard Herriot, beloved concert pianist, composer and dance accompanist at Canada’s National Ballet School.
| Posted: Sept. 8, 2022, 5:58 a.m. | Updated: Sept. 8, 2022, 5:58 a.m. | 11 Min Read
Sketching out some ideas for his third and fourth piano concerti, Richard Herriott delights in his nightly ritual of enjoying an ounce of Finlandia vodka with Schwepps tonic water. Fittingly, he drinks this elixir in a crystal tumbler with the opening lines of the famous Hungarian composer, Franz Liszt’s Liebestraum . 2022 - Courtesy of Richard Herriott
He says one of the greatest honours of his life has been performing as a dance accompanist with Canada’s National Ballet School, which he’s been doing ever since. Renowned for his highly developed adeptness at improvisation and the utterly enchanting music he creates for classes, Herriott remains a highly sought-after figure by major North American and European ballet companies and schools as a dance accompanist.
Immersed in an environment where music played an instrumental role in everyday life, a world of wonderment was opened up for Herriott, who found himself mesmerized by the melodies in his midst. Richard Herriott was featured in The Evening Telegram as a young, 15-year-old pianist on Feb. 28, 1979. As someone who reminisces about the mountains firing up his imagination in his formative years, he still considers Newfoundland home. - Contributed
On an upward trajectory, Herriott pursued piano studies at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, followed by studies in music and music theatre at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Alberta . To this day, he remains deeply grateful for the outpouring of support he received. He even went in to work on the same day disaster struck.
“Over the years, it’s been an honour to raise funds for a variety of initiatives related to autism. I have Asperger’s syndrome, and Oliver and Gregory have autism," he explains. “The video I had created for it features some fun folklore and imagery pulled from Newfoundland in a fun and dreamlike way,” she said.
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