Richard Runnels
Richard Runnels is an American-born horn player long based in Melbourne as principal horn of Orchestra Victoria and director of Melbourne Windpower. His solo recordings span core horn repertoire and Australian works.
Born in Dallas, Texas, and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Richard Runnels studied at the Interlochen Arts Academy with Norman Schweikert, at Indiana University with Philip Farkas, and at the Salzburg Mozarteum with Michael Höltzel.
At twenty-one he joined the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, playing third and first horn, and performed with the Vienna Philharmonic and at the Vienna State Opera. He has toured with Camerata Academia Salzburg and the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, and with the chamber group ENSEMBLE 1 has given concerts across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, the USA, the Caribbean and Australia.
As a recitalist and soloist he has appeared at festivals including Salzburg, Aspen, Edinburgh, Flanders, Spoleto and Melbourne. Chamber partners have included Barry Tuckwell, Anton Dermota and Wolfram Christ; as a jazz player he has worked with pianists including Dave Brubeck, Tony Gould and Horace Tapscott.
He first came to Australia in 1976 as artist-in-residence at the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne. In 1978 he became principal horn of the Elizabethan Melbourne Orchestra (now Orchestra Victoria). He teaches at the University of Melbourne and the Victorian College of the Arts, and in 1994 was Visiting Professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. He made his conducting debut with the Australian Ballet in 1986 and his opera debut at Italy’s Spoleto Festival in 1987, and directs Melbourne Windpower.
Richard Runnels is featured on the following titles
Hornocopia
About 110 minutes of French horn music, from classical staples to contemporary scores. Much of the programme sits on the AMEB French Horn syllabus, and several works appear here on CD for the first time – a practical set for students and teachers.
Producer
Horn Destinations
Horn player Richard Runnels presents a wide-ranging recital for horn and keyboard, joined by Brachi Tilles and Tony Gould in repertoire from French divertissements to Australian and jazz-inflected works.
Producer
Richard Runnels is featured on the following titles
A Night at the Opera
Highly acclaimed wind arrangements of favourite operatic excerpts, given as they were heard in Vienna between 1792 and 1821, when Harmonie ensembles carried the latest stage hits beyond the opera house.
Producer
Melbourne Windpower
Directed by Richard Runnels. Wind octets by Haydn, C.P.E. Bach, Beethoven, Bozza and Australian Graham Powning, recorded in the clear, natural acoustic of the Melbourne Concert Hall.
Producer
Richard Runnels is a member of
Melbourne Windpower
Melbourne Windpower brings the late 18th century tradition of wind ensemble music to the present day. The members of Melbourne Windpower perform with the State Orchestra of Victoria.