Goff Richards, English composer and conductor (b. 1944)
Goff Richards (18 August 1944 – 25 June 2011), sometimes credited as Godfrey Richards, was a prominent Cornish brass band arranger and composer. He was born in Cornwall, studying at the Royal College of Music and Reading University. Between 1976 and 1989, he lectured in arranging and at Salford College of Technology. He was the musical director of the Chetham's Big Band for many years. In 1976, he was made a Bard of the Cornish Gorsedd. He received a Doctorate from Salford University in 1990, after a career that had seen him lead the University Jazz Orchestra to the BBC Big Band of the Year title in 1989.
He was well known for his original brass compositions such as "Trailblaze", "Doyen", "Exploding Brass!" and the marches "The Jaguar" and "Barnard Castle", and won a European Broadcasting Union Award in 1984 for his "Continental Caprice". He was also a prolific arranger for brass bands, and his works included "Hymns of Praise", "Shepherd's Song", "Over the Rainbow", "Mack the Knife", "New York, New York", "Chanson d'Amour", "I'll Walk with God", and "That's a Plenty". He also arranged and composed light orchestral and choral works, and his works have been performed by the King's Singers, Huddersfield Choral Society, London Brass, Evelyn Glennie and various BBC orchestras.He died on 25 June 2011 in Cheshire, following an illness, at the age of 66.
2011Jun, 25
Goff Richards
Choose Another Date
Events on 2011
- 25Jan
Egyptian Revolution of 2011
The first wave of the Egyptian revolution begins throughout the country, marked by street demonstrations, rallies, acts of civil disobedience, riots, labour strikes, and violent clashes. - 11Feb
Egyptian Revolution of 2011
The first wave of the Egyptian revolution culminates in the resignation of Hosni Mubarak and the transfer of power to the Supreme Military Council after 18 days of protests. - 11Mar
2011 Japanese tsunami
An earthquake measuring 9.0 in magnitude strikes 130 km (81 mi) east of Sendai, Japan, triggering a tsunami killing thousands of people. This event also triggered the second largest nuclear accident in history, and one of only two events to be classified as a Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale. - 12Mar
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
A reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant melts and explodes and releases radioactivity into the atmosphere a day after Japan's earthquake. - 12Nov
European sovereign debt crisis
Silvio Berlusconi tenders his resignation as Prime Minister of Italy, effective November 16, due in large part to the European sovereign debt crisis.