Author: Richard Orchard
In his early fifties, Richard has done a lot of things. He has worked in Corrections, Agriculture, Emergency Services, the Parliament of Australia, his own trades based business, and in an ongoing family property business. He had an early fling with soldiering but it was not to his taste. He is a teacher of adults by profession, having worked extensively in the field of vocational education and training in the emergency service field.
Religiously he has been a Buddhist most of his life, but has a lot of time and support for all friends of faith. He has done the LGBTIQ life extensively in his youth, but now considers himself “just an average country dad,” somewhat conservative in his views and politics, but keen to listen to all. He has run for NSW and Federal Parliament twice with a re-vitalised One Nation, following literally the idea that we are one, but we are many, with respect and empowerment of all individuals to be the best they can.
He speaks (“badly”) bits of 8 languages, some quite good and others that he brushes up on before travelling. He loves travelling both in and outside Australia, and has seen a lot.
Artistically he is a singer of some capability, both as a chorister and soloist. His influences are the great J S Bach and G F Handel, and he is at home with big bass baritone arias from oratorio. Like his son, also a singer, pianist and organist, he doesn’t enjoy popular music of the current period. “Bach ruined me. Singing from the father of modern music, who composed the 48 fugues and preludes as a mathematical proof of each of the accepted musical keys- to enjoy 3 chords strummed on a guitar and wailed to however earnestly- not my bag!” He believes every period has its sound track, both on macro levels like baroque vs classical, but also on a decade length period. “Sometimes it’s a bit of a mystery how things like art nouveau art song from folks like Roger Quilter sprung up when Europe was busy destroying itself in the First World War, but wow- such a craftsman. Pick up the book, and get your pianist to play what he wrote, and sing what he wrote, and the quality of his work shines through. I know that every grumpy old man from every decade always complains about the music of the present, but I really think the soundtrack to this period is pretty much garbage. I think it reflects how Western Society is hell bent on sacrificing itself on the altar of virtuous self destruction. It is not cool to love your country, culture, or ethnic origins for most people, and I guess violent, avaricious, and sexualised rap music is one of the products of our time.”
Thankfully, he lives in Goulburn NSW and doesn’t get out much, so you probably won’t have to sit with him at a dinner party while he tells you what he thinks of the current period’s Hollywood films, or how he would reform ABC funding to democratise culture and news into communities and purge the fat elitist bureaucracy that it is.
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