We had a lovely evening playing in Exeter Cathedral for the 'Light up a life' service of remembrance.  We played a mixture of classical themes and some expressive modern contemporary songs as the audience arrived and took their seats.  We then played a specially arranged version of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' as the book of remembrance came forward.  It was a very special, thoughtful and beautiful moment and this is a service which we are very proud to be asked to be a part of every year.  Merry Christmas everybody.

I am very proud to be singing on this Christmas recording.  This beautiful arrangement features Caroline Redman Lusher the founder and managing director of Rock Choir.  The backing harmonies and vocals are being sung by the 70 or so rock choir leaders (including me!!!!).  All of the proceeds are going to Nordoff Robbins and their continuing important work.  Please share this news with everybody and lets see if we cant be number one for Christmas.  The single is available to stream and download on itunes, amazon, spotify and apple music.  Thank you.

On Thursday 13th December 2018 I had the absolute pleasure of working with the amazing students from PQA Exeter Academy and also the wonderfully talented G4 who were X Factor finalists in the competitions early days.  The programme was made up of lots of beautiful Christmas favourites all in gorgeous close harmonies.  We performed many pieces together including 'You'll Never Walk Alone' from Carousel, 'O Holy Night' and 'Walking in the air'.  The sell out audience had a thoroughly lovely evening.

On Sunday 9th December 140 Rockies from Torquay, Plymouth, Saltash, Newton Abbot and Teignmouth rock choirs braved the elements to sing at the annual Christmas fayre.  Although the sun was shining we had fun doing our choreography in the mud!  The large audience had a smashing afternoon and complimented us on our amazing singing and enthusiasm.  Thanks rockies for another memorable gig.  You all clearly enjoy singing together and having fun times!

On Thursday 13th December Richard will conduct the amazing students from PQA Exeter (Pauline Quirk Academy) at Exeter Cathedral.  This is all part of G4 Christmas concert which will be stunning! The programme includes all the Christmas classics like Sleigh Ride, Have yourself a merry little Christmas, You'll never walk alone and Silent Night (A cappella).  Some of the programme will be PQA Exeter on their own and then we will join together to back G4 with some beautiful harmony accompaniment.  Very excited!

Fabulous wedding at Dartmouth Naval College today.  The Exe Valley String Quartet played the very beautiful 'Fairytale' by Einoudi for the beautiful bride and her party to enter the chapel.  I arranged this especially for todays ceremony and it set the mood for a lovely ceremony.  We stayed for the whole day playing for both the drinks reception and the wedding breakfast.  It was nice to play a real mixture of classical and pop tunes including I Giorni, Eine Kleine, Palladio as well as some Ed sheeran and the georgeous Carpenters classic 'Close to you'.  Congartulations James and Moniqua.

Over 70 hardened rockies turned out in the miserable rain on Saturday to light up Teignmouths Christmas celebrations.  Considering the weather the performance was highly complimented by the crowds who had braved the elements to come and join the Christmas lights switch on.  It was once again a real privilige to lead the choirs as we sang with real passion and spirit and really got the people of Teignmouth rocking!  Thank you all very much!  

I had a lovely day yesterday with the British Philharmonic Concert Orchestra playing at the Queens Theatre in Barnstaple.  We played a programme of Christmas orchestral classics and lots of waltzes, plokas and marches from Vienna.  Here is a picture of me with my desk partner 'Frosty'.  Love the orchestral gigs!

Richard has some availabilty in January and February 2019 where a special offer might be considered.  If you are getting married or having a party or special event where some live music might go down well with your guests then please get in touch with Richard and he will talk you through the different packages he has available.  Remember that Richard has a wide variety in terms of repertoire ranging from classical music through to current more contemporary rock and pop tunes.  Richard plays acoustic violin, electric violin and also the piano so his music would be suitable for almost any venue and any special occasion.  If you book Richard before the end of November then a discount will be available.  Thank you.

Richard had a wonderful morning with 75 of his amazing Rock Choir members in Torquay.  They opened the Torquay Christmas Carnival Celebrations at Fleet Walk shopping centre in Printers Square.  The gig was organised by Fleet Walk and Breeze Radio and the gig also featured Luke Friend and Georgia Toffolo (Toff!) . The singing was stunning and really appreciated by the people of Torquay doing their Christmas shopping.

Richard returned to Truro Cathedral this weekend to play with the highly respected Three Spires Orchestra and Three Spires Singers. The concert was to mark the centenary of the end of World War 1 and included music by Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Finzi and Ireland that is not widely played.  It was all absolutley beautiful and the choir were exceptionally good. It was a lovely weekend away playing some very emotional music at an emotional and thought provoking time of year.  

Last night Richard travelled to one of his favourite venues Truro Cathedral.  The concert was an Armistice Centenary Commemoration Concert with Truro Choral Society.  The programme included Karl Jenkins - The Armed Man, Maurice Derufle Requiem and Webers Clarinet Concerto in F minor with the up and coming soloist Ed Holmes.  It was a wonderful evening and the concert was perfomed to an incredibly high standard in front of a packed audience.  Richard is back in Truro Cathedral next weekend with the Three Spires Orchestra.

I played for the most wonderful wedding at Rockbeare Manor on Saturday.  The bride got in touch with me some time ago to arrange a special surprise for her football loving husband to be.  They wanted 'Keep right on to the end of the road' which is the famous anthem for Birmingham City Football Club as they exited the ceremony.  Being from Birmingham and a huge Blues fan, I absolutely loved arranging this piece for the quartet to play on their special day.  The guests, many of who were Blues fans as well, loved it and started to sing along!  Here is a picture of me with Charlotte and Robert on their happy day.  We pride ourselves on being able to arrange and play absolutely anything for our brides, grooms and corporate clients!  

Richard spent time yesterday making some short video clips so that you can see and hear him playing the violin, electric violin and piano.  These video clips are just a little insight into what kind of music is available for your wedding or special occasion.  Remember that Richard will arrange a special version of any song or piece for you if it isn't on his repertoire list.  Huge thank you to Harrison Toomer (my son!!!) for putting the videos and the logo together for me.  You are amazing!

Richard has a large collection of bespoke arrangements for string quartet. These range from classical favourites like The Hebrides Overture right through to rock and pop classics like 'Im Yours' by Jason Mraz!  These are available to purchase.  Please contact Richard if you would like more details.  One of the really nice things about the Exe Valley String Quartet wedding packages is that we include a personal arrangement of your favourite song or tune as part of our price.

I am looking forward to working with the amazing students at Pauline Quirke Academy in Exeter tomorrow morning.  I am giving them some coaching as they prepare for an amazing gig in Exeter Cathedral in December with the one and only G4!!  

www.musiciandevon.co.uk is the new website for Richard Toomer - wedding and events violinist and pianist.  Visit the website for details of Richard's work as a violinist and a pianist.  You can even see what he gets up to with Rock Choir!  Please share amongst friends and family and anybody who you think might like to have Richard come and play at their special event in the near future.  Thank you.

Welcome to my new website!

We are very excited to announce our new website and new logo too. I promise to keep you posted on up and coming events you might be interested in and pictures and news from past events I have been involved with.

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