​RICHARD        BENTLEY

Having to abandon my initial aspirations to be a vicar, I found my vocation as a sound artist, musician, academic and community artist committed to supporting others wishing to explore their place in the world through creativity.

As a musician and sound artist, I have considerable experience developing bespoke interactive sound-based work for organisations such as Festive Road, The Annual Daydream Harvest and Creative People. In addition, I collaborate in a number of music projects, writing and performing original material. These presently include; radiophonic jazz outfit ‘Revbjelde’ in which I play hammered dulcimer, keys and percussion; production and performance with electronica duo ‘Small Stone’; and sound art and design with the Annual Daydream Harvest collective. Djing was, for many years, a passion and I have recently rekindled this lost love, mixing field recordings with drone/ambient music.

As an academic, I am currently undertaking doctoral research centering around field recording as Zen (Chan/Thien) or 'dharma' art. This practice-based research attempts to identify distinctive features of the Zen aesthetic as apply to sonic art, whilst developing an approach to field recording that embodies the spirit of the teachings and practice. Recently, I have been employed by the University of West London as a lecturer in sound recording. Before this I was a full time music technology lecturer and course leader with Reading College, teaching on both Further and Higher Education courses. During my thirteen years at the college, I was made an Advanced Practitioner (2003), received an ‘Excellence in E-Learning Award’ (2009) and garnered national attention from the City & Guilds awarding body for my interactive ‘Learn Mode’ website (2013). In addition to teaching, I provided mentorship for PGCE students, was a long-standing member of the teaching observation team and served for ten years as the Buddhist representative for the college chaplaincy providing pastoral support to students and staff.

In addition to teaching in formal settings, I have practical experience of developing, delivering and evaluating a range of community music projects. Working with organisations such as Readipop, Creative People, Festive Road and the Annual Daydream Harvest, I have aspired to support the wellbeing and artistic development of participants through improvisation, composition and performance. I have consolidated this practical experience through completion of the MA in Community Arts at Goldsmith’s College, London. Work in a variety of community settings has highlighted the differences and similarities between formal and non-formal music education, a topic on which I have been invited to speak at music education conferences.