Richard Craig is a flautist, composer, and visual artist who has developed a distinctive approach to the flute - re-invigorating older music, as well as exploring improvised and notated contemporary works. His interests range from classical and contemporary music through to traditional music, with his current research being honkyoku – traditional Japanese music for shakuhachi. Richard's other artistic outputs range from visual art, video and photography. This all could best be described as a hybridised practice where performance, composition and the visual arts meet.

He has played alongside musicians such as Rohan de Saram, Roberto Fabbriciani, Barry Guy, new music groups ELISION, Musikfabrik, Klangforum Wien, CAPUT Ensemble, Kammarensemblen, and as a soloist with the Irish RTÉ Orchestra. Often a guest musician with the UK’s new music groups (Uproar, Ensemble Octandre, Explore ensemble, Apartment House, and Shui Mo), since 2021 he has been a member of the Riot Ensemble. He is a founder member of the Scottish-based IPSA COLLECTIVE.

Richard has held various Visiting Fellowships (University of Aberdeen 2010 – 2012 and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Huddersfield from 2014 -2019). Outside of academia, has been invited to teach on courses such as the Estalagem da Ponta do sol residency in Madeira, and the Distat Terra Academy in Argentina.

As a recording artist he has contributed to several releases and live broadcasts for the BBC, WDR Cologne, YLE Finland, Radio France, Radio Nacional de España, Swedish Radio, ARTE, Métier, Another Timbre, FHR, Icelandic RUV, as well as curated releases of repertoire, and his own compositions. Recent releases include a live recording with Stephanie Lamprea and Alistair MacDonald of improvised music, and an album of the Telemann Fantasias and improvisations hailed as “bold, beautiful and clever” by Gramophone magazine. Forthcoming releases include a single from the  album with the IPSA COLLECTIVE The Night With – Germinal, duo and trio works for flute, voice and percussion. In 2027, First Hand Records will release Prehistory for voice (Stephanie Lamprea) and flutes by Stuart MacRae.

He studied flute at the RSAMD (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) with Sheena Gordon and later with Richard Blake. After graduating with honours, he specialised in contemporary music at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg, France, with Mario Caroli thanks to support from a Dewar Award and the Scottish International Educational Trust. Richard received his PhD from Middlesex University in 2020.