Lyric Tenor Richard Monk was born in Cardiff, Wales and began singing at an early age joining the children’s chorus of Welsh National Opera (WNO) at the age of ten. He kept his relationship with the company throughout his late teens with the WNO Youth Opera singing the roles of Nemorino (L'Elisir D'amore) and Tom Rakewell (The Rakes Progress) before embarking on full time study at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. He has also studied under the direction of Helmuth Rilling at the International BachAkademie's Summer School since it's inauguration in 2001. He is currently studying privately with Timothy Noble.

As a soloist he has sung in opera, oratorio, recitals, galas and weddings throughout the U.K, North America, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Italy and Cyprus in works from Bach to Britten.  Recent engagements took Richard to the Oregon Bach Festival, Stuttgart, Bonn, Leverkusen (Bachakademie), Bach's Weihnachts Oratorium in Cardiff, Haydn's Nelson Mass in London and extra chorus positions with both WNO and the Nationale Reisopera, The Netherlands.

Future engagements include several Bach Cantatas in Utrecht, The National Eisteddfod, North Wales, a recital of Vaughan Williams' On Wenlock Edge, a return to WNO, and several further Oratorio performances throughout the UK.

Richard has recently relocated to Bloomington from Europe, having completed a successful audition tour, and has been awarded The Dean of Music Scholarship to study at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University, under the tutelage of Timothy Noble. He'll begin his studies for a Performers Diploma this coming fall.