NRHS choir accompanist Harry Richardson and wife in Italy to watch son Ben compete on the United States Curling Team
The Winter Olympics are about to start in Italy this month, and Harry Richardson and his wife are going to be there.
You’re probably asking yourself who is Harry Richardson? If your son or daughter is a member of the North Royalton High School Choirs, they know Mr. Richardson as the pianist. Now, he’s known as the father of Ben Richardson, a member of the United States Curling Team.
“This is just like the World Series for a baseball player or the Super Bowl for a football player. For a parent of a member of the curling team, there is nothing more exciting. If he would win a medal that would be great. But I’m happy that he has got to this point.”
With the help of a GoFundMe account, Harry and his wife Sarah, were able to find a week this month when they will be able to get to Italy and see Ben compete. “With the teaching position that my wife has and my work with the choirs at North Royalton High School we were able to find some time to watch Ben compete in three matches and one of the medal round competitions.”
The GoFundMe account stirred up a lot of emotions among music lovers. “I felt strange asking people for money, so I offered to record their favorite song or a piece of music,” said Harry, “and that created a lot of music. People Magazine picked up on it. I just expected family and some close friends to donate. But, there were lots of people who I didn’t know who donated.”
The donations allowed Harry and his wife to get to Italy and not have to dip into their retirement fund to see Ben compete.
The parents of North Royalton High School choir members are excited that someone they know will be at the Olympics.
“They were very excited when they found out that Ben was heading to the Olympics. I don’t know if they will be watching, but everyone knows what will be happening,” said Richardson.
One aspect of Ben’s Olympic journey still resonates with Harry when he comes to North Royalton High School. “The first time I came for choir rehearsal after Ben’s team won the competition that would send him to Italy for the Olympics, I got a standing ovation when I came into the classroom. That was neat.”
Ben is an accomplished cellist and attended the Cleveland Institute of Music. Harry’s mother, Ben’s grandmother encouraged him to learn about curling. And he took lessons while in the Cleveland area.
Daniel Casper will be the “skip” on the U.S. Men’s Curling team. Other team members besides Ben Richardson are Luc Violette and Aidan Oldenburg. Richard Ruohonen is an alternate. The men’s curling competition begin on February 11.
Let’s hope the North Royalton High School Choirs will give another standing ovation to Harry Richardson when he returns. And maybe, they can get a look at his son’s Olympic medal.
By Joe Jastrzemski
Contributing Writer
