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1954 – 1958
Music School in Trnava (Miloslav Klán)
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1958 – 1965
Conservatory in Bratislava (violoncello – Gustáv Večerný)
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1965 – 1970
Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno (Bohuš Heran, Karel Krafka)
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1970 – 1971
Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno, doctoral study (Karel Krafka)
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1972 – 1973
postgraduate study in Paris (André Navarra)
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1967, 1968
member of the Slovak Chamber Orchestra
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1971 – 1976
soloist in Ensemble Instrumental Andrée Colson, Langeais (France)
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1976 – 1985
member of the group Trio Istropolitanum
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1984
and 1985 concert master at the Slovak Sinfonietta Žilina
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since 1986
member of the Symphony Orchestra Bilbao in Spain (soloist and violoncello section leader)
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1975 – 1977
pedagogue at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava and at Conservatory in Kroměříž, Czech Republic
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1977 – 1981
pedagogue at Higher Institut of Music in Kuwait
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1990 – 1992
pedagogue at the Conservatorio de Ataulfo Argenta in Santander, Spain
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since 1987
regular professor of the String Department (violoncello, chamber music) at the Conservatorio Superior de J. C. Arriaga Bilbao, Spain
Richard Vandra started his professional career at the Slovak Chamber Orchestra (1967, 1968), and later was a soloist in Ensemble Instrumental Andrée Colson, Langeais, France (1971 – 1976). From 1976 – 1985 he was a member of the Trio Istropolitanum, inn 1984 and 1985 he was a member of the Slovak Sinfonietta Žilina as an invited violoncello section leader and since 1986 he is a member of the Symphony Orchestra Bilbao, Spain (soloist and violoncello section leader). As a soloist and chamber player he has performed in Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Netherlands, former Yugoslavia, Hungary, Germany, Austria, Spain, Switzerland, Great Britain, Kuwait, Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil, Haiti, Netherlands Antilles, Honduras, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, USA, and Venezuela.
Since the mid-1970s his teaching activity is also significant; in 1992 he was awarded the title Professor (Superior) under the Royal Decree of Ministry of Education of Spanish Kingdom in Madrid. At the same time he was a pedagogue at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava and at the Conservatory in Kroměříž, Czech Republic (1975 – 1977), and later at Higher Institut of Music in Kuwait (1977 – 1981), at Conservatorio de Ataulfo Argenta in Santander, Spain (1990 – 1992). Since 1987 he is a full professor of the String Department (violoncello, chamber music) at the Conservatorio superior de J. C. Arriaga Bilbao in Spain. He has also taught summer master classes in Spanish towns: Sevilla, Marbella, Mijas, Burgos, Elda, Algeciras, and Santander.