The Organ Scholars of Worcester College, Oxford.
Starting with Judy Martin, the college began regularly to recruit professional musicians to oversee or direct the music of the chapel (and, latterly, of the college). A variety of titles, roles and f/t or p/t status has been the case, and the organ scholar name board reflects this (along with what seems to be a much less tidy painter of names). For completeness, their names are recorded here in a darker colour, but as this is intended to be a biographical site about the organ scholars, further information is not included.
Cameron Dean Boase-Luke (2001)
Cameron Luke was born in Penzance, Cornwall, and he spent his early years there. After leaving school he spent two years studying at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Following a brief return home, he moved to Nesbyen in southern Norway, where he took up the full time position of Kantor (organist). He was responsible for the installation of a new 3-manual pipe organ that was built by Kenneth Tickell, organ builder of Northampton, England. To date it is the largest English built mechanical action organ in Norway. His next move was to Somna in northern Norway, and in addition to his church duties he worked a great deal with local choirs, accompanying them and training them. In 2001 he took up the offer of a place to study music at Worcester College, Oxford, where he was organ scholar, directing and over-seeing the day-to-day of the chapel music with its two choirs. In September 2007 he took up a position as Director of Music at All Saints’ Church, Cheltenham.
He has appeared as organist in BBC ‘Songs of Praise’ programmes and as soloist in several performances of music for organ and orchestra with the Cheltenham Symphony Orchestra. In 2017 he was invited to play for the Centenary Commemoration service in the Falklands Memorial Chapel of Pangbourne College in the presence of HM the Queen and HRH the Duke of Edinburgh. Until Easter 2018 he was Director of Music at All Saints’ Church, Cheltenham and was Chairman of the Gloucestershire Organists’ Association.
Cameron is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists and also holds the Choral Directing Diploma. His interests include history, archaeology, theology & liturgy, current affairs and the study of academic dress. In April 2015 he was ordained Deacon in the Anglican Catholic Apostolic Church.
Cameron took up the position of director of music at St Michael & George Cathedral and lecturer in music at Rhodes University, Grahamstown.
In April 2021 he was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Education (EdD) from the Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi Christian University for services to Christian music education.
https://www.iao.org.uk/goa/cameron_luke.htm
Thomas Primrose (2003-2006)
Tom maintains his own website, the link to which is here: https://www.tomprimrose.com/
Andrew John Gant (Chapel Music Consultant 2003-2007)
Isaac Daniel Chambers (2004-2007)
Dan (as he is known) maintains his own website, which is here: https://danchambers.weebly.com/bio.html
George Thomas Castle (2006-2008)
George Castle’s musical education took him through singing as a chorister at Durham Cathedral, where he also started to learn the organ, school in Bedford and a year as Organ Scholar at Worcester Cathedral. Following this, he studied for a degree in music at Oxford University, where he also held organ scholarships concurrently at Trinity and Worcester Colleges and was accompanist for the Oxford University Press Choir. Having graduated in 2008, George returned to Worcester Cathedral for four years, where he accompanied and helped train the various choirs and, from 2011, directed the Voluntary Choir. He was then Assistant Director of Music at Winchester Cathedral until 2021. Through his work in cathedral music, George has been organist for the Southern Cathedrals Festival in Winchester and was one of the organists for a number of Three Choirs Festivals between 2005 and 2012. George is now a freelance keyboard player, teacher, and conductor, working around the south of England, based near Winchester. He is a Visiting Music Teacher at Winchester College and The Pilgrims’ School, Winchester, teaching piano and organ. He regularly works alongside many of the UK’s leading orchestras, including over the last year the BSO, Florilegium, London Mozart Players, ECO and BBC National Orchestra of Wales. He is also accompanist for The Waynflete Singers, based in Winchester, the director of RSCM Voices West and is a regular accompanist for the Vasari Singers. He has featured as an organist on various recordings and broadcasts, as well as a fleeting appearance playing for Lord Mountbatten’s funeral and the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer on Netflix’s The Crown, and had brief spell in the top 10 of the Italian pop chart
Stephen John Farr (Director of Chapel Music 2007)
The board does not record his end date but it is likely to have been 2014
Thomas William Allery (2007-2010)
Tom maintains his own website, which is here: https://www.thomasallery.com/
Kathleen Ellen McDermott (2008-2011)
(married name Kathleen Silverman)
Katy is a professional organist and choral conductor and regularly performs in solo and choral recitals. She also works as a teacher and accompanist in several schools. As an undergraduate, Katy studied Music at Worcester College, Oxford and was the first female organ scholar of the college. She accompanied and directed the chapel choir, featuring on BBC Radio 4's 'Sunday Worship' and performing in various cathedrals including St Paul's, Gloucester and St Alban's.
After graduating, Katy qualified as a secondary school teacher and taught music for several years before deciding to devote more time to the organ. She was the 2015-16 organ scholar at St Mary's before going on to positions at Guildford Cathedral and St Mary's, Putney. Katy graduated with Distinction from the Master of Music in Performance course at the Royal College of Music in 2018 and also holds the Associateship diploma from the Royal College of Organists.
https://www.stmarysbattersea.org.uk/about-us/meet-our-people/
Edward Harry William Turner (2010-2013)
Edward Turner joined the team at the Nottingham Bach Choir as Accompanist in September 2019. He is currently the Assistant Director of Music at Derby Cathedral, in which capacity he accompanies the Cathedral Choir, plays for most choral services at the Cathedral, directs the Cathedral Voluntary Choir and assists in the training of the boy and girl choristers. He also directs Derby University Choir.
His musical career began as a Chorister at Southwell Minster, and continued after school with posts at Worcester College, Oxford; Dean Close School, Cheltenham; and Tewkesbury Abbey; before returning to Southwell Minster as Organ Scholar. He was also the accompanist and associate conductor to Bingham and District Choral Society prior to his appointment at NBC. A very experienced accompanist and organist, he has particular passions for choral music and the Anglican liturgy. Outside the organ loft and office, he can often be found walking, eating, drinking, or any combination of the aforementioned.
Nicholas John Freestone (2011-2014)
Nicholas Freestone is Assistant Director of Music at Worcester Cathedral, where he is the principal accompanist of the cathedral choir and directs the cathedral’s Voluntary and Youth Choirs. He is accompanist to Worcester Festival Choral Society and is Organist of the Worcester Three Choirs Festival. As a solo recitalist, Nicholas has performed at venues including Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral and the St Albans International Organ Festival. As accompanist he has collaborated with both the National Youth Choir and the Rodolfus Choir. Nicholas was the organist for the Office for the Royal Maundy when it was held in Worcester Cathedral earlier this year. Nicholas has broadcast on BBC Television and Radio both as organist and conductor, and in 2023 he performed on the soundtrack to Netflix’s The Crown. He has previously accompanied the Choir of Worcester College, Oxford, on two recordings that were awarded the accolade of BBC Music Magazine ‘Christmas Choice’. Prior to moving to Worcester, Nicholas held the post of Acting Sub-Organist at St Paul’s Cathedral, London. He accompanied and directed the world-renowned cathedral choir in their regular services and in concert, and performed at services of national significance, including the Grenfell Tower Memorial Service and the installation of the Bishop of London. Nicholas has held organ scholarships at Tewkesbury Abbey, Wells Cathedral, St Albans Cathedral, and Worcester College, Oxford, from where he graduated with a degree in Music in 2014.
https://3choirs.org/profile/nicholas-freestone
Thomas William Allery (Director of Chapel Music 2014)
The board does not record his end date, but it was 2019.
Alexander Nicholas Goodwin (2012-2015)
Alex is Director of Music at The Portsmouth Grammar School. He has held posts at Christchurch, New Zealand, (Assistant organist and Director of the Girl Choristers), St John's Leatherhead and is an ABRSM examiner.
Benjamin Henry George Cunningham (2014-2017)
Ben is Assistant Director of Chapel Music at Winchester College. Before joining Winchester, he was Organ Scholar at Westminster Abbey for two years where he accompanied and conducted the world famous choir. One of the most memorable services that he took part in during my time at the Abbey was the burial of Stephen Hawking’s ashes in 2018
He is also the Co-Artistic Director of the chamber choir SANSARA, with whom he has performed in many concerts across the UK, most recently conducting a performance of Bach’s St John Passion with James Gilchrist as the Evangelist.
https://www.winchestercollege.org/welcome/people/ben-cunningham
Daniel Paul Mathieson (2015-2018)
The organ scholar board erroneously records him as Director of Chapel Music at these dates. He was, in fact, organ scholar at this time.
Daniel joined the team at Chester Cathedral in 2023 as Head of Music Outreach and Assistant Organist. In this role he assists in the training of the choristers and playing for daily services alongside the other Cathedral Musicians, and is responsible for bringing the Cathedral’s musical offering to a wider audience through wider projects and collaborations across the local community and diocese.
Prior to coming to Chester, he held positions as organist, director and tutor across the city and university of Oxford, including as Interim Sub-Organist at Christ Church Cathedral and Organist and Assistant Director of Music at St. Mary Magdalen. He also worked as Organist and Choir Director at Keble and Worcester Colleges, and taught topics for the Music Faculty across the University, as well as the organ at Downe House School.
He began his organ studies at York Minster with David Pipe and in 2014 went up to Worcester College, Oxford with an organ scholarship, studying the organ with William Whitehead and Dame Gillian Weir and conducting with Jeremy Summerly. After graduating he took up the organ scholarship at Salisbury Cathedral, playing for the cathedral choir and working closely with the cathedral school and cathedral Junior Choir. Following this, he taught for a year at Radley College while working as Assistant Organist, before returning to Oxford for postgraduate study.
He is in demand as a recitalist across the UK: recent performances have included at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Cathedral, and for the Three Choirs Festival. He also works with the world-renowned Trinity Boys Choir on tours across Germany and Denmark, giving concerts in venues including Würzburg, Münster and Aarhus Cathedrals in collaboration with their resident choirs.
He is a prizewinning Fellow of the Royal College of Organists and has recently published an article on collaboration in contemporary organ music for the RCO Journal (2023). Recent recordings have included the Duruflé Requiem and Yves Castagnet’s Messe Salve Regina at Notre Dame de France, Leicester Place.
https://chestercathedral.com/team/daniel-mathieson
Alexander Palotai (2015-2018)
Alexander Lanigan-Palotai is Sub-Organist at Chester Cathedral, where he assists the Organist and Master of the Choristers with the direction of the Cathedral choir and training of the choristers. He is the principal accompanist for the choir’s services, concerts, and broadcasts. Alexander also conducts the Cathedral Nave Choir, and regularly performs in the Cathedral’s weekly organ recital series. Alexander graduated with a degree in music from Oxford University in 2018 and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists.
https://chestercathedral.com/team/alex-lanigan-palotai
Julia Isobel Alsop (2016-2019)
Julia is now a graduate entry medical student at the University of Warwick.
Alexander Wilson (2018-2021)
Alex is organist of St George's Cathedral, Southwark. Prior to that he was as St Cyprian’s Church in Marylebone and has held previous positions at St Mary’s Bourne Street and Worcester College Oxford. He is the School Organist at St Paul’s School and Organ Teacher at King’s College School Wimbledon, and maintains a busy freelance career as a recitalist, accompanist, and jazz saxophonist.
Daniel Paul Mathieson (Graduate Organist 2019-2022)
Stephen Mark Darlington (Acting Director of Music 2020-2021)
Giles Francis James Longstaff (2020-2023)
Giles went on to be organ scholar at Exeter Cathedral for 24/25.
Helen Smee (Director of College Music 2022-2023)
Caius Lee (Director of College Music 2023 - )