Organ Teachers
Organ Scholars at Trinity are fortunate to learn with three eminent organists who also have wide professional experience as recitalists, accompanists and Directors of Music.
Organ Scholars also receive voice lessons from our > singing teachers.
Colin Walsh
Colin Walsh’s association with cathedral music goes back over 40 years. He has served, in various capacities, St George’s Chapel Windsor Castle, Christ Church Oxford (where he took an honorary degree in music), Salisbury Cathedral and St Albans Cathedral. He joined Lincoln Cathedral in 1988.
As an organ recitalist he has played in all the major venues in the UK, most European countries, the USA, Australasia, Hong Kong and Russia.
His studies in Paris with the blind French organist and composer Jean Langlais inspired him to specialise in 19th and 20th century French organ music. In 1988 he played, at a public concert, the music of Olivier Messiaen in front of the composer.
His recordings on CD and DVD as a choral conductor, accompanist and soloist number nearly 40 over many years and various labels. More recently he appeared as organ soloist in the BBC Radio 3 ‘Live in Concert’ series.
Stephen Farr
Stephen Farr is Director of Music at St Paul’s Church Knightsbridge, a post which he combines with a busy career as soloist, continuo player, accompanist, and conductor. He was Organ Scholar of Clare College Cambridge, graduating with a double first in Music and an MPhil in Musicology. He then held appointments at Christ Church Oxford, and at Winchester and Guildford Cathedrals.
A prizewinning performer at international level, he has an established reputation as one of the leading recitalists of his generation, with numerous recordings to his credit; he has appeared in the UK in venues including the Royal Albert Hall (where he gave the première of Judith Bingham’s ‘The Everlasting Crown’ in the BBC Proms 2011), Bridgewater Hall, and Symphony Hall Birmingham; he also appears frequently on BBC Radio 3. He has performed widely in North and South America, in Australia, and throughout Europe. His ensemble work includes appearances with the AAM, OAE, English Concert, CBSO and Berlin Philharmonic.
David Briggs
David Briggs is an internationally renowned organist whose performances are acclaimed for their musicality, virtuosity, and ability to excite and engage audiences of all ages. With an extensive repertoire spanning five centuries, he is known across the globe for his brilliant organ transcriptions of symphonic music by composers such as Mahler, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Elgar, Bruckner, Ravel, and Bach.
Fascinated by the art of improvisation since a child, David also frequently performs improvisations to silent films such as Phantom of the Opera, Hunchback of Notre-Dame, Nosferatu, Jeanne d’Arc, Metropolis, as well as a variety of Charlie Chaplin films.
At the age of 17, David obtained his FRCO (Fellow of the Royal College of Organists) diploma, winning all the prizes and the Silver Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians. From 1981-84 he was the Organ Scholar at King’s College, Cambridge, during which time he studied organ with Jean Langlais in Paris. The first British winner of the Tournemire Prize at the St Albans International Improvisation Competition, he also won the first prize in the International Improvisation Competition at Paisley. Subsequently David held positions at Hereford, Truro and Gloucester Cathedrals. He is currently Artist-in-Residence at St James Cathedral, Toronto.
