https://www.worcestercathedral.co.uk/worship/choirs-organ-bells

Worcester Cathedral Music, Chapter Office, 8 College Yard, Worcester (2026)

28/07/2026

We are delighted to announce the line-up of performers for our Autumn Lunchtime Recital Series.

The recitals take place on Thursday lunchtimes at 12.15pm, with donations welcomed at a retiring collection.

The series begins on Thursday 17th September with an organ recital by Bas Westerhof.

We look forward to welcoming you to our lunchtime recitals this autumn!

29/06/2026

We are delighted to welcome Eric Choate to give the final lunchtime recital in our summer series, at 12.15pm on Thursday 2nd July.

All are welcome to attend this recital, with donations welcomed at a retiring collection.

Eric Choate is an award-winning organist, composer, and conductor. He is professor of choral and organ music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and gives solo recitals throughout the United States and Europe. He holds the Fellowship Certificate (FAGO) from the American Guild of Organists and is Director of Music at The Episcopal Church of St. Mary the Virgin in San Francisco.

Eric’s compositions have been performed by artists including VOCES8, musicians of the San Francisco Symphony, Las Cruces Symphony, Berkeley Symphony, Friction Quartet, and university choirs around the globe. His works are published by E.C. Schirmer, with recordings released on the Arsis Audio and Ulysses Arts labels.

A sought-after conductor, Eric recently made his Carnegie Hall debut conducting Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem with the New England Symphonic Ensemble. 2025-2026 highlights include Marin Symphony, Festival Napa Valley, and the inaugural season of Nebula Consort, a professional chorus for early-career singers.

He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Composition from St. Olaf College and studied harmony and counterpoint at the European American Musical Alliance in Paris. He later earned his Master of Music studying composition with David Conte at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Eric lives in San Francisco with his wife, soprano Ellen Leslie.

Programme: Tribute & Remembrance

Eric Choate (b. 1990): Fantasie

Ian Venables (b. 1955): Rhapsody in memoriam Herbert Howells

Byron Adams (b. 1955): Suite in Olden Style
i. Sinfonia
ii. Fugue
iii. Siciliana
iv. Rigaudon

David Conte (b. 1955): Prelude & Fugue in Memoriam Nadia Boulanger

24/06/2026

We are delighted to welcome Philip Crozier from Montreal to give this week's lunchtime organ recital at 12.15pm on Thursday 25th June.

All are welcome to attend this recital, with donations welcomed at a retiring collection.

Born in Preston, England, PHILIP CROZIER began learning the piano at six, and was a treble chorister in both Blackburn and Carlisle Cathedral choirs, singing daily choral services. His interest in the organ started very early and he began organ study at the age of sixteen, gaining the ARCO diploma whilst still at school, followed by the LRAM diploma in organ performance within two years. In 1979 he graduated from Cardiff University where he was awarded the Glynne Jones Prize for Organ in 1978 and 1979 and pursued further studies in Paris with the great blind French organist André Marchal in whose memory he performed the complete organ works of César Franck in 1981.

In 1984 he moved to Canada and married the late Sylvie Poirier, an organist and painter, with whom he formed an organ duo team in 1990, becoming known internationally through their concert career and commissioning of organ duets by composers from Canada and abroad and the release of recordings which include three CDs of solo organ works by Petr Eben.

Philip Crozier has given solo recitals extensively in Europe and North America, including the complete organ works of Jehan Alain in Montreal in 1990 (and again in 2011 in thirteen concerts in Europe) and the Canadian première of Petr Eben's Hommage à Henry Purcell in 1995 at the request of the composer.
Philip Crozier is the organist at St. George’s Anglican Church, Montreal and Music Director at Westmount Park United Church. He is the accompanist to the Stewart Hall Singers and l’Ensemble Opus 16 and is in regular demand as accompanist to various choral and instrumental groups as well as maintaining an international career as a solo recitalist.

Programme:

Partite diverse sopra “De Lofzang van Maria” (Magnificat) - Piet Post
- Koraal
- Ricercare
- Aria
- Scherzando
- Pedaalsolo
- Koraal in Canon
- Fugato

Worster Braules - Thomas Tomkins

Five Short Pieces (extracts) - Percy Whitlock
- Folk Tune (No. 2)
- Scherzo (No. 4)

Sonata No. 3 in A major (Op. 65, No. 3) - Felix Mendelssohn
- Con moto maestoso
- Andante tranquillo

- Conradus (Dance) - Tablature of Jan z Lublina (1540)
- (Chorea) Ferdinandi (Dance)
- Proportio Ferdinandi Ulterius (Dance)

Toccata and Fugue in F (BuxWV 157) - Dietrich Buxtehude

Hommage (à la mémoire de Sylvie Poirier) (2014) - Denis Bédard

Prelude in C - Edward Bairstow

17/06/2026

We are delighted that this week's lunchtime recital on Thursday 18th June at 12.15pm will be given by Stelios Sycallides (alto) and David Marlow (tenor).

Stelios and David have been two of our choral scholars this year, and we look forward to hearing them perform as solo singers.

All are welcome to attend this concert, with donations welcomed at a retiring collection.

Stelios Sycallides is currently the alto choral scholar at Worcester Cathedral. Stelios took up this position after studying Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge, completing his integrated master’s in the History and Philosophy of Science, with a dissertation on the formal epistemology of mathematics.

While at Cambridge, Stelios sang in Queens’ College Chapel Choir as well as the Schola Cantorum of Fisher House, the university’s Catholic chaplaincy, which specialises in Gregorian chant and accompanies the Latin Mass every Sunday. The latter especially allowed Stelios to pursue his love for early music, which constitutes a significant part of his musical interests along with his fascination for the operas of Richard Wagner.

Next year, Stelios intends to pursue further postgraduate studies at the Institute of Logic, Language and Computation of the University of Amsterdam, where he hopes to complete the Master of Logic.

David Marlow is the current Tenor Choral Scholar at Worcester Cathedral, where he regularly sings in daily services as part of the Worcester Cathedral Choir, alongside performing with the Worcester Festival Choral Society and Cathedral Youth Choir. He will also be singing in this July's Three Choirs Festival.

David began singing in 2014, when he became a chorister in the Worcester Cathedral Choir. During his years as a chorister, he developed a love of singing which he continued after leaving the choir in 2021, becoming a tenor in the then newly established Cathedral Youth Choir.

In his final year of A Levels, he also began singing with Worcester Cathedral Choir at weekends. It was during this time that he decided to take a gap year as a Choral Scholar. David has greatly enjoyed his year at Worcester Cathedral and looks forward to studying Computer Science at the University of York this September.

Programme:

Selection from the Biblical Songs - Antonín Dvořák

i. Slyš, ó Bože, slyš modlitbu mou (Psalm 97)
ii. Hospodin jest můj pastýř (Psalm 23)
iii. Bože! Bože! Píseň novou (Psalms 144 & 145)
iv. Slyš, ó Bože, volání mé (Psalms 61 & 63)
v. Popatriž na mne a smiluj se nade mnou (Psalm 25)
vi. Zpívejte Hospodinu píseň novou (Psalms 96 & 98)

Ständchen - Franz Schubert

Abendempfindung (K. 523) - W. A. Mozart

Silent Noon - Ralph Vaughan Williams

The Singer - Michael Head

O del mio dolce ardor - Christoph Willibald von Gluck

09/06/2026

We are delighted that this week's lunchtime organ recital will be given by our Organ Scholar, Benedict Braddock.

The concert will take place at 12.15pm on Thursday 11th June, and all are welcome to attend, with donations welcomed at a retiring collection.

Benedict Braddock is Organ Scholar at Worcester Cathedral, where he regularly accompanies the cathedral's choirs and assists in the training of the choristers.

Having begun learning the organ while a chorister at Tewkesbury Abbey under Simon Bell, he proceeded to Uppingham School as a music scholar, specialising in organ, tuba, singing and composition alongside his academic studies. At Uppingham he accompanied school choirs and chapel services and performed extensively as both a soloist and chamber musician, culminating last year in performances of Vaughan Williams's Tuba Concerto, and Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time at the British Embassy in Cairo.

Benedict has also appeared in several concerts at St Mary-le-Bow in London for the Royal College of Organists, from whom he gained his Associateship (ARCO) in 2024. He recently enjoyed a spell as Spring Principal Tuba of the National Youth Orchestra, performing with the orchestra at a televised BBC Prom.

Beyond music, he is an award-winning poet and translator, and in 2025 received the prestigious Doria Pamphilj Prize for his "acutely perceptive" work on English religious art of the 1920s.

With the organ very much at the heart of his vocation, he is looking forward to taking up the Organ Scholarship at Jesus College, Cambridge in the autumn.

Programme:

L'Ange à la Trompette - Jacques Charpentier

No.5 from Sei Fioretti (St Francis and the Angel) - Charles Tournemire

Veni Creator Spiritus - Nicolas de Grigny

Aspiration from Suite for Organ - Alec Rowley

In Spiritu et Igni from Sinfonia in honore Sancti Ioannis Baptistae - Naji Hakim

01/06/2026

We are delighted that bass Jonathan Heron will be giving this week's Lunchtime Recital on Thursday 4th June at 12.15pm.

All are welcome to attend this concert, with donations welcomed at a retiring collection.

As Principal Bass Lay Clerk here at Worcester Cathedral, Jonathan contributes to the daily cycle of worship, regular concerts, and the world-renowned Three Choirs Festival.

Jonathan studied at the Purcell School for Young Musicians and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, where he first discovered his love for cathedral music at St Philip’s Cathedral.

Following his graduation, he spent a year as the Bass Choral Scholar at Canterbury Cathedral before becoming Bass Lay Clerk at Rochester Cathedral, moving to Worcester in 2025.

Known for his eclectic collection of musical vocations, he enjoys composing and recording music, playing the trumpet and piano, and singing as a soloist.

Beyond performing and writing, Jonathan takes great joy in his peripatetic teaching. He currently tutors at the Elgar School of Music, where he specialises in developing musical identity and aural awareness. Jonathan’s years of experience in cathedral singing have helped him find stylistic sensitivity and individuality; these make up the foundation of his teaching philosophy.

When not performing or teaching, Jonathan also enjoys indoor bouldering.

Programme:

Lord God of Abraham (from Elijah) - Felix Mendelssohn
Say to them of a fearful heart (from The Wilderness) - S.S. Wesley

Bible Songs:
A Song of Hope (No. 3) - Charles Villers Stanford
A Song of Battle (No. 5) - Charles Villers Stanford
A Song of Wisdom (No. 6) - Charles Villers Stanford

The Infinite Shining Heavens - Ralph Vaughan Williams
Easter (from Five Mystical Songs) - Ralph Vaughan Williams

Tears (from Five Elizabethan Songs) - Ivor Gurney
Severn Meadows – Ivor Gurney

King David - Herbert Howells

19/05/2026

We are delighted to welcome Jake Scicinski to give this week's Lunchtime Recital at 12.15pm on Thursday 21st May.

All are welcome to attend this concert, with donations welcomed at a retiring collection.

Jake grew up in West London and studied organ at the Royal College of Music under Charlie Andrews and Martin Ford. During his time at the RCM he has had the opportunity to play some of Europe’s most famous organs, most notably in the Thomaskirche in Leipzig and St Bavo’s Church in Haarlem. In 2025, he was awarded the Harold Darke Prize by the RCM for top undergraduate performance. He is also an Associate of the Royal College of Organists.

Jake is currently the Assistant Organist at Brentwood Cathedral and has previously held scholarships at St John’s Notting Hill and Farm Street Jesuit Church. He also maintains a busy freelance career, playing for services and concerts around London, most notably at St John’s Smith Square alongside the West London Sinfonia. Solo recitals include those at Holy Trinity Sloane Square, St Mary Redcliffe and Southwark Cathedral. In February 2025 Jake founded the Ordinariate choir, which sings monthly evensong at the Church of the Most Precious Blood, London Bridge.

Programme:

Prelude in Eb (BWV 552) – J.S. Bach (1685 – 1750)

Mein Jesu, der du mich (op.122) – Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897)

Organ Sonata no. 5 (op.65) – Felix Mendelssohn (1809 – 1847)
I. Andante
II. Andante con Moto
III. Allegro

Rhapsody in E (op. 4) – Harold Darke (1888 – 1976)

Fugue in Eb ‘St Anne’ (BWV 552) – J.S. Bach (1685 – 1750)

13/05/2026

We are delighted to welcome pianist Brandon Roku Ali to give this week's Lunchtime Recital at 12.15pm on Thursday 14th May.

All are welcome to attend this concert, with donations welcomed at a retiring collection.

Brandon Roku Ali is an African-born classical pianist residing in the UK. He studied piano with Sheila Warbis in Poole, which helped him develop an appreciation for classical and romantic composers. He is a touring pianist known to bring original compositions on stage, written to fill the gap between classical and contemporary music.

He is a first prize winner at the Bournemouth Music Festivals Competitions and Pianist of the Year (2023). An occasional radio guest, having appeared on Hope FM to present a selection from his album ‘Kaiser & I’ to listeners nationwide. And he is a creative concert curator with an interest in partnerships with local businesses and artists to curate unique experiences that are rich in culture.

Programme:

Kaiser & I (2024) - Brandon Roku Ali
Yearning
Walking on Water
Autumn
Fairytale
Under the Moon
Goodnight Mr Sloth
Snow
Kaiser and I (Pt.1 & 2 played jointly)
Sunrise on the Ocean

K.545 (Sonata Facile) - W. A. Mozart
Allegro
Andante
Rondo Allegretto

06/05/2026

We are delighted to welcome Allan Walker to give this week's Lunchtime Organ Recital at 12.15pm on Thursday 7th May.

All are welcome to attend this concert, with donations welcomed at a retiring collection.

Allan Walker was Head Chorister at St John’s College, Cambridge, under Dr George Guest, and later won a music scholarship to Harrow School before returning to St John’s, Cambridge in 1993 as Organ Scholar.

He studied the organ with Andrew Nethsingha, Christopher Robinson and David Sanger and as Organ Scholar toured Australia, South Africa, North America and Europe, as well as performing in broadcasts and recordings for the BBC and foreign broadcasters.

Programme:

Symphony no. 4 (op. 32) - Louis Vierne (1870-1937)
i. Prélude
ii. Allegro
iii. Menuet
iv. Romance
v. Final

Rhapsody no. 3 in C-sharp minor (op. 17 no. 3) - Herbert Howells (1892-1983)

27/04/2026

In the place of the advertised performer, this week's Lunchtime Organ Recital will be given by our Assistant Director of Music, Nicholas Freestone at 12.15pm on Thursday 30th April.

All are welcome to attend this free concert, with donations welcomed at a retiring collection.

Nicholas Freestone is Assistant Director of Music of Worcester Cathedral, where he is the principal accompanist of the Cathedral Choir and directs the cathedral’s Voluntary and Youth Choirs. In September 2026, he will be taking up the post of Director of Music at Westminster Cathedral Choir School. Whilst in Worcester, Nicholas has been Accompanist to Worcester Festival Choral Society, and Organist of the 2021 and 2024 Three Choirs Festivals.

As a solo recitalist, Nicholas has performed at venues including St Paul’s Cathedral, 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, and worked as organist and organ tutor on courses run by the Rodolfus Foundation and the Royal School of Church Music.

Nicholas has performed as organist, pianist and continuo player with ensembles including the BBC Singers, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the City of London Sinfonia. He has broadcast on BBC Television and Radio both as organist and conductor, and accompanied the Choir of Worcester College, Oxford on two recordings that were awarded the accolade of BBC Music Magazine ‘Christmas Choice’.

Programme:

Sonata no. 3 in A (op. 65 no. 3) - Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

i. Con moto maestoso
ii. Andante tranquillo

Miroir - Ad Wammes (b. 1953)

Sonata no. 1 in D minor (op. 42) - Alexandre Guilmant (1837-1911)

i. Introduction (Largo e maestoso) et Allegro
ii. Pastorale: Andante quasi Allegretto
iii. Final: Allegro assai

Worcester Cathedral Music

28/07/2026

29/06/2026

24/06/2026

17/06/2026

09/06/2026

01/06/2026

19/05/2026

13/05/2026

06/05/2026

27/04/2026

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