Director of Chapel Music
Stephen Farr, formerly the Organist and Choir Master at Guildford Cathedral.
He was born in London in 1967, and after studying with Robert Munns and David Sanger read Music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was Organ Scholar.
After graduating with a double first, he completed an MPhil in Musicology and also held the W.T. Best Scholarship of the Worshipful Company of Musicians, which enabled him to study with Piet Kee and Hans Fagius. He was appointed Sub-Organist and later a Lecturer in Music at Christ Church, Oxford in 1990. While at Oxford, he toured with the cathedral choir in North and South America, Europe and Australia – including a concerto performance in Sydney Opera House – and participated in numerous recordings and broadcasts in the UK and elsewhere in Europe.
He was then appointed Assistant Master of Music at Winchester Cathedral, where – in addition to his duties accompanying the daily offices – he combined a full schedule of broadcasts, tours and recordings with a busy freelance career.
During his time as Organist and Choir Master at Guildford, the Cathedral choir toured in Denmark, recorded two CDs and also appeared on Channel 4 and BBC Radio 3. He has an established reputation as a solo performer; he won the RCO Performer of the Year competition in 1988, and has won numerous other prizes at international competitions in Odense, St Alban’s and Paisley.
He also makes frequent appearances on Radio 3 as a soloist and accompanist, including regular appearances with the BBC Singers; he recently gave the first performance in recent times of Widor’s Third Symphony for Organ and Orchestra with the Ulster Orchestra in Belfast, which was subsequently broadcast on Radio 3.
He has given recitals in all the major venues in the UK, including the Fairfield Halls, Westminster Cathedral, King’s College Cambridge, St Paul’s Celebrity Series and Westminster Abbey, and has performed in the USA, France, Norway and Denmark, most notably at Aarhus Cathedral and in the Odense Bach Week.
Recent engagements have included a celebrity recital at The Queens’ College Oxford as part of the 250th anniversary commemorations of the death of J. S. Bach, St David’s in Wales, Salisbury Cathedral, Southwell Minster, and King’s and St John’s Colleges in Cambridge, as well as a recording of twentieth century choral music for BBC Radio 3.
In addition , he has extensive experience as a continuo player, and has worked with many leading orchestras and soloists, including Emma Kirkby, Michael Chance, Jane Glover, Florilegium, the English Concert, London Baroque Soloists and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
He has released numerous solo CDs on several major labels, the most recent being a disc of music by Langlais recorded on the Marcussen organ of Odense Cathedral in Denmark which was given a five star rating by BBC Music Magazine and Classic CD. He is a council member and examiner of the Royal College of Organists.