Organ scholar

An organ scholar is a young musician employed as a part-time assistant organist at an institution where regular choral services are held. The idea of an organ scholarship is to provide the holder with playing, directing and administrative experience.

Organ scholars may sometimes be found at a cathedral or a collegiate church. Many colleges at Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin universities, as well as other universities, offer organ scholarships to undergraduates. At some institutions (for example, Christ Church, Oxford, New College, Oxford, Trinity College, Dublin or King's College, Cambridge), the organ scholar(s) work under the direction of a full-time professional Director of Music. At other institutions, the organ scholar is in charge of running the choir.

Many organ scholars have gone on to notable careers in music and in other fields. Two notable ex-organ scholars who went on to achieve fame in other fields are Edward Heath (who read Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Balliol College, Oxford) and Dudley Moore (who read music at Magdalen College, Oxford).

Notable organ scholars at universities and colleges

Name	Institution	Dates	Later appointments	Ref
Hugh Percy Allen	Christ's College, Cambridge	1892–1895	Organist of St Asaph Cathedral, Ely Cathedral and New College, Oxford; Professor of Music at the University of Oxford and Director of the Royal College of Music
Malcolm Archer	Jesus College, Cambridge	1972–1975	Organist of Bristol Cathedral, Wells Cathedral and St Paul's Cathedral; Director of Chapel Music and Organist of Winchester College
Richard Armstrong	Corpus Christi College, Cambridge	1961	Music Director of Welsh National Opera and Scottish Opera
Thomas Armstrong	Keble College, Oxford		Organist of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
Martin Baker	Downing College, Cambridge	1985–1988	Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral
Sarah Baldock	Pembroke College, Cambridge		Organist of Chichester Cathedral
Ayo Bankole	Clare College, Cambridge	1961–1964	Organist of Lagos Cathedral
Peter Barley	King's College, Cambridge	1987–1990	Organist of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin
Stephen Barlow	Trinity College, Cambridge	1972–1975
Christopher Barton	Worcester College, Oxford	1975–1978	Organist of Newport Cathedral
Benjamin Bayl	King's College, Cambridge	1997–2000
Kenneth Beard	Emmanuel College, Cambridge	1949–1952	Organist of Southwell Minster
John Bertalot	Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and Lincoln College, Oxford	1955–1958 (Corpus Christi)  ? (Lincoln)	Organist of Blackburn Cathedral
Harry Bicket	Christ Church, Oxford	1980–1983	Director of The English Concert
Jonathan Bielby	St John's College, Cambridge	1963–1967	Organist of Wakefield Cathedral
Hugh Blair	Christ's College, Cambridge		Organist of Worcester Cathedral
Mark Blatchly	Christ Church, Oxford	1978–1981	Organist of St Edmundsbury Cathedral
Geraint Bowen	Jesus College, Cambridge	1982–1985	Organist of St Davids Cathedral and Hereford Cathedral
John Dykes Bower	Corpus Christi College, Cambridge	1922	Organist of Truro Cathedral and St Paul's Cathedral
Harry Bramma	Pembroke College, Oxford	1955–1960	Organist of Southwark Cathedral and Director of the Royal School of Church Music
Christopher Brayne	Emmanuel College, Cambridge	1975–1978	Organist of Bristol Cathedral
Herbert Brewer	Exeter College, Oxford	1883–1885	Composer, organist of Bristol Cathedral and Gloucester Cathedral
Joseph C. Bridge	Exeter College, Oxford		Organist of Chester Cathedral
David Briggs	King's College, Cambridge	1981–1984	Organist of Truro Cathedral and Gloucester Cathedral
Paul Brough	Magdalen College, Oxford	1983–1986	Organist of Sheffield Cathedral, Director of Music at All Saints, Margaret Street.
William Denis Browne	Clare College, Cambridge	1910–1912	Composer and music critic
Peter Burton	St John's College, Oxford		Organist of St Albans Cathedral
John Butt	King's College, Cambridge	1979–1982	Gardiner Professor of Music, Glasgow University
Timothy Byram-Wigfield	Christ Church, Oxford	1982–1985	Organist of St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh, St George's Chapel, Windsor. Director of Music at All Saints, Margaret Street
Andrew Cantrill	College of St. Hild and St. Bede, Durham	1987–1991	Director of Music at Saint Paul's Cathedral, Wellington and Organist and Master of Choristers at Croydon Minster
Nicholas Cleobury	Worcester College, Oxford	1968–1971	Assistant Organist of Chichester Cathedral and Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
Stephen Cleobury	St John's College, Cambridge	1967–1971	Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral, Director of Music at King's College, Cambridge
Ross Cobb	King's College London	1991–1995	Director of Music at St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney
Norman Cocker	Merton College, Oxford	1907–1909	Organist of Manchester Cathedral
E. T. Cook	The Queen's College, Oxford		Organist of Southwark Cathedral
John Cook	Christ's College, Cambridge		Organist of St. Paul's Cathedral (London, Ontario)
Deryck Cooke	Selwyn College, Cambridge	1938-40, 1946-7	Broadcaster and musicologist
David Cooper	Lincoln College, Oxford	1967–1970	Organist of Norwich Cathedral
Joseph Cooper	Keble College, Oxford	1931–1934
Robert Costin	Pembroke College, Cambridge	1990–1993	Assistant Organist of Blackburn Cathedral, Director of Music at Ardingly College
Anthony Crossland	Christ Church, Oxford	1957–1961	Organist of Wells Cathedral
Arnold Duncan Culley	Emmanuel College, Cambridge	1891–1894	Organist of Durham Cathedral
Stephen Darlington	Christ Church, Oxford	1971–1974	Organist of St Albans Cathedral and Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
Andrew Davis	King's College, Cambridge	1963–1966	Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra
Nigel Davison	Peterhouse, Cambridge	1950–1954	Organist of the Lord Mayor's Chapel, Bristol and Senior Lecturer in Music at the University of Bristol
Christopher Dearnley	Worcester College, Oxford	1948–1952	Organist of Salisbury Cathedral and St Paul's Cathedral
John Dexter	Jesus College, Oxford	1972–1975	Organist of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin
Ralph Downes	Keble College, Oxford	1925–1928	Professor of Organ at the Royal College of Music
Clive Driskill-Smith	Christ Church, Oxford	1996–1999	Sub-Organist of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
Kingsley Charles Dunham	Hatfield College, Durham
David Dunnett	Clare College, Cambridge	1980–1983	Organist of Norwich Cathedral
Matthew Edwards	Peterborough Cathedral	1997–1998	Organist and Master of the Choristers Dundee Cathedral, now Director of Music at Thomas Coats Memorial, Paisley
Richard Egarr	Clare College, Cambridge	1982–1985	Music Director of Academy of Ancient Music
Richard Farnes	King's College, Cambridge	1983–1986	Music Director of Opera North
Stephen Farr	Clare College, Cambridge	1984	Organist of Guildford Cathedral
Scott Farrell	Royal Holloway College, London	1989–1992	Director of Music at Rochester Cathedral
Iain Farrington	St John's College, Cambridge	1996–1999
Barry Ferguson	Peterhouse, Cambridge		Organist of Rochester Cathedral
Duncan Ferguson	Magdalen College, Oxford	1999–2002	Director of Music of St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh
Thomas Fielden	Jesus College, Oxford	1905
Jeremy Filsell	Keble College, Oxford and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge	1982–1985	Organist of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Artist-in-Residence at Washington National Cathedral
Roger Fisher	Christ Church, Oxford	1959–1962	Organist of Chester Cathedral
E. Howard Fletcher	Pembroke College, Cambridge	1954–1957	Organist of Llandaff Cathedral
Nick Gale	Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford	1993–1996	Director of Music at St George's Cathedral, Southwark & Sunningdale School
William Glock	Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge		BBC Controller of Music
David Goode	King's College, Cambridge	1991–1994	Organist of Eton College
Peter Goodman	Royal College of Music, London	1939–1942	Organist of Guildford Cathedral
Christopher Gower	Magdalen College, Oxford	1958–1961	Organist of Peterborough Cathedral
Steven Grahl	Magdalen College, Oxford		Organist & Director of Music at St Marylebone Parish Church, Assistant Organist of New College, Oxford
Christopher Gray	Pembroke College, Cambridge		Director of Music at Truro Cathedral
Francis Grier	King's College, Cambridge	1973–1976	Organist of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
Douglas Guest	King's College, Cambridge	1935–1939	Organist of Westminster Abbey
George Guest	St John's College, Cambridge	1947–1951	Director of Music of St John's College, Cambridge
Paul Hale	New College, Oxford	1971–1974	Rector Chori of Southwell Minster
David Halls	Worcester College, Oxford	1981–1984	Director of Music at Salisbury Cathedral
Tim Harper	Clare College, Cambridge	2004–2007	Assistant Director of Music at St. Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham, Assistant Director of Music at Ripon Cathedral
Charles Harrison	Jesus College, Cambridge	1992–1995	Organist and Master of the Choristers at Chichester Cathedral
Trevor Harvey	Brasenose College, Oxford
Edward Heath	Balliol College, Oxford	1935–1939	Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Gerald Hendrie	Selwyn College, Cambridge		Founding Professor of Music at the Open University
Christopher Herrick	Exeter College, Oxford	1959–1962	Sub-Organist of Westminster Abbey
Richard Hickox	Queens' College, Cambridge	1967–1970	Principal Conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Edward Higginbottom	Corpus Christi College, Cambridge	1966–1970	Director of Music at New College, Oxford
David Hill	St John's College, Cambridge	1976–1979	Master of Music of Westminster Cathedral and at Winchester Cathedral, Director of Music at St John's College, Cambridge, Director of the BBC Singers
Richard Hill	Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge	1990–1993	Organist of the Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace
Timothy Hone	Peterhouse, Cambridge	1976–1980	Organist of Newcastle Cathedral, Head of Liturgy and Music at Salisbury Cathedral
Martin How	Clare College, Cambridge
Peter Hurford	Jesus College, Cambridge	1949–1953	Organist of St Albans Cathedral
Marcus Huxley	Worcester College, Oxford		Organist of St Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham
Daniel Hyde	King's College, Cambridge	2000–2003	Informator Choristarum of Magdalen College, Oxford
Carl Jackson	Downing College, Cambridge	1978–1981	Director of Music of the Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace
Nicholas Jackson	Wadham College, Oxford		Organist of St Davids Cathedral
Rupert Jeffcoat	St Catharine's College, Cambridge		Organist of Coventry Cathedral, Organist and Director of Music at St John's Cathedral, Brisbane
Christopher Johns	Durham Cathedral	2005–2006	Director of Music at Leicester Cathedral
Raymond Johnston	Peterhouse, Cambridge	1981-1984	Director of Music at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral, Minneapolis
Edward Elwyn Jones	Emmanuel College, Cambridge		Organist of Harvard University
John William Jordan	Emmanuel College, Cambridge	1959–1962	Organist of Chelmsford Cathedral
Robert Henry Joyce	Corpus Christi College, Cambridge	1946–1949	Organist of Llandaff Cathedral
Max Kenworthy	Brasenose College, Oxford	1996–1998	Assistant Organist of Saint Paul's Cathedral, Wellington
John Keys	New College, Oxford		Organist of St. Mary's Church, Nottingham
Peter King	Queens' College, Cambridge		Organist of Bath Abbey
Charles Herbert Kitson	Selwyn College, Cambridge	1893	Organist of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin
Christopher Ku	Trinity College, Toronto	2003−2009	Principal Organist of St. Michael's Cathedral, Toronto
James Lancelot	King's College, Cambridge	1971–1974	Organist of Durham Cathedral
Andrew Lamb	Trinity College, Cambridge	1994–1997	Director of Music, Cokethorpe School; General Secretary of the Trinity College Choir Association
Matthew Larkin	University of Toronto, Trinity College	1982-1984	Director of Music, Christ Church Cathedral Ottawa		Andrew Lawrence-King	Selwyn College, Cambridge	1977–1980
Stephen Layton	King's College, Cambridge	1985–1988	Director of Music, Trinity College, Cambridge
David Foster Lepine	St Chad's College, Durham	1949–1952	Organist of Coventry Cathedral
Henry Ley	Keble College, Oxford	1906–1909	Organist of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
Ian Little	Pembroke College, Cambridge		Organist of Coventry Cathedral
Richard Lloyd	Jesus College, Cambridge	1952–1955	Organist of Hereford Cathedral and Durham Cathedral
Simon Lole	King's College London		Director of Music at Sheffield Cathedral and Salisbury Cathedral
Adrian Lucas	St John's College, Cambridge	1980–1983	Organist of Portsmouth Cathedral and Worcester Cathedral
Andrew Lumsden	St John's College, Cambridge	1981–1984	Organist of Lichfield Cathedral and Winchester Cathedral
David Lumsden	Selwyn College and St John's College, Cambridge	1948–1951 (Selwyn) 1951–1953 (St John's)	Organist of New College, Oxford and Principal of the Royal Academy of Music
Willie Lewis Luttman	Peterhouse, Cambridge	1894–1897	Organist of St Albans Cathedral
Sarah MacDonald	Robinson College, Cambridge	1992–1995	Director of Music at Selwyn College, Cambridge
Richard Marlow	Selwyn College, Cambridge	1958–1962	Organist of Trinity College, Cambridge
Judy Martin	Selwyn College, Cambridge	1986–1989	Director of Music at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin
Alexander Mason	Worcester College, Oxford		Organist of St Davids Cathedral
William Neil McKie	Worcester College, Oxford	1921	Organist of Westminster Abbey
Hugh John McLean	King's College, Cambridge	1951–1955	Dean, Faculty of Music, University of Western Ontario
Andrew Millington	Downing College, Cambridge	1971–1974	Organist of Guildford Cathedral and Exeter Cathedral
Dudley Moore	Magdalen College, Oxford	1955–1958	Comedian
Paul Morgan	Christ Church, Oxford	1965–1968	Organist of Exeter Cathedral
Felix Morley	Pembroke College, Cambridge	1873
Herbert Murrill	Worcester College, Oxford	1928–1931	BBC Controller of Music
Martin Neary	Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge	1958–1963	Organist of Winchester Cathedral and Westminster Abbey
Andrew Nethsingha	St John's College, Cambridge	1987–1990	Organist of Truro Cathedral and Gloucester Cathedral, Director of Music at St John's College, Cambridge
Michael Nicholas	Jesus College, Oxford	1957–1960	Organist of Norwich Cathedral
Simon Nieminski	Pembroke College, Cambridge		Master of the Music at St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh, Organist of St. Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh (Roman Catholic)
Timothy Noon	Christ Church, Oxford	1992–1995	Organist of St Davids Cathedral, Director of Music of Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral
James O'Donnell	Jesus College, Cambridge	1979–1982	Master of Music of Westminster Cathedral, Organist of Westminster Abbey
Nicholas O'Neill	Magdalen College, Oxford	1989–1992	Composer, Former Organist of St George's Cathedral, Southwark, Composer In Residence for the Parliament Choir.
Boris Ord	Corpus Christi College, Cambridge	1920	Organist of King's College, Cambridge
Robin Orr	Pembroke College, Cambridge	1929–1932	Organist of St John's College, Cambridge
Harrison Oxley	Christ Church, Oxford	1951–1954	Organist of St Edmundsbury Cathedral
Andrew Parnell	Christ's College, Cambridge	1972–1975	Assistant Organist of St Albans Cathedral
Adrian Partington	King's College, Cambridge	1978–1981	Director of Music, Gloucester Cathedral
Leslie Douglas Paul	Keble College, Oxford	1922–1925	Organist of Bangor Cathedral
Ronald Edward Perrin	Christ Church, Oxford	1949–1954	Organist of Ripon Cathedral
Richard Popplewell	King's College, Cambridge	1955–1956	Organist of the Chapel Royal
Noel Edward Posonby	Trinity College, Oxford	1909	Organist of Ely Cathedral
Denys Pouncey	Queens' College, Cambridge		Organist of Wells Cathedral
Simon Preston	King's College, Cambridge	1958–1961	Organist of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford and Westminster Abbey
John Pryer	Keble College, Oxford		Organist of the Birmingham Oratory and Alexandra Palace
Leslie Henry Bret Reed	Selwyn College, Cambridge	1912	Organist of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin
Owen Rees	St Catharine's College, Cambridge	1982–1985	Organist of The Queen's College, Oxford and professor of music Oxford
Jonathan Rees-Williams	New College, Oxford	1969–1972	Organist of Lichfield Cathedral and St George's Chapel, Windsor
Andrew Reid	St Catharine's College, Cambridge	1991–1994	Director of Music at Peterborough Cathedral and Director of the Royal School of Church Music
Alfred Madeley Richardson	Keble College, Oxford	1886	Organist of Southwark Cathedral
Christopher Robinson	Christ Church, Oxford		Organist of Worcester Cathedral and St George's Chapel, Windsor, Director of Music of St John's College, Cambridge
Edgar Stanley Roper	Corpus Christi College, Cambridge	1900–1903	Organist of the Chapel Royal
Bernard Rose	St Catharine's College, Cambridge	1935–1939	Informator Choristarum of Magdalen College, Oxford
Alastair Ross	New College, Oxford
Wallace Michael Ross	Balliol College, Oxford	1939	Organist of Derby Cathedral
Brian Runnett	St John's College, Cambridge	1960–1963	Organist of Norwich Cathedral
Philip Rushforth	Trinity College, Cambridge	1991–1994	Director of Music at Chester Cathedral
Ben Saunders	Downing College, Cambridge	1989–1992	Director of Music at Leeds Cathedral
John Sanders	Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge	1952–1956	Organist of Gloucester Cathedral
John Scott	St John's College, Cambridge	1974–1978	Organist of St Paul's Cathedral, Director of Music at St Thomas Church, New York
Philip Scriven	St John's College, Cambridge	1990–1993	Organist of Lichfield Cathedral now Director of Music Cranleigh School
Richard Seal	Christ's College, Cambridge		Organist of Salisbury Cathedral
Robert Sharpe	Exeter College, Oxford	1991–1994	Director of Music, York Minster
Geoffrey Shaw	Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge	1898–1901
Edward Shearmur	Pembroke College, Cambridge	1984–1987
Michael Smith	Christ Church, Oxford		Organist of Llandaff Cathedral
David Stancliffe	Trinity College, Oxford and Lincoln College, Oxford	1961	Anglican Bishop of Salisbury
Charles Villiers Stanford	Queens' College, Cambridge	1870	Professor of Music, University of Cambridge
David Stevens	Oriel College, Oxford	2003–2006	Acting Sub-Organist of Guildford Cathedral; Director of the Girls' Choir and Sub-Organist at Newcastle Cathedral; Master of the Choristers of St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast
Charles Hylton Stewart	Peterhouse, Cambridge	1903	Organist of Rochester Cathedral
Frederick Stocken	St Catharine's College, Cambridge
Michael Stoddart	Magdalen College, Oxford	1981–1984	Organist of Newcastle Cathedral
Richard Tanner	Exeter College, Oxford	1989–1992	Organist of Blackburn Cathedral
Andrew Teague	Worcester College, Oxford		Retired Organist of Bradford Cathedral
James Thomas	Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge	1982–1985	Organist of St Edmundsbury Cathedral
Alan Thurlow	University of Sheffield		Organist of Chichester Cathedral
Paul Trepte	New College, Oxford	1972–1975	Organist of St Edmundsbury Cathedral and Ely Cathedral
Thomas Trotter	King's College, Cambridge	1976–1979	Birmingham City Organist
John Turner	Jesus College, Cambridge	1957–1960	Organist of Glasgow Cathedral
Jonathan Vaughn	St John's College, Cambridge	2000–2003	Assistant organist of Wells Cathedral
Robert Vincent	Magdalen College, Oxford	1961–1964	Organist of Manchester Cathedral
James Vivian	King's College, Cambridge	1993–1997	Director of Music at St George's Chapel, Windsor
Frederick William Wadeley	Selwyn College, Cambridge	1900–1903	Organist of Carlisle Cathedral
Colin Walsh	Christ Church, Oxford	1974–1978	Organist of St Albans Cathedral and Lincoln Cathedral
Mark Wardell	Royal Holloway College, London		Assistant Organist at Chichester Cathedral
Sydney Watson	Keble College, Oxford	1922–1925	Organist of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
Geoffrey Webber	New College, Oxford	1977–1980	Director of Music of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Peter White	St John's College, Cambridge	1956–1960	Organist of Leicester Cathedral
William Whitehead	University College, Oxford	1990–1993	Sub-Organist of Rochester Cathedral
Allan Wicks	Christ Church, Oxford	1941–1946	Organist of Canterbury Cathedral
Andrew Wilder	St John's College, Durham	1974-1976	Organist of Kristiansand Cathedral, Norway
David Willcocks	King's College, Cambridge	1939–1940, 1945–1947	Organist of Salisbury Cathedral, Worcester Cathedral and King's College, Cambridge, Director of the Royal College of Music
Huw Williams	Christ's College, Cambridge	1989–1992	Sub-Organist of St Paul's Cathedral; Director of Music of the Chapel Royal
Archibald Wayett Wilson	Keble College, Oxford	1890	Organist of Manchester Cathedral
John Scott Whiteley	Royal Holloway, London	1968-1971	Organist Emeritus, York Minster
Charles Wood	Selwyn College and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge	1888–1889 (Selwyn) 1889–1894 (Gonville and Caius)	Professor of Music, University of Cambridge
Paul Leddington Wright	St Catharine's College, Cambridge	1969–1972	Organist of Coventry Cathedral, Principal Conductor of the BBC's Songs of Praise
Peter Wright	Emmanuel College, Cambridge	1973–1976	Organist of Southwark Cathedral