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Stephen Farr

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Stephen Farr
Born1967 (age 56–57)
London, England
Alma materClare College
University of Surrey
OccupationOrganist

Stephen Farr (born 1967 in London) is a British organist[1] who is currently the Chief Examiner at the Royal College of Organists[2][3] and the Director of Music at All Saints, Margaret Street.[4][5]

Early life

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Farr was born in London[6] and grew up in the South East.[7] He attended Eltham College in London,[8] and then, from 1984, Clare College, Cambridge as organ scholar.[9][8] He graduated with Double First Class Honours in music before continuing at Clare to earn his MPhil in Musicology.[2][10] He also holds a PhD in music performance from the University of Surrey, where he completed a thesis on Judith Bingham's work.[2][11] Farr was among the youngest musicians ever to receive funding from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust.[10] His tutors in London included Robert Munns and David Sanger,[6] and receipt of the Worshipful Company of Musicians' W.T. Best Scholarship allowed him to study under Piet Kee in Haarlem, Netherlands and Hans Fagius in Copenhagen, Denmark.[10]

Career

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In the years following his time at Clare College, Farr won the Royal College of Organists Performer of the Year Award (1988) as well as a number of international prizes at competitions in Odense, Paisley and St Albans. He worked as sub-organist and later lecturer at Christ Church, Oxford (1990—1996),[10] Assistant Master of Music at Winchester Cathedral,[7] and organist and Master of the Choristers at Guildford Cathedral (1999—2007)[7][12] He left Guildford in 2007 to freelance and to serve as the Director of Music at St. Paul's Church in Knightsbridge and Music Consultant at Worcester College in Oxford.[12] In spring 2020, he left St. Paul's to join All Saints, Margaret Street as Director of Music.[13]

His concerto work has included engagements with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, and the London Mozart Players;[14] and he has performed at the Sydney Opera House as a concerto soloist with the Australian Baroque Orchestra.[15] Farr has performed a number of world premieres for famous composers, including Judith Bingham's The Everlasting Crown in 2011 at the Royal Albert Hall;[16][17][18] Thomas Hyde's Improvisation on Puer natus in 2012 as part of Worcester College Choir's 2012 CD This Christmas Night;[19] and Cecilia McDowall's First Flight in 2021, performed online during the COVID-19 pandemic.[20] He has appeared with numerous ensembles, including Florilegium, the Bach Choir, BBC Singers, BBC Concert Orchestra, English Concert, London Baroque Soloists, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Wallace Collection, Endymion Ensemble, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Britten Sinfonia, the Academy of Ancient Music, Polyphony, Arcangelo, the LSO, the Philharmonia, the CBSO and the Berlin Philharmonic. He is currently the Principal Keyboard of the Dunedin Consort. Among the many places he has performed are Westminster Abbey, Odense Cathedral, Notre-Dame de Paris, Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk, the Royal Festival Hall, Copenhagen Cathedral, Westminster Cathedral, York Minster, St Paul's Cathedral, and Århus Domkirke.[10][7]

In 1997, Farr collaborated with Thomas Adès for EMI's release of Under Hamelin Hill.[18] In 2004, he commissioned David Briggs to compose a new organ symphony inspired by the original solo organ sketches for Maurice Duruflé's Requiem.

Farr first appeared at the BBC Proms in 2011, and has made regular appearances at the festival in subsequent years. He has also recorded numerous CDs for labels including Hyperion Records,[21] Priory Records,[22] and Nimbus Records;[23] he now records for Resonus Classics, with whom he has issued discs of works by Judith Bingham, James Macmillan, Kenneth Leighton, Hieronymus Praetorius, Philip Moore and J S Bach.

Farr was appointed to Chief Examiner at the Royal College of Organists in 2017.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Rile, Joe (5 December 2008). "French collection". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d "RCO appoints Stephen Farr as Chief Examiner". Royal College of Organists. 20 September 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  3. ^ "Our People". Royal College of Organists. n.d. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  4. ^ Heffer, Simon (3 October 2020). "Britain's greatest living composer is the equal of Elgar – so why isn't he a household name?". The Telegraph. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  5. ^ "The Choir". All Saints Margaret Street. n.d. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  6. ^ a b Gilchrist, James; Bailey, Simon (2005). STAINER: The Crucifixion (PDF) (Liner). Choir of Clare College, Cambridge. NAXOS. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d "Cathedral's new organist puts the emphasis on versatility". Surrey Live. 24 September 1999. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  8. ^ a b "High Praise for Contemporary Recording". Plane Talking. Eltham College Alumni. 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  9. ^ "Clare welcomes its first ever female Organ Scholar". Clare College. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  10. ^ a b c d e "Stephen Farr". Trinity College Choir. n.d. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  11. ^ "Fauré's Requiem: Solace and Sustenance". BBC Singers. 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  12. ^ a b "Previous Organists". Guildford Cathedral. n.d. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  13. ^ "Music Staffing Update – January 2020". St. Paul's Knightsbridge. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  14. ^ Rodmell, Paul. Charles Villiers Stanford.
  15. ^ "Associate Conductor". City of London Choir. n.d. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  16. ^ "Prom 3: Organ recital – Bach, Bingham, Alain & Liszt". BBC Music Events. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  17. ^ Benson-Wilson, Andrew (21 July 2011). "A Judith Bingham world premiere on the Royal Albert Hall organ". Bach Track. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  18. ^ a b Farr, Stephen (2012). Jacquet's Ghost (PDF) (Liner). NAXOS. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  19. ^ Wright, Katy (20 November 2012). "Review: 'This Christmas Night': Worcester College Choir". Cherwell Archive. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  20. ^ "Online interNational Organ Day 2021 to celebrate the organ and its music 'right around the world'". Royal College of Organists. 16 March 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  21. ^ "Stephen Farr (organ)". Hyperion Records. n.d. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  22. ^ "Great European Organs No.43: Odense Cathedral". Priory Records. n.d. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  23. ^ Smith, Carolyn J. Kenneth Leighton. p. 115.
Cultural offices
Preceded by Organist and Master of the Choristers of Guildford Cathedral
1998–2008 		Succeeded by
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