If you are looking for an experienced organist in Wiltshire or Gloucestershire for a wedding, funeral or church service, I am available on a freelance basis throughout the region.
I have worked as a church organist and accompanist for more than thirty years, with experience ranging from parish church services and weddings to cathedral choral music and major liturgical occasions.
Today I work on a freelance basis and am available as an organist for weddings, funerals, church services and special occasions across Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and the surrounding area.
Whether you are planning a wedding in a village church, arranging music for a funeral, looking for an organist to cover a Sunday service, or need an experienced accompanist for a larger choral occasion, I am always happy to discuss what is required.
Experience as a Church Organist
My career as an organist began professionally in Windsor, where I was Director of Music at Windsor Parish Church from 1994 to 1996.
I later spent ten years as Organist and Choirmaster at Magdalen Chapel, Bath, from 2005 until 2015, directing and accompanying the music for regular services, weddings and other occasions.
From 2015 until 2023 I was Organist at St Thomas à Becket Church in Widcombe, Bath, continuing a long association with church music in the city.
Since leaving that post I have worked as a freelance organist and pianist, combining church and choral work with my wider professional performing career.
Although much of my working week is now spent performing as a pianist with JAM Duo at weddings and events around the country, the organ remains an instrument I greatly enjoy playing and church music continues to be an important part of my musical life.
Wedding Organist
The organ can bring a sense of occasion to a church wedding which is very difficult to reproduce in any other way.
I am available to play for church weddings throughout Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, whether that involves the traditional repertoire or something a little less expected.
Music might include well-known wedding favourites such as Wagner’s Bridal Chorus, Mendelssohn’s Wedding March, Clarke’s Trumpet Voluntary or Pachelbel’s Canon in D, alongside hymns, classical organ music or arrangements of more contemporary pieces where appropriate.
I am also very happy to advise couples who are unsure what they would like. Choosing wedding music can sometimes become unnecessarily complicated, particularly when several relatives have very firm opinions on the matter. Usually it needn’t be.
A typical church wedding may include music as guests arrive, an entrance piece, hymns during the service, music during the signing of the registers and something appropriately celebratory for the recessional.
The great advantage of live music is that it can follow what is actually happening. If the bride takes a little longer to reach the front of the church, the music continues. If everyone gets there rather more quickly than anticipated, the ending can arrive accordingly. No fading out of a recording halfway through a cadence is required.
Funeral Organist
I am also available to play the organ for funerals and memorial services in churches throughout Wiltshire and Gloucestershire.
Music plays a particularly important role at a funeral, and often the simplest choices are the most effective. This may include accompanying traditional hymns, playing music before and after the service, or providing reflective organ music during moments within the service.
I am very happy to work with families, clergy and funeral directors to make sure that the music fits naturally with the service.
Where a particular hymn or piece has special significance, I will always try to accommodate it where practicable.
Sunday Services and Organist Cover
Since becoming freelance, I am available to provide organist cover for Sunday services, festivals and other church occasions.
This may include Parish Communion, Eucharist, Choral Evensong, Matins, weddings, funerals, civic services, Christmas services and other special occasions.
I am comfortable accompanying congregational hymns, choirs and cantors, and have many years’ experience working within Anglican liturgy.
For churches which occasionally find themselves without an organist because of holidays, illness or vacancies, I am happy to provide individual service cover where my diary allows.
Cathedral and Choral Accompanying
Alongside parish church work, I have a longstanding interest in choral accompanying.
For more than fifteen years I have accompanied Quorum, a Renaissance chamber choir, during its annual visits to English cathedrals.
These visits have included accompanying Choral Evensong and Choral Eucharist at some of the country’s most significant cathedral churches, including:
- Canterbury Cathedral
- York Minster
- Salisbury Cathedral
- Hereford Cathedral
- Coventry Cathedral
- Worcester Cathedral
- Gloucester Cathedral
- Durham Cathedral
In October 2026 I will also accompany Quorum during its visit to Norwich Cathedral.
Cathedral accompanying is rather different from playing for a normal parish service. It requires a close understanding of choir, conductor and liturgy, as well as the ability to adapt quickly to unfamiliar instruments — some of which are magnificent, some idiosyncratic, and occasionally both at the same time.
It remains one of the aspects of organ playing I particularly enjoy.
An Experienced Freelance Organist
After many years holding permanent church appointments, freelance work now gives me the opportunity to play in a much wider variety of churches and on a remarkably diverse collection of instruments.
No two organs are quite alike. Even instruments of similar size can behave very differently, and part of the skill of being a visiting organist is working out fairly quickly which stops are glorious, which are useful, and which are perhaps best left untouched.
That variety is part of the attraction.
My approach is straightforward: the music should support the occasion rather than dominate it. For a wedding it should create excitement and celebration. For a funeral it should provide dignity and reflection. During a church service it should accompany the liturgy naturally and give the congregation the confidence to sing.
Areas Covered
I am based in Wiltshire and am particularly available for organ work throughout Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, including churches around Chippenham, Corsham, Malmesbury, Tetbury, Cirencester, Stroud, Bath and the surrounding areas.
I am also happy to consider engagements further afield depending on the date and circumstances.
Enquiries
If you are looking for an experienced organist for a wedding, funeral, church service, choral service or special occasion, please get in touch.
If possible, include the church, date, approximate service time and the type of service you are planning. If you already know which music or hymns you would like, that is useful too — although if you have absolutely no idea, that is perfectly normal and I am very happy to advise.