Cathedral Musicians

St Albans Cathedral Music Department

Tel: 01727 890245

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Andrew Lucas

Master of the Music

Andrew Lucas has been Master of the Music at St Albans Cathedral since 1998.

Andrew was born in Shropshire in 1958, was chorister in his local parish church and went to school in Shrewsbury. From 1976 he studied at the Royal College of Music, organ with John Birch and composition with Herbert Howells and graduated with a London University BMus. Later organ studies continued with Peter Hurford and Piet Kee.

Before St Albans he was Assistant Director of Music at St Paul’s Cathedral in London and a freelance musician, conductor, chorus-master and keyboard continuo. As an organist he made over 25 CDs with St Paul’s Cathedral Choir and two solo recordings. He has played concerts throughout the UK, Europe and the USA. He was Artistic Director of the St Albans International Organ Festival from 1999 to 2007, directing four festivals (2001 to 2007) and the artistic consultant for the restoration of the Harrison & Harrison organ in the cathedral, completed in 2009.

With St Albans Cathedral Choir, he has recently been on tour to Sweden (May 2011), and within the last ten years also to the Netherlands, Italy, the USA and France (twice). They also broadcast frequently on radio and television and have made four three CD recordings. Their latest release (2011) on Naxos of music by John Rutter was listed in the BBC/Gramophone classical music top 20 for several weeks.

Also since 1998, he has been music director of the St Albans Bach Choir. With the Bach Choir he has conducted about 40 concerts of the large scale choral repertoire with orchestra and the choir enjoys an excellent reputation for the highest standards in their concerts.

Tom Winpenny

Assistant Master of the Music

Tom Winpenny is Assistant Master of the Music at St Albans Cathedral where his duties include accompanying the daily choral services and directing the acclaimed Abbey Girls Choir and Abbey Singers. Previously, he was Sub-Organist at St Paul's Cathedral, and during this time he performed with the Cathedral Choir at the American Guild of Organists National Convention, performed in Mahler's Symphony no. 8 with Valery Gergiev and the LSO, and played for many great state occasions. He has also broadcast regularly on BBC Radio and been featured on American Public Media's Pipedreams.

He began organ lessons under John Scott Whiteley while a chorister at York Minster, and continued as a Music Scholar at Eton College under Alastair Sampson. After holding the post of Organ Scholar at Worcester Cathedral and then St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, he was for three years Organ Scholar at King's College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a degree in music. With the Choir of King's College, he gave concerts in the USA, Hong Kong and throughout Europe, in addition to appearing as their accompanist on CD releases on EMI Classics.

He has taken part in the first performance of works by Sir John Tavener, Judith Bingham, Jonathan Dove, Francis Grier and Francis Pott. He has studied with Thomas Trotter and Johannes Geffert, and won First Prize and the Audience Prize at the 2008 Miami International Organ Competition.

Recent engagements include recitals in Truro Cathedral, Westminster Cathedral, Stockholm Cathedral and in the USA in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Independence, Missouri. His solo organ recordings include a recital on the organ of St Albans Cathedral (JAV Recordings), organ works by Judith Bingham (Naxos) and music by Charles Villiers Stanford (Resonus Classics).