Charles Harrison (born 21 March 1974) has been Organist and Master of the Choristers of

Chichester Cathedral Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, England. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of the ...

since September 2014, succeeding

Sarah Baldock Sarah Baldock (born 5 April 1975) is an English organist and choral conductor, formerly the Organist and Master of the Choristers of Chichester Cathedral. She is notable as one of the earliest women to be appointed to the senior music post at a ...

. He has also held musical posts at

Southwell Minster Southwell Minster () is a minster and cathedral in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England. It is situated miles from Newark-on-Trent and from Mansfield. It is the seat of the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham and the Diocese of Southwell and N ...

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

and

Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Minster, or the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln and sometimes St Mary's Cathedral, in Lincoln, England, is a Grade I listed cathedral and is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Lincoln. Constructio ...

Early life and education

Harrison was a cathedral chorister at

, where was tutored by

Kenneth Beard Kenneth Bernard Beard FRCO(CHM) (9 June 1927, in Royton, Lancashire – 9 July 2010) was an English Cathedral Organist. Education He attended Kingswood School, Bath, and studied at the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of ...

and

Paul Hale Paul Hale is an English organist and Organist Emeritus of Southwell Minster, Nottinghamshire. He was previously Assistant Organist of Rochester Cathedral and Organist of Tonbridge School. He studied at New College, Oxford where he was Organ Sch ...

, and he took up the

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

ship at Southwell in 1991 while he studied for A-levels at

Southwell Minster School The Minster School is a Church of England secondary school with sixth form in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England, for children aged 11 to 18. There are approximately 1600 students on roll. Text was copied from this source, which is available u ...

. In the following year, he started as an organ scholar at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

in 1992, where he read for a degree in music. Whilst at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, he studied the organ with David Sanger and, in his second year, became a prizewinning Fellow of the

Royal College of Organists The Royal College of Organists (RCO) is a charity and membership organisation based in the United Kingdom, with members worldwide. Its role is to promote and advance organ playing and choral music, and it offers music education, training and de ...

. When he graduated, he was appointed to the position of Assistant Organist at

Carlisle Cathedral Carlisle Cathedral is a grade-I listed Anglican cathedral in the city of Carlisle, Cumbria, England. It was founded as an Augustinian priory and became a cathedral in 1133. It is also the seat of the Bishop of Carlisle.Tim Tatton-Brown and John ...

Career

Carlisle

Whilst at Carlisle Cathedral, Harrison developed his career as a solo instrumentalist, appearing in recitals and numerous international competitions. In 1999, he was awarded prizes in the

St Albans International Organ Festival The International Organ Festival (IOF) is a biennial music festival and organ competition held in St Albans, England since 1963. Originally held annually, it was changed to every two years in 1965 due to the complexity of organising the increasin ...

, and in the following year at the Odense International Organ Competition. After three years at Carlisle, he moved to

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, Northern Ireland.

Belfast

In 2000, Harrison took up a part-time teaching position at

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

, specialising in harmony, counterpoint and keyboard skills. He also became Director of Music at

St George's Church, Belfast St. George's Church, Belfast is a Church of Ireland church located on High Street in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the oldest Church of Ireland church in Belfast. It was designed by Irish architect, John Bowden, and opened in 1816. Major refur ...

Lincoln

In September 2003, Harrison returned to England, having been appointed Assistant Director of Music and Sub Organist of

after Simon Morley left to become

Director of Music A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the di ...

Ripon Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Wilfrid, commonly known as Ripon Cathedral, and until 1836 known as Ripon Minster, is a cathedral in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England. Founded as a monastery by monks of the Irish tradition in the 660s, i ...

. Harrison held the position for eleven years, accompanying services and directing the choir of boys and men, and latterly the choir of girls and men. Following the resignation of

in 2014, he took up the position as Organist and Master of the Choristers at

Chichester

Harrison moved to Chichester in September 2014, as Organist and Master of the Choristers, directing the

Choir of Chichester Cathedral The musical foundation of Chichester Cathedral consists of the organist and master of the choristers, the assistant organist and the organ scholar; together with six singing men (called lay vicars), eighteen choristers, six probationers – an ...

. He has recorded the lest we forget CD, and conducted in many Southern Cathedral Festivals performances, including Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. John’s Passion. In 2020, he scheduled the choir for a tour to Germany but it was unfortunately cancelled due to the pandemic.

Discography

* 2018 – ''Lest We Forget'', with Timothy Ravalde (organ) and Chichester Cathedral Choir, for

Signum Records Signum Records, also known as Signum Classics, is a classical musical record label in the UK founded in 1997. The label began with a project to make the first recording of the complete works of Thomas Tallis. The artists for the Tallis recordin ...

* 2016 – ''Long, Long Ago: Christmas Music from Chichester'', with Timothy Ravalde (organ) and Chichester Cathedral Choir, for Concentio * 2016 – ''The Complete Psalms of David: Volume 10, Series 2'', with Timothy Ravalde (organ) and Chichester Cathedral Choir, for

Priory Records Priory Records is a record company in the UK founded in 1980, and devoted mostly to church music and organ music. Important projects have included the complete Psalms sung by cathedral choirs to Anglican chant, all of the Magnificat and Nunc d ...

* 2013 – ''Great Hymns from Lincoln'', with Aric Prentice (director) and Lincoln Minster School Chamber Choir, for Priory Records * 2012 – ''IRELAND, J.: Church Music'', with Aric Prentice (director) and Lincoln Cathedral Choir, for

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

* 2011 – ''Organ Duets by Mozart, Mendelssohn, Langlais, Tomkins, Carleton, Johnstone, Leighton'', with David Leigh (organ), for Guild Records * 2008 – ''O be joyful in the Lord'', with Aric Prentice (director) and Lincoln Cathedral Choir, for Guild Records * 2006 – ''Schmitt: Orchestral Music'', with BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales conducted by Thierry Fischer, for Hyperion Records * 2005 – ''Hail Mary'', with Aric Prentice (director) and Lincoln Cathedral Choir, for Guild Records * 1998 – ''Comfort & Joy: Music for Advent, Christmas, Epiphany and Candlemas'', with Jeremy Suter (director) and Carlisle Cathedral Choir

References

External links

Official websiteLinkedIn profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Charles 1974 births Living people People educated at Southwell Minster School Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge English classical organists British male organists Cathedral organists English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) Organists & Masters of the Choristers of Chichester Cathedral 21st-century British conductors (music) 21st-century organists 21st-century British male musicians Male classical organists