Douglas Christopher Mews (born 1956), is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

classical organist and harpsichordist and he is also a composer. He holds the position of City Organist,

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

. He is the brother of Constant Mews.

Biography

Mews was born in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He was educated at St Peter's College, Auckland. He began playing the organ at

St Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland The Cathedral of St Patrick and St Joseph (usually known as St Patrick's Cathedral) is a Catholic church in Auckland CBD, situated on the corner of Federal Street and Wyndham St. It is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Auckland ...

, where his father (and first organ teacher) Dr Douglas Mews was choir conductor in the 1970s. He continued his organ studies privately with Kenneth Weir. He graduated from

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

with a master's degree in organ and harpsichord in 1979, having studied with Anthony Jennings, a former student of Maxwell Fernie. He then continued his harpsichord studies with

Bob van Asperen Bob van Asperen (born 8 October 1947, in Amsterdam) is a Dutch harpsichordist and early keyboard instrument performer, as well as a conductor. He graduated in 1971 from the Amsterdam Conservatory, where he studied the harpsichord with Gustav Leonh ...

at the

Royal Conservatory of The Hague The Royal Conservatoire ( nl, Koninklijk Conservatorium, KC) is a conservatoire in The Hague, providing higher education in music and dance. The conservatoire was founded by King William I in 1826, making it the oldest conservatoire in the Nether ...

, gaining Certificaat Koninkijk Cons. At The Hague, Mews also expanded his interest in historical keyboards to include the

Fortepiano A fortepiano , sometimes referred to as a pianoforte, is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1698 up to the early 19th century. Mo ...

. He presently holds the position of Artist Teacher in keyboard and as an early music specialist. at the

New Zealand School of Music The New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī, at Victoria University of Wellington (NZSM), is located in Wellington, New Zealand. NZSM provides a tertiary teaching faculty with programmes in Classical Performance, Jazz Performance, Music Studies, C ...

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well kno ...

. He broadcasts for

Radio New Zealand Concert RNZ Concert ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa Kōnohete) is a publicly funded non-commercial New Zealand FM fine music radio network. Radio New Zealand owns the network and operates it from its Wellington headquarters. The network's playlist of ...

and tours for Chamber Music New Zealand. He is the Wellington City Organist and is choir director at St Teresa's church,

Karori Karori is a suburb located at the western edge of the urban area of Wellington, New Zealand, 4 km from the city centre and is one of New Zealand's most populous suburbs, with a population of in History Origins The name ''Karori'' used ...

, Wellington; he has recorded performances, including the

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

Trios with Flute and Cello. In 2009 he toured Europe, giving concerts in Edinburgh, Oxford, Salzburg and Béziers in the south of France. As well as his academic work, Mews has continued his contribution to the musical life of Wellington in conducting concerts and giving keyboard recitals. He is also a composer of Catholic liturgical music."Mass Settting", The Liturgy in Aotearoa New Zealand, New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference
(Retrieved 19 March 2020)

Discography

* Douglas Mews, "The Norman and Beard Organ of Wellington Town Hall, New Zealand", ''Great Australasian Organs Vol. VIII'', Priory records, United Kingdom, 2010. * Douglas Mews, ''The Lost Chord: Played with immense success by Mr Douglas Mews on the Wellington Town Hall Grand Organ'', recorded 2012, Anthony Donovan, Mary Adams Design, Stebbing Ltd, Wellington, 2012.

External links

Douglas Mews website
(retrieved 17 July 2012).

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mews, Douglas 1956 births People educated at St Peter's College, Auckland Living people New Zealand classical organists Male classical organists People from Auckland Performers of early music University of Auckland alumni Victoria University of Wellington faculty New Zealand Roman Catholics 21st-century organists 21st-century male musicians New Zealand composers