Henry Fairs (born 1976) is an English

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

. He is organist to the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

and Head of Organ Studies at the

Birmingham Conservatoire The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is a music school, drama school and concert venue in Birmingham, England. It provides professional education in music, acting, and related disciplines up to postgraduate level. It is a centre for scholarly res ...

;. Since winning the Odense International Organ Competition, his concert career has taken him to the major European centres of organ music and to America, performing solo recitals and concertos on both historic and modern instruments.

Biography

Born in

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

, England, he received his earliest musical education as a chorister at Leominster Priory and studied at the

, Conservatoire NDR Rueil-Malmaison and the

Hochschule für Musik Köln ' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions with the right to ...

, supported by an award from the

Countess of Munster Musical Trust The Countess of Munster Musical Trust is a charity based in Godalming, Surrey, England, that provides scholarships, prizes and loans to support young musicians in the United Kingdom. History The trust was founded in 1958 by Hilary Wilson (9 March ...

. His teachers have included David Sanger, David Saint, Susan Landale and Thierry Mechler. In 2007 he won both first prize and special prize at the Odense International Organ Competition in Denmark and released a

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best abr ...

disc featuring

Maurice Duruflé Maurice Gustave Duruflé (; 11 January 1902 – 16 June 1986) was a French composer, organist, musicologist, and teacher. Life and career Duruflé was born in Louviers, Eure in 1902. He became a chorister at the Rouen Cathedral Choir School fro ...

's complete organ music on the Cavaillé-Coll organ in Notre Dame d’Autueil, Paris, for which he also wrote the accompanying notes. During 2008 he was due to perform

Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century. His m ...

's complete organ music in a series of six concerts for the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Birmingham, but two concerts had to be rescheduled to 2009, due to injury. In 2011-2012 he was invited to be a guest tutor and jury member at the Carl Nielsen International Festival and Competition, Denmark; Edinburgh Organ Academy; London Organ Day; and the Royal Norwegian Academy,

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

. Projects include 2012–2015: JS Bach – organ works 2011: Alain – organ works (performed in three concerts) 2011: 'Lisztomania' – Three Great Organ Works and Reubke Sonata (Birmingham and Edinburgh) 2008: Messiaen – organ works (six concerts for the Barber Institute of Fine Arts/University of Birmingham) 2002: Duruflé – organ works.

References

External links

Personal Website

Biography at Birmingham City University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairs, Henry People from Hereford Alumni of Birmingham Conservatoire English classical organists British male organists 1976 births Living people Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln alumni 21st-century organists 21st-century British male musicians Male classical organists