DR MICHAEL NICHOLAS M.A, HON. D. MUS, FRCO (CHM)
DIRECTOR OF MUSIC

Michael Nicholas was Organ Scholar of Jesus College, Oxford, then Organist of Louth Parish Church and St Matthew's Church, Northampton, before becoming Organist and Master of the Choristers of Norwich Cathedral in 1971. Here over a period of twenty-three years he built up the reputation of the Cathedral Choir, in eleven foreign tours, in many LP and CD recordings and in regular broadcasts on radio and TV, but above all in the daily services in the cathedral. He was joint founder and artistic director of the Norwich Festival of Contemporary Church Music, for which many new works were composed and given their first performances by the Cathedral Choir. He was also a lecturer in music at the University of East Anglia, conductor of the Norwich Philharmonic Chorus and board member of and several times chorus-master for the Norfolk and Norwich Festival. In 1994 he moved to London to take up the new post of Chief Executive of the Royal College of Organists and implemented much modernisation of the College's procedures and activities. He left after three years to pursue freelance activities, becoming in 1999 Director of Music at the civic church of St Mary-le-Tower, Ipswich. Here he runs three choirs and some thirty concerts a year. He is also busy with work as organist, lecturer, composer and examiner. He has wide experience of the world of choirs and the organ, having been for various periods on the boards or Councils of the RSCM, RCO, the Church Music Society and the St Albans International Festival. He is a Vice-President of The Organ Club and was President of the Cathedral Organists Association from 1975 to 1977.

NICK FREESTONE
JUNIOR ORGAN SCHOLAR

Nicholas Freestone began his musical education at the age of 5 when he chose to learn the piano. He took up the French horn three years later, and in the year 2007-8 gained Grade 8 with Distinction on both of these instruments. He is in a large variety of musical ensembles, including Ipswich School's Symphony Orchestra, Big Band, Piano Trio, Horn Trio, School Choir and Chapel Choir. He is Principal Horn in the South Suffolk Youth Orchestra and has previously been a member of the Suffolk Youth Orchestra. Nicholas also enjoys composing – he was a winner in the Philharmonia’s Groove Search competition, having his piece recorded at Abbey Road Studios. He conducted the première performance of his piece Le Pont at the Ipswich School Spring Concert at Snape Maltings in April 2008. He is a recent winner of the HMC Schools' Young Composer Competition and his anthem, This Lowly Ground, will be premièred at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral in October 2009. Nicholas began to learn the organ in 2004, before joining the Choir of St Mary le Tower in September 2006. He is now Organ Scholar of both St Mary le Tower Civic Church and Ipswich School. He has been very fortunate to play many fine organs, including several cathedrals. He took part in a BBC Songs of Praise programme about the organ, broadcast in January 2008.

LIS ROLLINSON
CHOIR ASSISTANT and LIBRARIAN