Paul Carr
Paul Carr is based in Birmingham as an organist, recitalist, choral director, accompanist and teacher. He studied with Dr Roy Massey MBE at Hereford Cathedral and is a graduate of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, where he studied with Professor David Saint and was later awarded Honorary Membership.
Paul’s concert and recital schedule takes him all over the UK, where he has performed on many of the finest instruments in Cathedrals, Churches, Concert Halls and Palaces. He played monthly recitals at Holy Trinity Wordsley for 22 years until Autumn 2025 and is Artistic Director to the Thursday Live organ recital series in St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham.
Further afield Paul has performed often in Germany and France, including two recitals at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. In the USA he has performed many times in and around Chicago, in Washington DC and in New York. As soloist and choral accompanist, Paul has toured with choirs to Germany, France, the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria and the USA.
Paul is currently Organist and Associate Director of Music at St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham and one of the Organists at St Bartholomew’s Church Penn, Wolverhampton. He is also Musical Director of Selly Park Singers and works frequently with The Open University, Birmingham Bach Choir, Priory Voices and education music hubs across the West Midlands. For thirteen years until 2016 Paul was Director of Music at St Paul’s in the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham. He was also President of Birmingham Organists’ Association, Vice Chair of Worcestershire Organists’ Association, and currently serves on the committee of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Association.
Professor David Saint
David Saint studied the organ with Clifford Hartley, Dr Alan Spedding and Dame Gillian Weir. He was awarded the Royal College of Organists’ Turpin Prize for the FRCO diploma at the age of 20 and was Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral’s first Organ Scholar. Since 1978, David has been Organist and Director of Music at St Chad’s Cathedral and until 2015 he was Principal of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
Recent concerts have included recitals in Liverpool Metropolitan, Truro and Durham Cathedrals and Tewkesbury Abbey. David has also made a significant contribution to the YouTube archive of Thursday Live performances from St Chad’s Cathedral.
A former Trustee and past Chairman of the Royal College of Organists, David was awarded FRSCM in 2012 and Fellowship of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (FRBC) in 2015. David is Chair of the Incorporated Association of Organists (IAO), the Young Organ Scholars Trust (YOST) and the Bromsgrove International Musicians’ Recital. In 2018-19, he was President of the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM).
davidsaint.org.uk
Stephen Disley
Stephen Disley has performed and broadcast with ensembles such as the Budapest Radio Choir, the Bach Choir, the Holst Singers, Tenebrae and the BBC Singers – including a recordings of “Choir Book for The Queen”, conducted by Sir Stephen Cleobury – and a disc of choral music commissioned by the Musicians Benevolent Fund conducted by Ronald Corp. Other performances include Poulenc’s Organ Concerto with the London Mozart Players and Janacek’s Glagolitic Mass in the Montepulciano Festival, Italy. He also performed as soloist with the Mexico State Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra and with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in Warsaw, Cologne, and the Royal Festival Hall, London conducted by Charles Dutoit.
After a Foundation scholarship at the Royal College of Music and London’s’ Temple Church, he was appointed Sub-Organist at Southwark Cathedral and Founding Director of the Girls’ Choir which, in addition to its weekly commitments at the cathedral, toured Bergen, Rouen, the Czech Republic, Rome, Belfast, and Paris. The Choir made numerous recordings, all of which received excellent reviews, and the choir featured in many BBC TV and Radio broadcasts under his direction.
Stephen continues to promote new music and has given first performances of music by Sir Peter Maxwell-Davies, Judith Bingham, Bob Chilcott, Gabriel Jackson, Joanna Marsh and Francis Grier. He recently performed in a premiere of the controversial ‘Riot’ Symphony by Conor Mitchel with the Ulster Orchestra at the Ulster Hall, Belfast.
Christopher Totney
Chris Totney was born in Stourbridge in 1982, becoming a chorister and beginning organ lessons at St Thomas’s Church with Andrew Fletcher. He read Music at Durham University, holding scholarships at University College and, latterly, Durham Cathedral under James Lancelot.
Chris spent the first 15 years of his career in various school and private teaching roles in Wiltshire, involving himself in various Diocesan and RSCM-led initiatives. He combined this with the running of the choir at St John’s Church, Devizes, with whom he toured to various UK cathedrals and once to Latvia, as well as undertaking a live broadcast of Sunday Worship on BBC Radio 4. He is also an occasional choral composer, with a number of works published by the RSCM, including two competition-winning entries, and has made appearances alongside many leading choral animateurs as a workshop accompanist at large-scale regional events.
Following his move to Cambridge in 2021, Chris became a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, and now combines an Alumni Relations post at Emmanuel College with the role of Director of Music at St Benet Fink Church, Tottenham. Outside music, he enjoys being an ‘armchair follower’ of sports such as football, snooker and motor racing.
David Pipe
David Pipe read Music at Cambridge as Organ Scholar of Downing College, later studying at the Royal Academy of Music. His organ teachers have included David Titterington, Susan Landale and Lionel Rogg.
He has given recitals at venues across Europe and the USA, and has appeared as organist and conductor on national television and radio. David’s solo recordings have attracted critical acclaim in the international music press, with performances described as ‘electrifying’. Most recently, he has performed with a symphonic metal band, featuring on BBC One’s The One Show and giving a sell-out concert in York Minster.
David was Director of the Keyboard Studies Programme and Cathedral Organist in the Diocese of Leeds until 2024, having been Assistant Director of Music at York Minster. He is now Organist at Huddersfield Town Hall, Musical Director of York Musical Society, and Editor of Organists’ Review. He examines for the Royal College of Organists, co-directs their summer course in Oxford, and was northern ambassador for Play the Organ Year 2025.
In 2018, David was elected Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, awarded to past students who have distinguished themselves in the music profession and made a significant contribution in their particular field
Käthe Wright Kaufman
Käthe Wright Kaufman is the Associate Director of Music & Organist at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Columbia, South Carolina. Previously, she served in the same role at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church and as Chapel Organist at the Candler School of Theology, both on the campus of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Käthe completed her master’s degree as a student of David Higgs at the Eastman School of Music, where she also obtained her BMus in 2016 after organ studies with William Porter and Edoardo Bellotti. Käthe also spent two gap years in the UK, where she served as Organ Scholar at Truro Cathedral (2016-17) and Peterborough Cathedral (2019-20). Both a passionate church musician and an active recitalist, Käthe has performed for the American radio program Pipedreams Live!, and she has performed in venues around America and the UK. She has received several awards, including the Gerald Barnes Award for Excellence in Pipe Organ (2013), the inaugural VanDelinder Prizes in Liturgical Organ Skills (2014 & 2015), first place in the West Chester University International Organ Competition (2015), and the FAGO prize (2025). Käthe is a Fellow of the American Guild of Organists and a published composer with Selah Publishing Company
Mélodie Michel
Mélodie Michel was unanimously awarded her Master’s degree in the organ class of Olivier Latry and Thomas Ospital at the Paris Conservatoire (CNSMDP) in 2025, graduating with highest honors at the age of 21. Mélodie is a young French-American musician who started her organ studies under Jean-Baptiste Robin at the Versailles Regional Conservatory (CRR), where she also studied piano, violin, viola, and musical composition.
As an organist, Mélodie has already performed in numerous churches and abbeys, including Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, Saint-Sulpice Church, Sainte-Clotilde Basilica, Saint-Eustache Church, the Abbey Church of Saint-Robert in La Chaise-Dieu, the Royal Chapel of Versailles, Royaumont Abbey, Nîmes Cathedral, and Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Mélodie had the great privilege of co-inaugurating the organ at Zaryadye Hall in Moscow during a 24-hour marathon featuring 24 internationally renowned organists. She also took part in the marathon performance of Bach’s complete organ works at the Philharmonie de Paris.
She performs regularly in Germany, notably in Weimar, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Bayreuth, Mannheim, Bonn, and Tübingen. In August 2022, she appeared at the La Chaise-Dieu Festival, performing with the Sequenza 9.3 choir under the direction of Catherine Simonpietri.
She is invited to give organ recitals around the world, including in Seoul (South Korea), Bucharest (Romania) as part of the Cantus Ecclesiae Festival, and at the Madrid International Organ Festival.
In October 2021, Mélodie won First Prize at the André Marchal “L’Orgue des Jeunes” Competition. She is also a laureate of the 24th Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival Hartford High School Division in the USA. In October 2024, Mélodie was awarded the Artistic Development Prize at the Canadian International Organ Competition. In 2025, Mélodie was awarded two prizes at the International Albert Schweitzer Competition in Saarbrücken, winning 3rd prize as well as the Albert Oehlen special prize for the best improvisation on his painting.
Mélodie is supported by the Safran Foundation for Music and is concurrently pursuing her aeronautical engineering studies at ESTACA.
Timothy Stewart
Timothy is currently in his final year of undergraduate study at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire after being awarded the DMC McDonald Foundation Scholarship Award. At the Conservatoire, he is studying for a BMus in Organ Performance under the tutelage of Daniel Moult and Nicholas Wearne, as well as receiving regular tuition from visiting tutors such as, Erwan le Prado and Nathan Laube. Timothy also spent a year in the USA studying with Nathan Laube at the Eastman School of Music. He is regularly called upon to perform with both instrumental and choral ensembles.
Timothy has enjoyed competition success after being awarded first prize at the IAO-RCO organ playing competition, with the final taking place at York Minster (2024) the London Organ Competition held in St Clement Danes church, London (2023), the Leonard Gibbons Organ Competition which was held at St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham (2024) and 2nd prize at the Kent Organ Competition (2024).
He is also active as a recitalist and gives recitals in venues across the country, most notably Westminster Abbey (2024). Timothy has held positions at both Chichester and Birmingham Cathedrals (St Philip’s)
Thomas Hawkes
Thomas was born in Paderborn, Germany, where he had his first organ lessons with Ulrich Schneider and Andreas Konrad as well as his first organist position at St Christopher’s Garrison Church. He then spent two years learning the organ with Jonathan Lilley at Ely Cathedral before going to the University of York where he completed his Music BA and Postgraduate Diploma in 2017.
Following this, Thomas held posts at St Edmundsbury Cathedral, King Edward’s School, Witley, and St David’s Cathedral (where he was the acting Assistant Director of Music). He subsequently spent a year studying Church Music at the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg im Breisgau, where he studied organ with Matthias Maierhofer and David Franke, as well as choral conducting with Frank Markowitsch.
From September 2023, Thomas was Chapel Organist at Stowe School in Buckinghamshire. In July 2024 he was appointed Organist and Choirmaster at Cirencester Parish Church. He is also the accompanist for Cirencester Choral Society.
Thomas has performed on television and radio for BBC Wales and is featured on the St David’s Cathedral choir 2022 Christmas CD. Thomas frequently works as a choral conductor and accompanist, and has worked with ensembles including Leeds Festival Chorus, Stowmarket Chorale and the University of York Choir. Thomas has also been a regular accompanist for the Freiburger Münster choirs.
Since September 2025, he has been studying for a Masters in Organ with Vincent Dubois, organist at Notre-Dame in Paris.
Thomas has recently performed at Troyes, Coventry, Trier and Westminster cathedrals, as well as at Temple Church, Sherborne and Westminster Abbeys and at the Neues Schloss in Stuttgart.
Outside of music, he enjoys reading about history and watching Doctor Who.
If you want to find out more about Thomas, or keep up to date with his performances and news, then follow his Instagram: wanderingorganist
