News

The current senior organ scholar at King’s College, Cambridge will take up the post of Organist at the Old Royal Naval College Trinity Laban Chapel Choir from September 2017.

Previously a chorister at King’s and music scholar at Eton College, Richard Gowers began learning the organ at the age of ten and became a prize-winning Fellow of the Royal College of Organists at seventeen. After receiving a generous bursary from the Nicholas Danby Trust, he spent a year studying with Stefan Engels at the Mendelssohn Conservatoire in Leipzig, where he explored a variety of historic instruments from the times of Bach and Mendelssohn.

In the past three years at King’s, Richard has accompanied the renowned choir, taught the boy choristers and played for numerous concerts and recordings. Concert performances include the Aldeburgh Festival, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Beijing National Performing Arts Center, Beneroya Hall in Seattle, the Chan Center in Vancouver and the BBC Proms.

Richard commented on his appointment –

“I am delighted to begin the post as Organist in September. It is reassuring to know that, by moving to London in the coming year, I will be joining a welcoming and vibrant community at the Old Royal Naval College Chapel, and I look forward very much to many exciting musical moments to come.”

Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is the only UK conservatoire of music with a collegiate chapel choir. Many members of the choir are drawn from Trinity Laban, but there are also a number of places in the choir for experienced and outstanding local volunteer singers. It’s Director of Music, Dr Ralph Allwood MBE (who was for 26 years Director of Music at Eton College) commented –

“I am delighted that we now have a permanent Organist for our wonderful chapel who will play for us on all occasions: Sunday Eucharists, Monday Evensongs, concerts, recordings and tours. I am even more excited that Richard is such a distinguished musician.”

To find out more about the Chapel Choir and their performances, please visit: www.ornc.org/chapel-choir

Image: Chapel Choir (JK Photography)