Stephen Farr
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Recognised as "one of the brightest and most active young English recitalists" who "plays with immaculate finish and buoyancy" (Classic CD), Stephen Farr is widely regarded as one of the finest organists of his generation, with a virtuoso technique and an impressive stylistic grasp of a wide-ranging repertoire.
One of the youngest musicians ever to receive support from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, Stephen Farr studied with Robert Munns and David Sanger (organist) in London and Cambridge. A subsequent grant from the Worshipful Company of Musicians (W.T. Best Scholarship) enabled him to receive tuition from Piet Kee in Haarlem and Hans Fagius in Copenhagen.
In 1984 he became Organ Scholar of Clare College, Cambridge, where he obtained a Double first in Music and a Masters degree in Musicology. Sub-organist posts at Christ Church, Oxford and Winchester Cathedral preceded his appointment in 1999 as Organist of Guildford Cathedral, a position which he now combines with a busy freelance career.
Since winning the Royal College of Organists Performer of the Year in 1988 and further prizes at the international competitions in Odense, St Alban's and Paisley, Stephen Farr has enjoyed recognition at international level, with performing tours to North and South America, Australia – including a concerto performance in Sydney Opera House – and throughout Europe.
He maintains a regular broadcast presence, and as a recitalist has featured in the main series of the major venues in the UK – among them St Paul's Cathedral (where he has appeared twice in the Celebrity Series), Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral, King's College, Cambridge, St David's Hall Cardiff, St John's, Smith Square, Symphony Hall, Birmingham, the Bridgewater Hall, the St David's Festival, and the Fairfield Halls. He recently gave a solo recital in the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris.
His concerto work has included engagements with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra and the London Mozart Players; he recently made his debut in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw with the Slovenian Radio Symphony Orchestra. He has also worked with other leading ensembles including Florilegium, the Bach Choir, BBC Singers, English Concert, London Baroque Soloists, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Wallace Collection, Endymion Ensemble and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
Stephen Farr has a particular commitment to contemporary music, and has been involved in premieres of works by composers as diverse as Patrick Gowers, Francis Pott, Judith Bingham, and Howard Goodall. He also collaborated with Thomas Adès in a recording for EMI of the composer's Under Hamelin Hill, part of an extensive and wide-ranging discography. In 2004 he commissioned a new organ symphony from David Briggs, inspired by Maurice Duruflé's setting of the Requiem mass.
Stephen Farr's reputation as an inspiring and versatile teacher leads to frequent invitations to tutor on residential courses for young organists, most recently for the Royal College of Organists and the Oundle International Organ Week. He is a Council member, examiner and member of the Executive of the Royal College of Organists, and was recently elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA).
