St Chad's Liturgy and Sacraments Homilies and Pastoral Letters Mass Times Prayers Sacraments Events Events Calendar Events Work with schools Schools Get involved Altar Servers Music St Chad's Cathedral Association Volunteers Latest News Liturgy and Newsletters The Cathedral Plan your visit St Chad - Fast Facts The History of St Chad's The Relics of St Chad Pugin Cathedral Bells Music Staff Organist and Director of MusicProfessor David SaintTel: 0121 230 6247 Email: [email protected] Organist and Associate Director of MusicPaul CarrEmail: [email protected] Associate OrganistsNigel MorrisJohn Pryer (Organiste Honoraire) Organ CuratorJonathan Thorne Music SecretaryElaine Dring Tel: 0121 230 6247 Email: [email protected] (Biographies outlined below) Music Lists 2026 April - July Holy Week and Easter March January and February The Choir St Chad’s Cathedral Choir dates from 1841, when the Cathedral was opened. In 1854, John Hardman set up an endowment for the choir, the first English catholic choir to be supported in this way and this long and distinguished choral tradition continues today. In 2000, a re-organisation resulted in the establishment of a professional adult choir to sing at the principal services in the cathedral. The Choir, many of whom are staff and students at Birmingham Conservatoire, sing at the High Mass on Sundays, holy days of obligation and on the other major liturgical occasions during the year. The repertoire ranges from plainsong to contemporary mass settings and anthems with a particular emphasis on renaissance polyphony. There have been several broadcasts on BBC radio and television. Watch! Live recording of the Choir during a Faith and Culture Weekend, June 2024 Watch! The choir performing during Midnight Mass, December 2017 The Organ As part of the Cathedral’s 150th anniversary restoration the firm of J. W. Walker & Sons was commissioned at the end of 1990 to build a new organ for St Chad’s Cathedral, Nicolas Kynaston having been appointed as Organ Consultant in 1988. The decision was soon taken that the only place where choir and organ could be together was in the west gallery, as originally intended by the Cathedral’s architect Augustus Welby Pugin. The organ case and gallery were designed by David Graebe in late medieval style, with decoration by Gordon Foster. The disposition of the organ within the case is very traditional: the Great occupies the centre of the main case with the Swell above and the Pedal department divided in towers on either side; the Positive is on the front of the gallery behind the player’s back, all controlled by mechanical action with electric stop action and a wide range of adjustable aids to registration. There are 6 pistons to each division and 6 general pistons, with a stepper and 96 channels of memory for each of the 8 memory cards. The classical layout and the clear choruses on all four divisions make it suitable for music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, whilst versatility is ensured as the principals on each department are complemented by a variety of colourful stops, including those required by the baroque French tradition and by the grand nineteenth century Cavaillé-Coll school. The tonal finishing was by David Wilson and Michael Butler and Nicolas Kynaston was the consultant. Since its installation, the organ has won plaudits from organists all over the world and is considered to be one the finest in the country. It has featured on recordings by David Saint, Henry Fairs, Paul Carr and Callum Alger, and has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3. The organ is also used extensively for teaching and masterclasses including by Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Organ Specification Great Positive Bourdon 16 Stopped Diapason 8 Open Diapason 8 Principal 4 Gamba 8 Flute 4 Open Flute 8 Nasard 2 2/3 Octave 4 Fifteenth 2 Harmonic Flute 4 Flageolet 2 Super Octave 2 Tierce 1 3/5 Grave Mixture II Larigot 1 1/3 Mixture IV Sharp Mixture IV Cornet V Cremona 8 Trumpet 8 Tremulant Swell to Great Swell to Positive Positive to Great Swell Pedal Salicional 8 Open Diapason 16 Voix Celeste 8 Subbass 16 Chimney Flute 8 Octave 8 Principal 4 Bass Flute 8 Tapered Flute 4 Super Octave 4 Gemshorn 2 Mixture IV Mixture IV Ophicleide 16 Bassoon 16 Trumpet 8 Trumpet 8 Positive to Pedal Oboe 8 Great to Pedal Clarion 4 Swell to Pedal Tremulant Thursday Live Organ Recitals The Cathedral Organists and guests perform a 40-minute organ recital on the first Thursday of each month. Please visit the Thursday Live website for full programme details. In August each year there is a recital every Thursday. Thursday Live 2026 brochure Thursday Live YouTube Channel From September 2020 to September 2021 short recitals were broadcast on the Thursday Live YouTube channel on the first Thursday in each month at 1:15pm, replacing the live recitals during the Coronavirus pandemic. Visit the channel to view the individual pieces from each of these recitals. We continue to produce videos for regular release. Please visit and subscribe for free to the Thursday Live YouTube channel to view new releases. Watch! The pieces in the videos were played both at the 1994 inaugural concert by Nicolas Kynaston, and ‘The Walker at 30’ recital on Thursday 1 February 2024. Staff Biographies 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. David has given recitals at Truro, Durham, Lichfield and Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedrals, St Dominic’s Priory Newcastle, St Chad’s Shrewsbury, Tewksbury Abbey and many churches in Germany. 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. He is Chair of the Incorporated Association of Organists (IAO), the Young Organ Scholars Trust (YOST) and the Bromsgrove International Musicians’ Competition. In 2018-19, he was President of the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM). Paul Carr 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 has performed recitals on many of the finest instruments in the UK including Westminster Cathedral, St Paul’s Cathedral London, Westminster Abbey, York Minster, Birmingham Town Hall and Symphony Hall and Cathedrals including Hereford, Truro, Norwich, and Salisbury. For 22 years Paul played monthly recitals at Holy Trinity Church Wordsley, where he was Musician in Residence until Autumn 2025. Further afield he has performed many times in Germany and France, including two recitals at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. In the USA in Paul has played solo recitals in Chicago, New York, and Washington DC. As a choral accompanist and soloist he has toured with choirs to France, Germany, Poland, Austria, the Czech Republic, and the USA. Paul is also one of the Organists at St Bartholomew’s Church Penn, Wolverhampton, and Musical Director of Selly Park Singers. He works frequently with The Open University, The Birmingham Bach Choir, Priory Voices and education music-hubs across the West Midlands. For 13 years he was Director of Music at St Paul’s in the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, directing the choir of adults. He has regularly directed other choirs including The St Ignatius Singers, the choir of St Bart’s Penn and the Black Country Music Education Hubs’ Choir in preparation for their appearance as part of the BBC Proms Youth Choir at the First Night of the Proms, performing with the BBC Symphony Chorus and Orchestra. Paul worked in primary education for 18 years until 2014 which included work with children’s choirs and orchestras. He is a Past President of Birmingham Organists’ Association, former Vice Chair of Worcestershire Organists’ Association, and serves on the committee of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Association. John Pryer received his musical education at Ely Cathedral, Clifton College, Bristol, and Keble College, Oxford, where he graduated and gained the diploma of Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, winning the Limpus and Read prizes. After teaching posts in Bath, Bristol, and Repton School, he became assistant to Dr Roy Massey at Birmingham Cathedral, later playing at St Chad’s Cathedral, St Paul’s in the Jewellery Quarter and the Birmingham Oratory. He is currently Organiste Titulaire at the Alexandra Palace, London, and was appointed Honorary Organist at St Chad’s in 2018. John has given recitals in many prestigious venues both at home and in Europe, but his first love is to be an Organiste Liturgique. Nigel Morris was born in Stoke-on-Trent where he received his early musical training before obtaining a Junior Exhibitioner Scholarship to the Royal Manchester College of Music. Studies continued at the Birmingham School of Music, coming under the influence of the organist and scholar, George Miles. At the same time, he became the first organ scholar at St Chad's Cathedral working with Professor John Harper and John Pryer whose wonderful improvisations made a lasting impression. Upon graduation Nigel joined Staffordshire Police until injury meant early retirement, upon which he returned to study at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire with Professor David Saint and Marcus Huxley. He was appointed as Assistant Director of Music at St Chad's Cathedral in 2001 having held posts as Director of Music at The Collegiate Church of St Mary's, Stafford and Stoke Minster. In 2025, Nigel took a step back from St Chad's and was appointed Associate Organist. In 2019 Nigel became President of Birmingham Organists Association. Manage Cookie Preferences