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The English organist, Stephen Farr, one of the youngest musicians ever to receive support from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, studied with Robert Munns and David Sanger in London and Cambridge. A subsequent grant from the Worshipful Company of Musicians (W.T. Best Scholarship) enabled him to receive further tuition from Piet Kee in Haarlem and Hans Fagius in Copenhagen. His secondary education was at Eltham College, after which, in 1984, he became Organ Scholar of Clare College Cambridge, where he obtained a double first in Music and a Master’s 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 held until 2007. In 2014 he completed a PhD on the organ and harpsichord works of Judith Bingham.
Since winning the Royal College of Organists Performer of the Year in 1988 and prizes at international competitions in Odense, St Alban’s and Paisley, Stephen Farr has enjoyed recognition as a solo performer at international level, with appearances in North and South America, Australia - including a concerto performance in Sydney Opera House - and throughout Europe. Recognised as "one of the brightest and most active English recitalists" who "plays with immaculate finish and buoyancy" (Classic CD), he 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. Until 2014 was Director of Music at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He now pursues an active freelance career, teaching in Oxford, directing the professional choir and general musical programme of St Paul's Church Knightsbridge in London, one of London’s most prominent churches, and performing as a soloist and ensemble player in the UK and abroad. He is also the Director of Chapel Music at Worcester College, Oxford.
Stephen Farr maintains a regular broadcast presence, and as a recitalist has featured frequently 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 Manchester, the St David’s Festival, the Chester Festival and the Fairfield Halls. Other venues include La Trinité and Notre Dame in Paris, and the Laurenskerk, Alkmaar.
Stephen Farr's concerto work has included engagements with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra and London Mozart Players; he made his debut in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw in 2005 with the Slovenian Radio Symphony Orchestra. He also works frequently as a continuo and ensemble player with many other leading European ensembles, including the Berliner Philharmoniker (with whom he appeared in the première of Jonathan Harvey's Weltethos under Sir Simon Rattle in October 2011), the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Florilegium, The Bach Choir, Holst Singers (Director: Stephen Layton), BBC Singers, BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, The English Concert (Director: Trevor Pinnock), Polyphony (Director: Stephen Layton), Philharmonia Orchestra, London Baroque Soloists (Director: Charles Medlam), City of London Sinfonia, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Wallace Collection, Endymion Ensemble, Academy of Ancient Music, Britten Sinfonia, Dunedin Consort (Director: John Butt), Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Winchester Cathedral Choir, Clare Baroque (Director: Margaret Fautless). He has also performed as a concerto soloist in Sydney Opera House with the Australian Baroque Orchestra.
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 Poul Ruders. 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 which includes repertoire from the 15th century to the present day; current projects include a recording of the complete organ works of Kenneth Leighton for Resonus Classics. In 2004 he commissioned a new organ symphony from David Briggs, inspired by Maurice Duruflé's setting of the Requiem mass. His recording of this work forms part of an extensive discography as soloist, accompanist and continuo player. He made his BBC Proms solo debut in 2011 in a concert which Classical Music magazine selected as its premiere of the year, performing a major work - The Everlasting Crown - which was written for him by Judith Bingham.
Stephen Farr is an examiner and trustee of the Royal College of Organists. He has recorded several CD's for labels that include Hyperion Records, Priory Records, Nimbus Records, Virgin. Recent projects include a series of recordings for Resonus Classics, which have met with unanimous critical acclaim; he is currently recording the complete organ works of Kenneth Leighton, the first player to do so. |
