Peterborough Cathedral Choir & Steven Grahl
Biography Peterborough Cathedral Choir & Steven Grahl
Steven Grahl
is a sought-after conductor and keyboard player. He took up the appointment as Director of Music at Peterborough Cathedral in September 2014, where he is responsible for directing the Cathedral Choir, and for the recently re-pitched Hill Organ. Prior to this, he spent seven years as Assistant Organist at New College, Oxford, accompanying the chapel choir in services, concerts, broadcasts, webcasts and recordings. In conjunction with this post, he held the position of Organist & Director of Music at St Marylebone Parish Church, London from 2001-2014. Steven has been Principal Conductor of the Guildford Chamber Choir since 2006, is Musical Director of Peterborough Choral Society, Conductor of the Stamford Chamber Orchestra, and Conductor of Schola Cantorum of Oxford.
Recent conducting engagements include: Verdi Requiem with Peterborough Choral Society and Cathedral Choirs; Bach Magnificat and Handel Coronation Anthems with the Guildford Chamber Choir and Instruments of Time and Truth; and works by Escaich, Copland, Maw, and Whitacre with Cambridge University Symphony Chorus. Steven has worked with numerous other ensembles, including The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble, Guildford Philharmonic, New London Chamber Choir, and Prime Brass.
In 2017, Steven has directed première performances of works by Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Roxanna Panufnink, and Toby Young. A CD recording of Frances-Hoad’s EvenYouSong will be available later in the year. Recent engagements include concerto performances in Peterborough Cathedral’s June Organ Festival, directing Stamford Chamber Orchestra in Beethoven and Mozart, an organ recital tour of Luxembourg, and concerts in northern France with the Guildford Chamber Choir.
A prize-winning graduate of Magdalen College, Oxford, and the Royal Academy of Music, Steven gained the top prizes in the FRCO examination, and is also a holder of the Worshipful Company of Musicians’ Silver Medallion. In 2010, he was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM), an award offered to past students of the Academy who have distinguished themselves in the music profession and made a significant contribution to it in their particular field. As a former member of the Oxford University Faculty of Music, Steven has twice held stipendiary lectureships in music at New College and is in demand as an organ and conducting tutor. He served for two years as Chairman of the Association of Assistant Cathedral Organists, and has held a Junior Fellowship in Choral Direction at Birmingham Conservatoire. Steven was an interpretation finalist in the International Organ Competitions at St Albans (UK) in 2011, and in Dudelange (Luxembourg) in 2013, and will be President of the Incorporated Association of Organists from July 2017.
