Accompanist

Our Accompanist is Simon Russell.

Simon was born in Liverpool. He studied organ at Birkenhead School with Timothy Lawford and then at Cambridge as Organ Scholar at St. Catharines’s College, where he continued studies with Gillian Weir and the late Peter Le Huray.

After Cambridge he was appointed Assistant Organist at Chester Cathedral but decided after a while to keep music as a hobby and gain fortune from computer keyboards. Having worked for Pilkingtons, ICI and then AstraZeneca, he is now a senior consultant working for an Anglo/Swedish management consultancy company called 3gamma.

He was firstly accompanist and then Musical Director of the Hoylake Choral Society from 1982 until he moved, in 2000, to Nantwich where he is Organist at St Mary’s Parish Church. He has also accompanied the Nantwich Singers on many occasions and directed them when their normal Musical Director is absent. He is an annual recitalist at Chester Cathedral and is on the ‘reserve’ organist list covering holiday periods and other absences. He is also in demand as an organ tutor and has many Associated Board and other pupil distinctions and diploma successes to his credit.

Simon follows Andrew Mildinhall as only the choir’s third accompanist in its history. After many years of sterling service Andrew has moved back to his roots in Norfolk. We are delighted to welcome Simon as our new accompanist in September 2010. Simon is an organist of the highest calibre and is sure to continue the tradition of first class organ playing at our concerts.