Simon Lindley

Simon Lindley, (born 10 October 1948) British organist and choirmaster, organist at Leeds Town Hall since 1976 and Leeds Parish Church (the Parish Church of St Peter at Leeds) since 1975. Senior Lecturer in Music at Leeds Polytechnic from 1976 to 1987. Appointed Senior Assistant Music Officer for Leeds City Council in 1988. President of the Royal College of Organists from 2000 to 2003 and of the IAO, the Incorporated Association of Organists, from 2003 to 2005. Long-serving Secretary of the Church Music Society from 1991. He served on the editorial panel for New English Praise (2006), a supplement to The New English Hymnal and was, with Michael Fleming, responsible for much of the musical compilation of the supplement. Chairman of the Ecclesiastical Music Trust from 2004 - the trustees all being directors of the English Hymnal Company. Chairman, Yorkshire College of Music and Drama from 2006.

Much recorded as organ soloist with the great orchestras and with Huddersfield Choral Society, and as accompanist to cornet virtuoso Phillip McCann.

Biography

Born in London, England, on 10 October 1948, Lindley's father is an Anglican priest and his mother a writer, daughter of Émile Cammaerts. He was educated at Magdalen College School, Oxford and in London at the Royal College of Music where he studied organ, piano and voice. He comes from a musical family - his great grand-mother, Marie Brema, was mezzo soloist in the first performance of Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius at the 1900 Birmingham Festival. His sister, Ruth, was for many years a member of the professional choir of the London Oratory.

After a 1969 début recital at Westminster Cathedral his early work included a 1975 broadcast of the Elgar Sonata at the Proms. This launched a recording career which has included several works for Naxos Records and Chandos Records, including "French Organ Music from Leeds Parish Church", Handel Concertos with Northern Sinfonia and the Khachaturian "Organ Symphony", with the BBC Philharmonic conducted by Fedor Gluschenko, recorded live at a concert in Leeds Town Hall.

After service in a number of notable London churches, and as Organ Tutor at the Royal School of Church Music's (RSCM) College of St Nicolas, he held posts at Westminster Cathedral then St Albans Cathedral, where he was Peter Hurford's first full-time assistant as well as Director of Music at St Albans School.

In early 1975 he moved to Yorkshire to take up the position of Director of the Parish Church Choir, becoming Leeds City Organist a year later. Also in 1976, he began work as senior lecturer in Music at Leeds Polytechnic, a post he held until 1987. In 1988 he was appointed to the new post of Senior Assistant Music Officer for Leeds City Council; twenty years later, he is still very busily engaged in this activity additional to his roles as a performing musician. Although the Church of England has questioned the compatibility of Freemasonry and Christianity in a report published in 1987 [http://mfrfm.org.uk/] , Lindley served as Organist to Zetland Lodge of Freemasons from 1999 to 2005, No 1311 on the Register of the United Grand Lodge of England. He is also Almoner of the Lodge and during 2007 and 2008 he served as Master of the Lodge.

During the 1970s and 80s he was Chorus Master to Halifax Choral Society and the Leeds Philharmonic Society, and is a Life Vice-President of both choirs. His work for the Royal School of Church Music has included directing courses on four continents and membership of its Advisory Board.

Lindley remains (2008) Organist at Leeds Town Hall and Leeds Parish Church [the longest-serving musician in almost 300 years of continual musical endeavour there] . At the Church, where his duties include direction of its world-famous Choir, he is also Music Director of Saint Peter's Singers of Leeds, a notable chamber choir founded by Harry Fearnley in 1977. He is Music Director of Overgate Hospice Choir (Halifax) and Leeds College of Music Choral Society.

He has four children and two grandchildren.

Honorary, voluntary and other positions

* Chairman of the Friends of the Musicians' Chapel at the church of St Sepulchre-without-Newgate in the City of London (2003-); Churchwarden of St Sepulchre-without-Newgate (2007-)
* Chairman of the Ecclesiastical Music Trust - English Hymnal Company (2004-)
* Chairman of the Trustees, Yorkshire College of Music and Drama (2006-)
* President of the Campaign for the Traditional Cathedral Choir (2008-)
* Founder-trustee of the Sir George Thalben-Ball Memorial Trust
* Trustee of the John Pilling Trust
* Member of the Royal Society of Musicians
* Director of The English Hymnal Company Limited (1995-)
* Music Compiler - joint with Michael Fleming - of New English Praise, a supplement to The New English Hymnal (2006)
* President of the Royal College of Organists (2000-2003)
* President of the IAO [, the Incorporated Association of Organists (2003-2005)
* Secretary of the Church Music Society (1991-)
* Trustee of the Friends of the Music of Leeds Parish Church (1996-)

Academic awards, honours and distinctions

* Fellow of Trinity College of Music (FTCL) (1973)
* Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music (LRAM) (1968)
* Associate of the Royal College of Music (ARCM) (1968)
* Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Musicians
* Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, Choirmaster's Diploma (FRCO (CHM))
* Graduate of the Royal Schools of Music (London) (1970)
* Honorary doctorate, Leeds Metropolitan University (2001)
* Honorary Fellowship, Leeds College of Music (2000)
* Honorary Fellowship, Guild of Church Musicians (2000)
* Honorary Fellowship, Guild of Musicians and Singers
* Freedom of the City of London

* The RSCM has granted Simon Lindley two honorary awards:
** Associate of the Royal School of Church Music (ARSCM) (1987)
** Fellow of the Royal School of Church Music (FRSCM) (2002)

External links

* [http://www.simonlindley.org.uk/ Official website]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=41:3780~T00 Simon Lindley at Allmusic.com]
* [http://www.leedsparishchurch.org.uk Leeds Parish Church]
* [http://www.stpeters-singers.org.uk St Peter's Singers]