Martin at Westminster Abbey
September 2005

Read the short biography

Born and raised in Somerset, Martin was an organ scholar at Queen’s College, Taunton, before joining the Royal Academy of Music where he studied under Nicholas Danby and Naji Hakim among others, winning all the major prizes for organ and early-music. With support from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust he furthered his studies with Nicolas Kynaston and Dame Gillian Weir. Today, his regular concert appearances in the UK, Europe and Scandinavia have established a reputation amongst the foremost exponents of his generation of organists. Having broadcast for BBC radio and television, engagements in the last few years have included concert-tours of Finland, a recital at the 10th International Organ Festival in Lisbon, a concert with the Greek Radio Childrens' Choir in Athens and recitals in the Canterbury and City of London festivals along with numerous others in all the major London cathedrals.

In addition to performing, Martin has lectured at Trinity College of Music (London) and the Sibelius Academy (Helsinki) in early Iberian keyboard music, English romantic organ music and historical notation. He taught class-music at New End School in Hampstead for seven years and has been Director of Music at St. Dominic’s Priory since 2000. Having established the regular organ recitals on the famous 1883 Willis, he restored and installed an organ by Henry Bryceson (built in 1859) in the Lady Chapel. While this church is a backbone of Martin’s performing career, he has collaborated with Jennifer Bate in two world-premier recordings of organ duets by Mendelssohn (available on Somm) and also recorded organ music by Neil Wright and David Bevan for Priory Records. His own compositions are receiving considerable attention worldwide and have received recent premieres in the USA, Finland and France. Totentanz (a work commissioned by Choir & Organ magazine) has been recorded on the organ of Girard College, Philadelphia (available in the United States on Raven) and is now a set work on the syllabus for the FRCO examination.

In 2006 Martin founded AFNOM (the Annual Festival of New Organ Music) to promote the work of contemporary composers of organ music and was involved with the Royal Canadian College of Organists 100th anniversary celebrations by coordinating a centennial anthology, featuring fanfares by many of the finest living organ composers throughout the world. He has also assisted the Park Lane Group by coordinating their first events for organists on the Young Artists’ Concerts Series. After a year in the post of organist at Bradfield College in Berkshire, Martin has spent the last two years running a business in direct sales based in Reading, working predominantly with Sky TV and, more recently, the Mark Group insulation company. Having returned to London, future projects include recitals throughout the UK, recordings of the organs at St Dominic’s Priory and taking up martial arts again! Martin is a 1st-dan black belt in shotokan karate, although since breaking both hands he hasn’t trained for some time!