Join us to enjoy the sparkling sound of one of the UK’s finest organs, bathed in the glorious architecture and acoustic of the Baroque chapel.

Each Wednesday at 1.10pm during term time we host an informal lunchtime recital which ends before 2pm.

Admission is free with a retiring collection.

For disabled access please speak to the Porters Lodge (01865 279120).

If you have any further enquiries please ring the choir office on 01865 289177 or email choir@queens.ox.ac.uk

Michaelmas Term 2026

Wednesday 14 October – James Johnstone, Royal Academy of Music

Wednesday 21 October – Ben Tanner, New College

Wednesday 4 November – David Hardie, Birmingham Cathedral

Wednesday 11 November – Hugh Rowlands, New College

Wednesday 18 November – Hannah Parry, Gronau, Westf. Germany, and UK

Wednesday 25 November – Arthur Barton, The Queen’s College

Wednesday 2 December – Joseph Hyam, New College

James Johnstone is a recitalist, continuo player and teacher. He teaches early keyboards at the Royal Academy of Music London and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. In 2016 he undertook a series of critically acclaimed Bach recordings for Metronome Recordings: so far 3 volumes of organ music, the Art of Fugue and the harpsichord and violin sonatas with Rodolfo Richter

 Benedict Tanner began his musical training at the age of six, learning the violin and piano. A year later he joined the choir of St. Paul's Cathedral, where he started learning the organ. During his time as a Music Scholar at Rugby School, he featured in two Choral Evensongs on BBC Radio 3, once as an organist and once with a performance of his choral composition, ‘Those Who Wait for the Lord’. Benedict, after a year as the Organ Scholar at Chichester Cathedral, has recently began as the Organ Scholar at New College.

David Hardie was born in Stirlingshire, beginning his organ studies with Richard Galloway at the age of 14.  He subsequently became organ scholar at Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he combined a law degree with organ study with Anne Page.  During this period, he also held the organ scholarship of Dunblane Cathedral. 

On graduating from Cambridge, David moved to Cheshire where he qualified as a solicitor, combining work at a Manchester law firm with a second career in music.  He was Director of Music at St Peter’s Hale for nine years, and Accompanist and later Director of the Chester St Cecilia Singers.

David resigned from legal practice in 2011 to undertake a Master’s degree at the Royal Northern College of Music.  He studied with Jeffrey Makinson and graduated with distinction in 2013, winning the RNCM Organ Recital Prize competition.  During this period David also held the organ scholarship of Manchester Cathedral and gained the Fellowship of the Royal College of Organists.  He then undertook a further year of private study with Gordon Stewart. 

In 2014, David moved to Birmingham to take up posts as Assistant Director of Music at Birmingham Cathedral and Organist of The Blue Coat School.  From 2015-2017, he also undertook further organ study with Henry Fairs at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.  In 2017, David was appointed Acting Director of Music at Birmingham Cathedral on the retirement of Marcus Huxley, before being appointed permanent Director of Music in 2018.  The choir’s most recent CD A Year at Birmingham, on which David appears as conductor and organ soloist, was released physically and digitally by Regent Records in 2025 and gained a five-star review in Choir and Organ. 

Hugh Rowlands is Assistant Organist at New College, Oxford. Previously he has been Assistant Master of Music at the Chapels Royal, HM Tower of London, and Acting Director of Music at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University.

As a soloist, he has given recitals at major venues in the UK, including Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral, and the St Albans International Organ Festival. Hugh has worked with a broad range of  leading groups and performers, appearing across the UK and internationally, including at the Royal Albert Hall, Barbican Centre, the Paris Philharmonie, St Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, New York, Shanghai Symphony Hall, and the National Centre for Performing Arts, Beijing. Recent engagements include collaborations with the Grange Festival Opera, English Chamber Orchestra, Alamire, London Choral Sinfonia, the London Contemporary Orchestra, and Icelandic duo, Jònsi and Alex. As a pianist, he has worked with Roderick Williams, Graham Johnson and Iain Burnside. He has recorded on the SOMM and Albion labels, and performed on BBC Radio 3. In 2024, he made his first solo recording of the Klais organ at Haileybury, as well as a CD of choral music with Haileybury Chamber Choir. A regular member of the James McVinnie ensemble, he has performed at the Barbican Centre, Saffron Hall, Bold Tendencies, and the Southbank Centre.

Hugh is a graduate of the University of Cambridge, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists. He has held organ scholarships at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, King’s Voices, King’s College, and the Royal Hospital Chelsea. From 2021–2024, he was Deputy Director of Music at Haileybury College.

Hannah Parry is an organist, accompanist and choral conductor based in London, UK and Münsterland, Germany. Since February 2025 Hannah has been the Director of Music at the Evangelische Stadtkirche in Gronau, Westfalen. Hannah's varied career  includes concert appearances across Europe and the UK, as well as examining, teaching and choral directing. She studied organ performance at the Royal College of Music with David Graham followed by a Masters degree at Royal Holloway, University of London. Hannah's freelance musical career has included church music posts at various London churches (most recently Farm Street Church in Mayfair) as well as accompaniment opportunities with choirs and choral societies. Teaching and outreach work with adults and children have featured highly and this work has led to close links with the Temple Church and the Union Chapel, Islington. Hannah is the director of the Gronau Gospel Choir and teaches for the KulturForum, Steinfurt. Recent recital venues include St Peter's Vienna, AT, The Grotekerk Enschede NL and the Temple Church, London. Hannah's first CD, Das Lied des Herrn (The Lord's Song) was recorded on the historic organ built by Wilhelm Sauer in 1904 in the Stadtkirche, Gronau and was released in September 2025.

 Joseph Hyam is currently the Senior Organ Scholar at New College, Oxford, where he is in his third year reading English. While in 6th form, he attended the junior department of the Royal College of Music, where he studied the piano with Richard Uttley, and the organ with Martyn Noble, as well as receiving lessons at school with Ghislaine Reece-Trapp. Following this he took a gap year where he studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Richard Pinel. During this time he became a prize-winning Fellow of the Royal College of Organists and was highly commended in the 2024 NIIOC. He currently receives lessons from Steven Farr.