Organist, teacher, accompanist.
SAMUEL AUSTIN
BMus(Hons) PGDipRNCM PGCE, FRCO
BIOGRAPHY
Sam Austin hails from Liverpool and studied the organ from an early age. At 10, he
secured an appointment at Huyton Parish Church, beginning organ lessons at
Liverpool Cathedral with Ian Wells a few years later.
Sam's undergraduate degree was taken in Organ Performance at the Birmingham
Conservatoire, where his teachers included Henry Fairs, Daniel Moult and David
Saint. He then embarked on postgraduate studies at the Royal Northern College of
Music Manchester where he won the Organ Recital Prize in 2009.
Whilst in Birmingham, he held positions of Assistant Organist at the Birmingham
Oratory, Organ Scholar of Birmingham Symphony Hall and Sub Organist at St Peter
the Apostle, Royal Leamington Spa.
In 2007, Sam was awarded the year long post of Organ Scholar at Liverpool Anglican
Cathedral. At its conclusion he took the short journey along Hope Street to become
Organ Scholar at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, the first person to hold both
positions successively. He also holds the distinction of performing an organ recital in
each cathedral during the same afternoon, cycling between venues.
In 2011, Sam moved to London to take up the position of Assistant Director of Music at
Aldenham School and later took the positions of Director of Music at St Paul’s Church, Mill Hill, NW7 2012-2019 and Organist at St Alphage, Burnt Oak 2018-2019. In 2019, Sam relocated to the East Riding of Yorkshire for his appointment as Director of Music at Pocklington School.
PERSONAL PROFILE
Samuel Austin
Sam has performed in Europe and across the UK in churches, cathedrals and concert halls, as a soloist, accompanist and orchestrally. Recent engagements include: Ayr Town Hall, Preston Minster and Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. Sam has performed with the Crosby Symphony Orchestra at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and at The Bridgewater Hall with the RNCM Orchestra. Sam is in demand as an accompanist and makes regular appearances with various ensembles including The Harrow Philharmonic Choir.
Sam teaches piano and organ to a number of private pupils, in addition, Sam is an experienced academic music teacher and an A-level examiner and GCSE examiner for two major exam boards.
"[Sam's] exemplary articulation in music by Jehan Alain and Marcel Dupré guaranteed perfect clarity.
Nigel C B Durrant, Kent County Organists Association
Sam Austin made a child tourist dance with his performance of J. S. Bach's Prelude and Fugue in C, BWV 547
Sarah Beedle, Organists' Review
PREVIOUS VENUES AS A SOLOIST
St David's Cathedral, Shrewsbury Parish Church, St Bridget's West Kirby, Luton Parish Church, Bury Park URC, St Saviour's Oxton, Blackburn Cathedral, Chichester Cathedral, Kineton Parish Church, St Hilda's Leeds, St Michael's West Retford, Kelvingrove Art Gallery Glasgow, Chesterfield Parish Church, St Luke's Farnworth, St Faith's Crosby, St Mary's Priory Warrington, St John the Baptist Dronfield, Liverpool Cathedral, Liverpool RC Cathedral, St George's Hall Liverpool, St Mary Redcliffe, Broughton Parish Church, Warwick Road URC Coventry, St John's College Cambridge, Trollhätten Church Sweden, Blenheim Palace, St Paul's Mill Hill, St James's Bushey, Huyton Parish Church, Huyton URC, St Alphage, Burnt Oak.
SELECTED COLLABORATIONS
Bolton Choral Union - Faurè Requiem at Bolton Parish Church
Crosby Symphony Orchestra- Various programmes at St Faith's Crosby and Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.
RNCM Symphony Orchestra - Strauss' Alpine Symphony at The Bridgewater Hall.
Harrow Philharmonic - Various programmes at St John's Greenhill, Harrow.
Birmingham Conservatoire Chamber Choir - Continuo for a concert of South American Choral Music.
Stanmore Choral Society - Temporary rehearsal pianist for a season and accompanist for a Christmas concert.
Birmingham Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra - Continuo for Mozart's Vespers for a Confessor.
OTHER
Sam was the musical director for a controversial project to ring John Lennon's "Imagine" on the bells at Liverpool Cathedral. This hit the headlines back in 2009 due to the "anti-religious" nature of the song. Sam responded to the technical and musical challenges of the performance and steered the project to a successful conclusion, culminating in three performances.
Below are some media links about the project including a message from Yoko Ono!
Various articles about the project
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The premiere performance of Liverpool composer Tom Moss's "A Klezmer Odyssey" for Clarinet at Piano was given by Kari Dodson (Clarinet) and Sam Austin (Piano) Unfortunately, the intended first performance was postponed due to travel difficulties caused by the Icelandic ash cloud, however it was soon rescheduled and performed in the presence of the composer. The score is available to purchase here.