Andrew Lucas
Andrew Lucas (Music Director of the St Albans Bach
Choir since 1998) is Master of the Music at the Cathedral and Abbey Church of
St Alban, after having been Sub-Organist of St Paul's Cathedral, London for eight years.
Born in Wellington, Shropshire in 1958, Andrew studied organ at the Royal
College of Music with John Birch, and composition with Herbert Howells. He
graduated with a BMus from the University
of London and continued
his organ studies after college with Peter Hurford. The award of the W T Best
Scholarship from the Worshipful Company of Musicians then enabled him to study
with Piet Kee at the Sweelinck Conservatoire, Amsterdam.
Andrew has been Director of Music of St James'
Church, Sussex Gardens,
London, and later of St Vedast-alias-Foster in
the City of London.
His career at St Paul's
Cathedral began in 1980 (as organ student) and he became subsequently Assistant
Sub-Organist (1985) and Sub-Organist and Assistant Director of Music
(1990–1998). In his time at St Paul’s he made
over 25 commercial recordings
with the Cathedral Choir and a soloist for the Hyperion, Naxos
and Mirabilis labels.
As an organ soloist he plays concerts throughout
the UK and has given
recitals in Norway, Sweden, Belgium,
Germany, France, Italy,
the Netherlands, Australia, Bermuda and the USA. In 1997 he
spent three months on sabbatical as Organist and Master of the Choristers at St
Andrew's Cathedral in Sydney,
Australia.
As conductor, Andrew has been Chorus Master of
the London Concert Choir, assistant conductor of the City of London Choir and
deputy chorus master for Laszlo Heltay with the Royal Choral Society, the
Brighton Festival Chorus and the Academy of St Martin's-in-the-Fields Chorus
and for David Hill with the Philharmonia Chorus. More recently he directed the
annual Choir Directors’ Course at St
Thomas Church,
Fifth Avenue,
NYC in 2007.
Since Andrew took up his position as Master of
the Music at St Albans Cathedral, the Cathedral Choir has toured Sweden,
France, The Netherlands, Rome and the Eastern seaboard of the USA, made several
broadcasts (including Choral Evensong on Radio 3 and morning service on ITV)
and sung at the late Queen Mother's 100th birthday celebrations. A recording of
Stanford's Bible
Songs was released, to critical acclaim, in 2000 on the Priory label
and one of Christmas
music on the Lammas label in 2001. A CD of German
Romantic choral works was issued in 2005. He was made an Honorary
Fellow of the Guild of Church Musicians in 2006.
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