MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Fete - French Organ Music

Born in Hampshire, England, Andrew Cantrill was educated at Durham University. His teachers included the late Lady Susi Jeans, Peter Wright and Gerre Hancock (improvisation). After graduating in 1992, he was appointed Organist & Director of Music at the Parish Church of St George, Belfast. There he was responsible for the choir of men and boys, and the St George's Singers and Orchestra. Two years later, he was appointed Organist & Master of the Choristers at Grimsby Parish Church, the only parish church in Britain to have its own choir school. During the next three years he directed the five weekly choral services, took the choir on tour to London, Iceland and Germany, and recorded two critically acclaimed CDs for the Cantoris label. The Yorkshire Post described the Choristers of Grimsby Parish Church as "a revelation - the only parish church choir in Britain able to take on the big hitters of the International recording market and leave them all standing".

As a concert organist, Andrew has played in many prestigious venues throughout the UK and Europe. Festival appearances have included the Cheltenham International Festival of Music and he has undertaken recital tours to Switzerland, Germany and the Republic of Ireland. He performed on two occasions as the organ soloist with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra during 2001, and has broadcast live on Concert FM. Recent concerts in Wellington have included an appearance for the Friends of the New Zealand Festival, and an improvised soundtrack to Cecil B. DeMille's silent movie King of Kings. During 2002 he performed recitals at Lincoln Cathedral and St Paul's Cathedral, London.

Andrew was appointed Organist and Director of Music at the Wellington Cathedral of St Paul, New Zealand, in August 1999. He is much in demand as a conductor and choral clinician throughout New Zealand and, with the Orpheus Choir of Wellington, has appeared with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Wellington Sinfonia. In recent months, Andrew has established St Paul's Baroque, a period instrument ensemble based at the Wellington Cathedral of St Paul, and the Orpheus Youth Chorus - a choir for Secondary School students. He is tutor in organ at Massey University and Artistic Director of the Wellington Cathedral Festival of Music and the Arts.