Simon Preston

A superb organist and inspiring choral conductor, Simon Preston held many major musical posts in the UK. A chorister at King's College, Cambridge and later organ scholar, Preston moved effortlessly to the post of sub-organist at Westminster Abbey, organist at Christ Church, Oxford (where he made many recordings for Argo and Decca) and then Organist and Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey (where, often with Trevor Pinnock's The English Concert, he made several celebrated recordings) before, in 1987, pursuing a freelance career. He gave recitals all over the world and often collaborated with major orchestras and conductors in concertante organ works like the Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony and Poulenc’s Concerto for organ, strings and timpani. He died in May 2022, aged 83.