Ben Collyer

Ben is organist at St John’s Hyde Park Crescent. He began his musical education at the age of 7 as a treble in his local church choir in Stockport. When he was 16, he began studies at Chetham’s School of Music, where he studied the Organ with Christopher Stokes and the piano with Graham Caskie. At Chetham’s he performed regularly with Manchester Chamber Choir and Chetham’s Symphony Orchestra, and with visiting conductors Jac Van Steen, Paul McCreash and John Rutter. In 2017, Ben was awarded his ARCO diploma from the Royal College of Organists. In 2018 Ben took on the role of Organ Scholar at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, where he also studied for a BA in musicology. In his second year, he was appointed as the director of the student-run College choir. In 2021 Ben was appointed Organ Scholar at St Paul’s Cathedral. He was involved with a number of prestigious services including the 2022 Platinum Jubilee service for HM Queen Elizabeth II. As a recitalist, Ben has performed in a number of prestigious venues, both in the UK and abroad. Some recent venues include L’Église Saint Vincent de Carcassonne and the Royal Opera House in Muscat. In 2020, Ben was given the Richard Newton Scarth Award to study for a MA in Organ performance at the Royal College of Music, where he now works with David Graham and Andy Dewar. In 2023 he was awarded a first in his MPerf. Ben is staying on as a scholar at the Royal College of music to complete the prestigious Artist’s Diploma course, finishing in 2024.