Andrew Bryden was appointed Organist and Director of Music of Ripon Cathedral in November 2003 having previously been Assistant Organist and Director of Music at Ripon Cathedral Choir School since 1998. He studied music at Aberdeen University as an Organ Scholar, specialising in performance and editorial techniques and following cathedral and church appointments in Aberdeen and Sheffield was appointed Organ Scholar of Canterbury Cathedral in 1994. He combined this with the post of Organist and Head of Academic Music at St. Edmund's School, Canterbury.
As an accompanist and recitalist Andrew has played at many of the major venues in the United Kingdom, and has undertaken tours to Holland, Germany, Austria and North America. He has broadcast on both BBC and independent radio and television and has made a number of CD recordings on various labels.
As Director of Music, his work with the Choirs of Ripon Cathedral has received widespread acclaim, and has included three CD recordings which have been highly recommended by critics.
Edmund Aldhouse began his musical training as a chorister at Manchester Cathedral, whilst studying the piano at Chetham’s School of Music. He held the Organ Scholarship at Pembroke College Oxford, graduating in 2001 with First Class Honours in Modern Languages. Having been appointed Organ Scholar at Chichester Cathedral in 2001, he became Sub-Organist of Rochester Cathedral the following year, where he directed the Girls’ Choir, participated in several foreign tours and played for a number of live BBC broadcasts.
He has performed widely as an accompanist and recitalist in venues in the UK, France, the Netherlands and the USA. His strong interest in French organ music led him to study repertoire and improvisation with Frédéric Blanc in Paris in 2000, and inspired him to return to France in 2006 to study with François-Henri Houbart at the Conservatoire in Rueil-Malmaison, where he obtained a unanimous Premier Prix de Virtuosité in 2008.
He has been Assistant Director of Music at Ripon Cathedral since January 2009.
The Music Department | Staff | Choirs | Organ | Concerts & Recitals | Music List |
Visiting Choirs | Joining the Choirs | Contacts
