Summer Organ Concerts 2026 - James Orford

James Orford is the organist at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Before coming to St. Paul’s, he was the organist and deputy music director at St. Paul’s, Knightsbridge, and serving as the college organist at Eton College, as well as the organist in residence at Westminster Cathedral. As a busy soloist, he has performed in many of the UK’s most significant concert halls and at a number of major festivals, including the cathedrals of St. Paul, Westminster, and Liverpool, Westminster Abbey, the Royal Festival Hall, and the Royal Albert Hall. International concert venues include the Cathedral of Roskilde, Denmark, the Sint Niklaaskerk in Ghent, and the Chiesa dell’Annunziata in Todi, Italy. In 2021, his first solo album – his own complete organ transcription of Vivaldi’s L’estro Armonico (as well as J.S. Bach’s transcriptions BWV 593 and 596) – was released by the Linn Record Label. It was recorded at the Dutch Church in London and at Duke’s Hall at the Royal Academy of Music, and it was featured on Apple Music's Classical A-list. In 2022, he recorded an organ concert by Richard Pantcheff, written for him and Michael Waldron. As a song accompanist, he has collaborated with a variety of choirs, including The Sixteen, the Monteverdi Choir, Tenebrae, the London Choral Sinfonia, Sansara, and the Thames Philharmonic Choir. He has also worked with the BBC Concert Orchestra, the London Mozart Players, and the City of London Sinfonia. Highlights of his orchestral work include Mahler’s 2nd Symphony with Semyon Bychkov and the 8th Symphony with Ronald Corp, both at the Royal Festival Hall. James Orford is also an accomplished pianist, primarily active as an accompanist and chamber musician. In 2020, he was the pianist for the concert series Vierne 150 at St. Paul’s Cathedral. His latest recording is a performance of the Five Mystical Songs, the Songs of Travel, and shorter cycles by Amy Beach and Jonathan Dove with baritone Alex Bower-Brown.