Luke Bond (born 2 February 1980) is a British organist and is currently Assistant Organist at

St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the G ...

, where he played prominently for the

wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was held on Saturday 19 May 2018 in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom. The groom is a member of the British royal family; the bride is American and previously worked as an ...

and the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He has appeared internationally, and has made recordings of organ music and choral music.

Career

Bond was "mad about the organ" from the age of three, when he played his grandmother's instruments. He attended King's School in Gloucester where organists for

Gloucester Cathedral Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated with the establishment of a minster dedicated to ...

were educated for many centuries. He got serious about becoming an organist only when he received a scholarship to a cathedral school, and learned for a year with Andrew Nethsingha. He studied at

Bristol University The University of Bristol is a Red brick university, red brick Russell Group research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Society of Merchant Venturers, Merchant Venturers' sc ...

. Bond was organist at

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , hea ...

, then at the

Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick The Collegiate Church of St Mary is a Church of England parish church in Warwick, Warwickshire, England. It is in the centre of the town just east of the market place. It is grade I listed, and a member of the Major Churches Network. The church ...

, and served for eight years as Assistant Director of Music at

Truro Cathedral The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Truro, Cornwall. It was built between 1880 and 1910 to a Gothic Revival design by John Loughborough Pearson on the site of the parish church of St Mary. It i ...

. In Truro, he gained national recognition appearing in a recording of music by

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

in 2013, the composer's centenary year, with the Truro Cathedral Choir conducted by

Christopher Gray Christopher Stewart Gray (April 24, 1950 – March 10, 2017) was an American journalist and architectural historian,Schneider, Daniel B (August 27, 2000)"F.Y.I. Hell's Kitchen in the Raw" ''The New York Times''. March 4, 2010. noted for his wee ...

. They recorded both choral and organ solo compositions. The same year, he made his first organ solo recording, entitled ''Mighty Voice'', combining works by

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...

Charles-Marie Widor Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor (21 February 1844 – 12 March 1937) was a French organist, composer and teacher of the mid-Romantic era, most notable for his ten organ symphonies. His Toccata from the fifth organ symphony has become one of the ...

and

William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the canta ...

with music by contemporary composers. In 2014, he took part in a recording ''Vox Clara'' with music by Gabriel Jackson, with the Cathedral Choir conducted by Gray. Several works were especially written for the choir, and some recorded for the first time. In late 2017, Bond took over as organist and assistant director of music at

. Besides accompanying or conducting the Chapel Choir in eight choral services each week, he has played for highly visible functions such as the 2018

and the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in 2021. For the funeral service, he had to play several pieces both before and after the service, as well as accompanying the choir during the service. In 2018, Bond was the organist of a recording titled ''Christmas at St. George's Windsor'', with the Chapel Choir conducted by music director

James Vivian James Vivian FRCO (born 1974) is Organist & Director of Music at St George's Chapel, Windsor. In this role, he has been responsible for providing music at many Royal occasions including three Royal Weddings (such as The Duke and Duchess of Suss ...

, recorded at St Matthew's Church, Northampton, and including music also for

Advent Advent is a Christian season of preparation for the Nativity of Christ at Christmas. It is the beginning of the liturgical year in Western Christianity. The name was adopted from Latin "coming; arrival", translating Greek ''parousia''. In ...

and Epiphany. A reviewer described him as "a model of accompanimental sensitivity". In 2019, Bond was resident organist of the Milton Abbey International Music Festival of

Voces8 Voces8, styled VOCES8, is an a cappella octet from England. They have appeared internationally and made recordings of classical music, jazz, pop, and their own arrangements. Recent recordings are for Decca Classics and under their own label, Voc ...

vocal ensemble. He performed works by J. S. Bach on the Abbey organ, before a concert of Bach's ''

St John Passion The ''Passio secundum Joannem'' or ''St John Passion'' (german: Johannes-Passion, link=no), BWV 245, is a Passion or oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, the older of the surviving Passions by Bach. It was written during his first year as dire ...

'' on 31 July 2019. On 21 November 2019, Bond appeared as the soloist for Poulenc's

Organ Concerto An organ concerto is a piece of music, an instrumental concerto for a pipe organ soloist with an orchestra. The form first evolved in the 18th century, when composers including Antonio Vivaldi, George Frideric Handel and Johann Sebastian Bach wro ...

with the

Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) is an orchestra based in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. History Founded by the Cape Town City Council, the Cape Town Municipal Orchestra held its inaugural concert on 28 February 1914 in the ...

conducted by Bernhard Gueller.

References

External links

* *
Mighty Voice
regent-records.co
Truro 125
Gramophone
Benjamin Britten: Choral and Organ Music – Luke Bond, organist/ Truro Cathedral Choir/ Christopher Gray – Regent REGCD349, 74:33 [Distr. by Albany
audaud.com * Arjen van Kralingen
Recensie / Mighty Voice – The Organ of Truro Cathedral
(in Dutch) orgelnieuws.nl 31 July 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bond, Luke British classical organists British male organists English choral conductors Living people 21st-century British conductors (music) 21st-century organists 21st-century British male musicians People educated at the King's School, Gloucester Male classical organists 1980 births