Mark Wardell was
Assistant Organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...
at
Chichester Cathedral
Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, England. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of th ...
from 1997 to 2009, serving for five of those years as
Director of Music
A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...
at the
Prebendal School
The Prebendal School is a private preparatory school in Chichester, situated adjacent to the Chichester Cathedral precinct. It is a boarding and day school educating the cathedral choristers. The school has ancient origins as the medieval cat ...
, the
Cathedral Choir's Prebendal School, School. He had previously held positions at Royal Holloway College, University of London, St. George's Chapel, St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle and Christ's Hospital, Christ's Hospital School, Horsham.
His work in Chichester involved him in numerous live BBC, BBC broadcasts and recordings, the Southern Cathedrals Festival and Chichester Festivities. Chichester Cathedral#Cathedral Choir, The Cathedral Choir at Chichester is one of the widely respected in the country and it is the primary role of the Assistant Organist to accompany the choir in its opus dei – the singing of the daily choral liturgies.
Mark has featured as Solo (music), soloist and accompanist on numerous commercial recordings released through IMP Classics, Carlton Communications, Carlton, Pickwick Records, Pickwick, Lammas, Guild and Priory Records, Priory. He enjoys life as a recitalist and has a formidable reputation as one of the foremost British exponents of liturgical improvisation. He has performed throughout Europe, South America and South Africa and has given recitals in most of the major venues in England, including a début performance in St. John's Smith Square and Westminster Abbey.
Chichester's links to Bamberg Cathedral, Bamberg and Chartres Cathedral, Chartres have enabled him to give recitals in both of those cathedrals; his programme in Chartres Cathedral, Chartres (in 2004) concluded with a 20-minute improvisation on the plainsong: ''Salve Regina''.
Increasingly in demand as a Conducting, choral conductor he is co-founder of the university based Chichester Chorale where he is also Organ Performance Tutor. Mark is a F.R.C.O., Fellow of the Royal College of Organists.
On Christmas Day 2009, Wardell left the Choral Foundation at Chichester Cathedral to take up the post of Director of Music at Barrow Hills School in Surrey.
References
Cathedral organists
Living people
Academics of the Royal College of Music
British music educators
British classical organists
Assistant Organists of Chichester Cathedral
21st-century organists
21st-century British male musicians
Year of birth missing (living people)
British male classical organists
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