Stephen Bicknell (20 December 1957 – 18 August 2007) was a leading British organ builder and writer about the

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

Early and family life

Bicknell was born in Chelsea. His maternal grandfather was an architect and amateur violinist, and his mother, Sally, was an amateur pianist. She married historian and former BBC executive Leonard Miall in 1975. His father was Nigel Bicknell DSO, from whom he inherited his eye for design. He was educated at Westminster School, Winchester College, and read Arts General at St. Chad's College,

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.Obituary, ''The Guardian'', 29 October 2007
/ref>

Career

Bicknell's career in pipe organ building started with N.P. Mander Ltd. in east London in 1979. He worked with the company's founder, Noel Mander, and his son, John Mander. One of his projects was the rebuilding of the organ in the chapel at Mill Hill School. He left Mander Ltd. in 1987 to work for J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd in Brandon in

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, where he worked on projects for

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, wh ...

, a one-manual

chamber organ Carol Williams performing at the West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.html" ;"title="United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel">United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel. In music, the organ is a keyboard instrument of one or mo ...

for the quire at Carlisle Cathedral, and the parish church in Kesgrave, near Ipswich. He returned to N.P. Mander Ltd. as head designer in 1990, working on rebuilding the organ in the chapel at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

, on two organs for

Chelmsford Cathedral Chelmsford Cathedral in the city of Chelmsford, Essex, United Kingdom, is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, St Peter and St Cedd. It became a cathedral when the Anglican Diocese of Chelmsford was created in 1914 and is the seat of the Bishop o ...

, and a four-manual mechanical-action organ Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in Manhattan. He was directly involved with the design and construction of some of the most significant recent new instruments to be built in Britain. In 1993, he left full-time organ building to pursue a varied freelance career.

Organs associated with Bicknell

In 1986, he collaborated with his architect brother Julian Bicknell on the casework of the organ at

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. In 1989, Bicknell surveyed the organ in the ballroom of

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, expressing his horror at the state of the organ. The outside appearance was fine, but the woodwork and pipes were "broken, dented and collapsing". The organ was eventually overhauled and restored in 2002. He was particularly associated with the 1993 Mander organ in Gray's Inn Chapel, where he led the team of builders, and the two 1994 Mander organs installed in

, which he designed.

Publications and associations

His interests in organ history were expressed in his membership of the British Institute of Organ Studies (BIOS) since soon after its conception in 1976. He served BIOS as a Council Member, as its Membership Secretary, and as editor of the quarterly BIOS Reporter (1986–1992). He contributed essays to the annual BIOS Journal and to other publications, and read papers at conferences in Britain, France, Germany and the USA. He also lectured on organ history at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

.Obituary, ''The Times'', 20 September 2007
/ref> In 1996, Cambridge University Press published his 400-page ''The History of the English Organ'', a work which has received wide critical acclaim. It is regarded as the leading work on the topic. He was awarded the Nicholas Bessaraboff Prize by the American Musical Instrument Society for the best book in English on musical instruments published in the two-year period 1996–97. He gave a lecture in 2001 on the restored organ at the

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, writing ''A Concert-Goer's Guide to the Organ'' for visitors. He also contributed to the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians and to the '' Cambridge Companion to the Organ''.

Later career

In 2005 Bicknell took a permanent post as an administrator with the

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in London. Outside work, he enjoyed gardening at the house in

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, Hackney that he shared with Jon Vanner, his partner of 11 years with whom he had entered a civil partnership in 2006. Obituary, ''The Independent'', 19 September 2007

Death

Bicknell was found dead at his house in London at the age of 49. He had been diagnosed as HIV positive in 1992, and had also suffered from depression. He is survived by his civil partner, Jon Vanner, as well as his mother and three brothers.

References

External links

Stephen Bicknell Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bicknell, Stephen 1957 births 2007 deaths Alumni of St Chad's College, Durham British classical organists British male organists AIDS-related deaths in England People from Chelsea, London British pipe organ builders People educated at Winchester College LGBT classical musicians 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century English musicians 20th-century organists 20th-century British male musicians English gay musicians 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people Male classical organists