The new organ scholar of St Paul’s Cathedral in London has been appointed, and will mark a first in the Cathedral’s history.
Rachel Mahon will take up the position of William and Irene Miller Organ Scholar for the 2014/15 academic year and in doing so will become the first woman to hold any organist post at St Paul’s.
Some of the press responded in sensationalist style with “Shock in cloisters as St Paul’s appoints a woman organ scholar.” Er…St Paul’s doesn’t have any cloisters, and the Anglican Church is proving increasingly comfortable with women in top musical positions. Without thinking too hard I can come up with Sarah Baldock (Chichester Cathedral), Katherine Dienes-Williams (Guildford Cathedral), Cathy Lamb (Lichfield Cathedral), Francesca Massey (Durham Cathedral), Anne Maddocks (Chichester Cathedral), not to mention the female organ scholars at the former male-only colleges of Oxford and Cambridge.
Rachel, a Canadian national, is currently organ scholar at Truro Cathedral. She’s 24, and won both the Royal Canadian College of Organists’ 2012 young organists’ competition and the 2013 Howard Fairclough Organ Competition. In the same year she took second place in the Canadian National Organ Playing Competition. At St Paul’s, she’ll join Organist Simon Johnson and Sub-Organist Timothy Wakerell, in the music department which is led by Director of Music Andrew Carwood.
Last year, Rachel and fellow organist Sarah Svendsen, formed Organized Crime, a duo that plays traditional and non-traditional organ repertoire, often in stilletto heels. Here’s their website, and you can follow them on Twitter @OrganizedCrimeD
