Alan Thurlow

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Alan John Thurlow (born 18 May 1947

Organist and Master of the Choristers of Chichester Cathedral
between 1980 and 2008.

Education

Thurlow was educated at

Sheffield University before going on to Emmanuel College, Cambridge
, for a period of research into pre-Reformation English Church Music.

Organist career

Thurlow joined the church choir at St Barnabas' Church, Woodford Green at the age of eight and became Master of Music at the church during his time at Bancroft's School. He held his position at St Barnabas' Church until 1973.[2]

Durham

In 1973 he was appointed Sub-Organist at

Director of Music at the Chorister School and part-time Lecturer in Music at Durham University
.

Chichester

In 1980 Thurlow succeeded

United States of America
.

Thurlow retired from Chichester Cathedral in 2008. He has been credited with greatly improving the quality of music at the cathedral by expanding the choir's repertoire and building its reputation on the world stage.[4]

Activism

Thurlow has long been a vocal opponent of mixed voice treble lines in cathedral choirs. In 1997 he offered his resignation to the Dean and Chapter of Chichester Cathedral after Salisbury Cathedral insisted that their newly founded girls choir should sing together with the boy choristers at the 1998 Southern Cathedrals Festival that was to be held in Chichester. Thurlow told a meeting of the Festival's trustees that his position would be made untenable if he were to accept this request, as he had "made such a strong case against this for so long" and "felt in (his) heart that it was wrong". Thurlow was backed by his choir, members of the Chichester congregation and the Dean of Chichester John Treadgold. Treadgold refused his resignation and a compromise was reached with Salisbury.[5] Since 2013 he has been Vice President of Campaign for the Traditional Cathedral Choir, the controversial advocacy group that was established in 1996 as a direct response to the rise of girls' choirs in the United Kingdom.

For twelve years Thurlow was Chairman of the national charity,

The Archbishop of Canterbury
.

Television appearance

In March 2013, Thurlow appeared in an episode of

John Bishop traced his great-great grandfather to the city of Chichester. Thurlow showed Bishop around Chichester Cathedral Library, as they discovered that Bishop's relative had been a Lay Vicar at the cathedral.[6][7]

Discography

References

  1. ^ "Thurlow, Alan John". Who's Who. Vol. 2016 (online Oxford University Press ed.). A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^ "WOODFORD GREEN: Organ recital to celebrate church centenary". From East London and West Essex Guardian Series. 19 September 2011. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013.
  3. ^ History of Chichester cathedral choir school – of choristers ancient and modern Archived 10 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Picking perfect note for organist to retire". Chichester Observer. 2 November 2007.
  5. ^ "Southern Cathedrals Festival: Crisis Postponed". Newsletter. London: Campaign for the Traditional Cathedral Choir. April 1998. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  6. ^ Chichester Cathedral Twitter account: posted photo of Thurlow with John Bishop in Cathedral Library
  7. YouTube
Cultural offices
Preceded by
Organist and Master of the Choristers
of Chichester Cathedral

1980–2008 		Succeeded by
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