Our Composers
For more than 150 years, successive generations have sought to continue and enhance the richness and variety of the tradition of sacred choral music at St Michael’s.
Members of the choir, Directors of Music and others associated with the church have been inspired to compose and arranging choral, organ and orchestral works across a range of musical styles and genres.
Below, some of the composers and arrangers who have written works for St Michael’s choir in recent years are featured.
At St Michael’s, composers, directors and arrangers are welcomed and encouraged to use the excellent acoustic space for rehearsals, workshops, recitals and concerts, in the promotion of new works or showcase existing ones.
If you have been composing for many years or if you are new to this creative process, please contact the music team if you have any original music that you would like to share or develop with the choir of St Michael’s Mount Dinham.
David Bannister
Coming soon...
Florence Browne
Soprano
Florence Browne is a former member of St Michael's choir.
She read Music at Durham University, and Film Production at SOAS, London. She is currently working on a choral piece for Advent.
Dr Nigel Browne
Bass & Organ
Nigel was the organist of St. Michael's from 2003-2018. As part of the Music Team he also conducted and sang bass in the choir.
Nigel studied Music and Musicology at the Universities of Nottingham, London, Reading and Exeter. His doctoral thesis at the latter was on Organs, Organists and Organ Builders in Nineteenth Century Devon. He also directs the Exeter Chorale, which rehearses and performs at St. Michael's.
Nigel has written and arranged a number of works. The most significant performed at St. Michael's is his Mass for Double Choir, based on Parry's "I was Glad". It was originally written for a patronal festival at St. Martin's, Haverfordwest, where he was formerly organist and choirmaster. A choir from another church was to take the second choir part, but at the rehearsal it was discovered both had learned the first choir part! The performance was less than perfect. The Mass is now part of the repertoire at St. Michael's and Nigel remarks that 'it has sounded (to me at least) much more convincing'.
Nigel's Mass (Missa Brevis "Laetatus Sum") was sung by the choir at the 10.45am service on June 8th, 2014.
The nature of the services at St Michael's has involved Nigel in opportunities for improvisation on the organ, which he finds stimulating. Like most organists, this makes him a sort of instant, on-demand composer that can be called upon at any time in the service to put his creative skills into practice.
Jonathan Croley
Tenor
One of Jonathan's pieces, an arrangement of "I Sing of a Mayden", was written for and performed by St Michael's choir at its Christmas concert in Bridport, Dorset in 2008. He has set several Psalms to music and written a special setting of the Nunc Dimittis, sung by members of the choir and recorded at St Michael's, for a family memorial service held in Berlin in 2008.
Jonathan enjoys singing in small ensembles and from time to time, has informally joined members of the B-Naturals, an a cappella quartet based in Frome, to enjoy close harmony singing.
Jonathan sang with St Michael's choir from 2008 - 2012. He married Kim (also a choir member) in 2010 and their daughter was baptised at St Michael's in 2012.
Paul Evans
Bass
Prior to joining St Michael's choir Paul sang in the choir of the Greater Church of Nottingham St Mary's.
Paul is a freelance pianist as well as a saxophone player with a particular interest in jazz. Improvisation is an instant and free form of composition so he is well used to that as a jazz musician.
Paul has also composed more formally in the shape of a flute and harpsichord piece, a saxophone quartet and a recorder quartet.
Graham Keitch
Countertenor
Graham joined St Michael's choir in 2009.
His compositions include settings for Mass and Evensong, various anthems and motets.
Graham's music site
Neil Page
Chris Upton
Chris was at St Michael’s from 1998 to 2001, while studying at Exeter University.
The setting of the Reproaches he wrote for the choir has remained a part of the Good Friday liturgy at St Michael's ever since. Meanwhile, he has continued composing; as well as anthems for a range of voice combinations, both with and without accompaniment, he writes liturgical settings, hymn tunes, and Anglican chants.
His work (and a picture of his face) can be found on the Choral Public Domain Library (link below).
Alex West
Bass & Organ
Alex was Organ Scholar at St Michael’s from August 2011 and took on the mantle of Director of Music from Autumn 2014 to Summer 2015. He variously conducted, accompanied and sang with the church choir.
In his day job he works in the Polar Climate team at the Met Office, modelling and monitoring Arctic sea ice. He also conducts the Met Office Orchestra and accompanies other musical groups around Exeter on an occasional basis.
Composing has been one of Alex’s principal hobbies since the age of about 16. He has written several short choral pieces including a Mass, settings of the Magnificat, Nunc Dimittis and Benedictus - and a setting of George Herbert’s poem The Quip.
Perhaps more controversially, Alex has also set Graham Kendrick’s immortal verses 'Shine, Jesus, Shine' to polyphonic music (translated in true St Michael's style into Latin!). Alex's output also includes several small-scale instrumental works including a four-movement string quartet, performed by the professional Fitzwilliam String Quartet in April 2007.