Cambridge snatches Oxford organ asset
NewsTrinity College Cambridge has appointed Steven Grahl Director of Music, starting in January.
Grahl, 48, is presently Organist (Director of Music) at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Music at Oxford University.
He succeeds Stephen Layton MBE, who served at Trinity for 17 years.
interesting decision on his part – wanted lots of resources and a top line of adults at Trinity ?
Really good appointment. Steven achieved excellent result at Christ Church during some very challenging times.
A very sound appointment, well-placed colleagues are saying. But you may wonder if Prof Grahl’s move away from Christ Church, Oxford after five years – Christ Church being a post which once was one of the most sought-after music directorships in the cathedral/collegiate music – might suggest that the recent, well publicised, difficulties between the Chapel Dean and the Governing Body of Christ Church helped precipitate Prof Grahl’s move to somewhere a little calmer.
Dominic Grieve, KC, in his recent report outlined the “unmanageable, costly and damaging disagreements that have marred recent years” at Christ Church, and the Church Times (18 May 2023) wrote that the Governing Body of Christ Church spent £6.6 million on its legal attempts to remove the previous Dean of Chapel, also paying the Dean compensation (said to be in seven figures), plus his legal fees (thought to total another £1.5 million). Though that curious episode has now been settled, the newly appointed Dean has indicated that she will step down once new governance arrangements have been instituted.
All that palaver behind (and sometimes in front of) the scenes must have unsettled even the most steady of cathedral directors of music. Trinity College, Cambridge surely will offer Prof Grahl an environment rather more conducive to collaborative music making.
He was my organ teacher at junior academy some twenty years ago! Very glad for him
Very Lazy and unimaginative ‘Academic’
Takes doesn’t give.
Oxfords gain will be Cambridge’s loss……