Welcome!

Christopher Batchelor is Artistic Director of the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music (which he founded in 2002), Director of Music at St Pancras Parish Church and a professional member of the Institute of British Organ Building. As a keen musician with professional organ building experience at the highest levels he offers advice on all types of organ projects.

Chris read music at Oxford, where he was an organ scholar, and was taught the organ by James Dalton. Moving to Cambridge in 1983 he was supervised by Peter le Huray, completing his M.Phil in M1984 and Ph.D in 1988. During this period he was Director of Music at Downing College and Assistant Organist at Gonville & Caius College. He was appointed Director of Music at St Pancras Parish Church in 1988. Pursuing a career in music education he held posts as Assistant Director of Music at University College School, Hampstead and Professor of Orchestration at the Royal Military School of Music (Kneller Hall). He left Kneller Hall to join the University of West London, where he became Head of the London College of Music. His services to music education and contemporary church music were acknowledged by the award of Hon. FLCM.

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Chris was appointed MD of Harrison & Harrison in November 2010, taking on the role in January 2011. During his period at the helm the firm completed the restoration of the organ in the Royal Festival Hall, restored the organ in the chapel of King’s College, Cambridge and undertook major work on the organ of Westminster Abbey. He led the firm in building more organs with mechanical action, and developed the firm’s profile, especially overseas. Alongside a vast array of organ building projects, the firm became a significant sponsor of the Orgelbuchlein Project, with a list of world premieres performed at H&H opening recitals.

In 2013 Chris was elected President of the Institute of British Organ Building and in 2016 (with Mark & Katherine Venning and John Mander) he took a leading role in the biennial Congress of the International Society of Organ Builders. At a time when organ building globally experienced some serious decline, Chris led H&H to new levels of work and moved into new overseas markets.

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In January 2017 Chris resigned his position as MD, in order to spend more time on musical ventures in London, including the LFCCM and his growing freelance career as an organ advisor. He left the firm in the summer with a burgeoning order book, described by the Chairman as “unprecedented”.

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The LFCCM is a unique celebration of the best of contemporary church music from around the world, and patrons of the Festival include many of the UK’s foremost composers. The Festival takes place over a 10-day period in May and includes contributions from the capital’s renowned choral institutions. The Festival has commissioned over 70 works, including masses, motets, canticles and works for organ, and has been a regular contributor to the BBC’s Radio 3 Choral Evensong schedule since 2004. Chris has also appeared on In Tune and The Choir.

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In the organ building world as well as in the general musical context Chris has provided thorough and far-reaching advice to a wide variety of clients and prospective clients. His advice has resulted in new organs, restorations (some historic), enlargements, reconstructions and rebuilds in churches, cathedrals, educational establishments and concert halls, both in the UK and further afield, including Scandinavia and Kenya. Chris has served on several Parochial Church Councils and as a churchwarden in the late 1990s. He is well acquainted with the systems of the Church of England, as well as their counterparts in the Roman Catholic and other denominations. He is well aware of the challenges which most churches face when the time comes to consider the future of an old organ.

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Chris was President of the Institute of British Organ Building (two two-year terms) from 2013 to 2017, and supported the recent establishment of an apprenticeship for those entering the craft. Presently, he is a member of the CBC Organs Committee, which provides grants and support for churches as they try to maintain their organs for future generations.

Whatever the nature and scale of your potential project, Chris is available for informal discussions and can be contacted in the first instance by email.

—-Purpose of the advisor role—-

Advise the client in relation to all issues relating to their organ, including liturgical, acoustical, physical, musical, technical and financial. A successful instrument does not need to be overly-large, but does need to planned carefully and with due attention to its use, the acoustic of the building and
technical requirements, including:

• Will the organ have the appropriate colours at the required dynamics to accompany, if in church, the congregation and choir. In a concert hall, can the instrument hold its own alongside an orchestra and
  chorus?
• Will the proposed specification allow the player to address the solo repertoire effectively without too many stops.
• Is the organ located in the best place for its sound to travel well in the building, and is the player able to hear the instrument effectively? Can the situation be improved and how practical/costly
  might this be?

Having been chosen to undertake the role, the advisor will give clear advice on the strengths and weaknesses of the organ and how, if possible, it might be dealt with. Visits to other organs may be arranged in order for the Organ Committee to be appraised of similar situations and potential outcomes.
The Advisor will produce a brief for the job. It will set out some key aspirations, but will not provide a list of work to be undertaken. It is better if this is quite open, allowing for a variety of responses, and the brief will not be prescriptive.

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Organ builders appreciate the opportunity to be creative, and each builder will have a view which might differ significantly from that of other firms. The Advisor, following discussion with the Organ Committee (and PCC) will invite three appropriate firms to visit and assess the instrument prior to providing a written (and illustrated) report and recommendations with a price. It may be that a proposed scheme has some options within it, and these would usually be priced separately.

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Once all proposals have been received, the Advisor will circulate these to the organ committee, allowing adequate time for all concerned to read and provide responses, and the Committee will meet to discuss ways forward.
The advisor will liaise with the DOA, seeking feedback about any proposed scheme, in order to reduce the number of surprises and potential divergence from the general theme of the project. Subject to the proposed work being financially viable, the Organ Committee will recommend a course of action to the PCC for approval, which could be in many forms, and at this stage one would expect to appoint a contractor, subject to any further discussion of details. If a faculty is required for any of the proposed work this will be the responsibility of the PCC, and the Advisor will contribute specialist input where necessary. At this stage it will be necessary for the builder to produce a Schedule of Works as well as a Payment Schedule, which once agreed would become part of the contract. The Institute of British Organ Building has a standard contract which is suitable for the vast majority of work and this will be provided by the contractor.

——–Communications——–

Depending on the nature of the work the Advisor will be the point of contact with all trades which are involved. The Organ Committee will have a convener.

—Financial and contractual matters—

The advisor is content to be remunerated either on a percentage basis or on an hourly/day basis, depending on the nature of the proposed work. The client will reimburse any travel expenses. The advisor will travel cost effectively, producing appropriate receipts. always taking into account value for money and the appropriate use of the client’s funds. Depending on the nature and scale of the project, the Advisor might deem it appropriate to make the following visits when work begins:

• – During dismantling
• In the builder’s workshop once work has commenced, with the client – once or twice
• Advisor also to visit on his own depending on the scale of the work – once or twice
• During reinstatement – once or twice
• Period pre-opening recital – once
• Snagging – final payment – once

—-Severance arrangements—-

The Advisor maintains the right to leave the Project if his advice is not being acted upon or the advice of a 3rd party is being acted upon in such a fashion which might damage the professional reputation of the Advisor. If the client considers that the project is not being managed appropriately or in a financially secure fashion then the client may request the Advisor to leave it altogether. If such a situation cannot be managed by the client and the Advisor, both sides agree to use the IBO arbitration scheme, and that all outcomes are binding.

——Insurance——

The Advisor carries the following insurances:

• Public Liability
• Professional indemnity

——Compliance——

All handling of data and information complies with the requirements of the Information Commissioner’s Office.