Chris Pilgrim – Director

The Choir’s Director from 2026 is Chris Pilgrim, singer, organist, teacher and a former Lay Clerk of Chichester Cathedral. Chris read Music as an undergraduate at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he was the Organ Scholar, directing and accompanying the College’s Chapel Choir, and also regularly sang with Queens’ College Chapel Choir.  On graduating in 2012, he joined the back row of Chichester Cathedral Choir as one of its six professional ‘Lay Vicars’, singing as a countertenor for eight weekly services as well as on BBC broadcasts, commercial recordings and international tours. Chris spent three years as Musical Director of Sandgate Singers, a choral society of 90 members based in Storrington, West Sussex, which he combined with ongoing solo and ensemble work. Alongside professional musical performance, Chris has found a vocation in full-time classroom teaching, and left Chichester Cathedral Choir in 2017 to pursue this. He is currently Director of Music and a Senior Leader at Hall Grove School in Bagshot. He was Associate Conductor of the Cathedral Chamber Choir from 2021 to 2025.

Alex Berry – Assistant Director

Since 2023, Alex has been Director of Music at Great St. Mary’s, Cambridge. He was formerly Organist and Director of Music at Bradford Cathedral (2017-23). Alex is the Founder and Director of the Mercian Consort and was formerly Assistant Organist to the choir of Magdalen College, Oxford, (2015) and previous to that, Assistant Organist to the Ely Cathedral Girl’s Choir. Alex was the Principal Conductor of the Cathedral Chamber Choir from 2017 to 2025.

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Past Directors

Matthew O’Donovan

From 2006 to 2017 the Musical Director of the choir was Matthew O’Donovan. He ‘stepped down’ at the end of August 2017 having led a delightful week of singing during the choir’s visit to Lincoln Cathedral. Matthew has toured internationally with the early music group Stile Antico which is well represented in the CD catalogues with some excellent recordings by Harmonia Mundi. Matthew is Head of Academic Music at Eton College where he directs the Lower Chapel Choir. He is a member of St Mary’s Church Maidenhead.

Martin Hall

The choir’s founder, Musical Director from 1979 to 2006, is Martin Hall (Reigate). Martin was Head of Music at Reigate College from September 1986 until 2005. He holds the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Choirmaster’s Diploma (CHM). Martin has talked about his work as Chorus Master for Richard Hickox CBE and undertaken research into 18th Century music at New College Oxford. Martin is Director of Music at St Mark’s Church, Reigate.

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Assistants

Other musicians who have assisted in directing and/or playing over the years include John Keys (former Principal Organist), Tony Henwood (former Principal Organist), Martin Hall (Southampton), David Turner, William Wingate, Richard Leach, Ed Yeo, Marcus Reeves, David Quinn, Peter Ward Jones, Kit Downes, Douglas Tang, Daniel Mathieson, Alex Goodwin, Nick Morris, Jeremiah Stephenson and Graham Bull.