Born on August 4, 1938, in Bournemouth, Dorset, England, Simon Preston CBE was an organist, composer and conductor. He was the most recorded organist of all time with over 100 releases in his catalog. His musical journey began as a member of the King’s College Choir in Cambridge, he became interested in learning the organ and studied under Hugh McLean and C. H. Trevor. From 1962 until 1967, Simon Preston was the sub-organist at Westminster Abbey before becoming the organist at Christ Church, Oxford in 1970. He returned to Westminster Abbey in 1981 as organist and Master of the Choristers, a position he relinquished in 1988 in order to focus on work as a concert organist. Simon Preston toured internationally as an organist, preforming in the US, Canada, Australia, Europe, Asia, and Africa. As a composer, he began performing his own works in the mid-to-late 1960s and later including his best-known composition, “Alleluyas”. He also composed works that were performed at the Edington Music Festival in 1967 and 1968. As the most recorded organist of all time, his catalog is quite extensive and includes Motet: Jesu, Priceless Treasure And Sacred Part-Songs (1960), Britten: War Requiem (1963), Purcell: Choral Works (1981), Early English Organ Music (1986), Bach: Famous Organ Works (1989), French Organ Concertos (1991), Haydn: Four Masses (1997), and Franck: Pièce Héroïque (2013). There have been many compilations released over the years that gathered the best of his recordings including the 14 CD box set Bach: The Organ Works (2010). In 2000, Simon Preston was awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) and was upgraded to CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 2009. Simon Preston died on May 13, 2022, at the age of 83.
