Organ and Organists

Cathedral Organ

Built originally in 1910 by Casavant of St Hyacinthe, Québec, and rebuilt by
the British firm of Hill Norman and Beard in 1961, the organ acquired in
2011 a new Casavant console, one that has 250 memories for its pistons, is
MIDI capable, can record performances to play later, and is moveable; some
additional stops as well as an antiphonal section for the west end of the
Cathedral are prepared for. Consisting of four manuals and seventy-five
stops the organ serves admirably for service-playing and is also an
impressive recital instrument, which has been played by many international
performers.

Organist Emeritus - Dr. James Burchill

With a more than twenty-five year connection with the Cathedral, first as a
youthful chorister, then as the third-longest serving Organist and
Choirmaster from 1971-1977 and 1994-2006, and in retirement a member of the
Cathedral choir, Dr James Burchill published a booklet on the organs and
organists of the Cathedral in 2009 and in 2010 was named Organist Emeritus.

He studied at the University of King's College in Halifax, the University of
Toronto, the Royal School of Church Music where he gained the FRCO, Indiana University, and the Eastman School of Music where he was awarded the Ph.D., earning various prizes and awards along the way.

Interspersed between his various periods at the Cathedral were church and
teaching appointments in Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, as well as in
the United States and England. Active in the Royal Canadian College of
Organists, of which he is a Fellow, Dr Burchill has frequently performed
concerts and recitals including a number at National and Regional
Conventions of the College and he has served as an examiner; in 2004 he was presented with a Distinguished Service Award by the Halifax Centre.  

List of Organists at CCAS

George Frederick Austen (1910-1915)
The first organist at All Saints Cathedral, George Frederick Austen, passed
the ARCO in 1909 and, after an appointment as organist at St. John's Church, Potters Bar, in England, followed by another position in St. Catharine's, Ontario, came to Halifax in 1910, serving the Cathedral for five years. He gained the degree of Mus.Bac. from the University of Toronto in 1914 and died, aged 86, in 1962; he was buried in St. Anne's Cemetery, Sayville, New York.

A. Theodore Sangar (1915-1921)
Theodore Sangar, the second Cathedral organist, was awarded the ARCO in
1911. His early posts in England included the Church of St. Petrox and St.
Barnabas, Dartmouth, and the Parish Church at Moretonhampstead, and he then immigrated to Canada as organist at the Pro-Cathedral Church of the Redeemer in Calgary from 1912 to 1914. Next was Halifax and All Saints Cathedral followed by St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Halifax, St. Paul's Friary, Greymoor, Garrison, in New York State, St. James' Cathedral,
Seattle, Washington, where he was assistant organist and choir director, and
the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Bellingham, Washington.

William Augustus Montgomery (1921-1942)
W. A. Montgomery was born in Scotland in 1872 and his early education, leading to the Mus.Bac.(Durham) and the diplomas of FRCO, LRAM, and LTCL, and most of his early church positions, were in England. In 1913 he moved to Canada, first to St. Peter's Anglican Church, Sherbrooke, Québec, then from 1914 to 1921 to Calgary where he succeeded Theodore Sangar at the Pro-Cathedral Church of the Redeemer. His time at All Saints Cathedral, Halifax, made him the second-longest serving organist: on his retirement he
became Organist Emeritus and in the early 1970s a plaque in his memory was placed on the wall behind the organ console.

He was the teacher of many students and active in the Nova Scotia Registered Music Teachers' Association of which he was made the first Honorary Life Member. At the age of 21 he won a prize for one of his early compositions and over the years he wrote much music, over one hundred of his pieces being published; in 1996 one of his organ works was published by the Canadian Musical Heritage Society. He was also involved in the preparation of the 1938 Canadian Anglican Hymn Book. Montgomery died in 1948 and was buried in Camp Hill Cemetery.

L. Davies Bewes (1942-1945)
Len Bewes, while serving in the Air Force during the war, was assistant
organist at the Cathedral for W. A. Montgomery's last few years, being in
charge of the music during the latter's illness and succeeding him in 1942.
After leaving the Cathedral, Bewes was at St. John's United Church in
Halifax before going to the United States in 1947; he died there in the
1990s.

George Brough (1945-1946)
Appointed at the age of 27 and certainly one of the youngest, if not the
youngest, organist at the Cathedral, George Brough already held the
qualifications of D.Mus.(Oxford), FRCO, LRAM, ARCM. After his education in
England and his brief residence in Halifax, he settled in Toronto where his
musical activities included coaching, conducting, piano, harpsichord and
organ performance, teaching, accompanying, adjudicating and examining. A
regular accompanist on the CBC and in public performances Dr Brough has been described as "one of Canada's most skilful, reliable and versatile
accompanists".

Maitland Adam Ernest Farmer (1946-1971)
The longest-serving, and one of the best-known of the Cathedral organists, Maitland Farmer was born in England in 1904 and after studies, which led to
LRAM and ARCO diplomas, and early appointments in England and France he came to Canada in 1929. Following two years at the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Québec City, twelve years at St. Paul's Anglican Church, Bloor Street, Toronto, during which time he passed the FRCO, and two years at McGill University and St. George's Anglican Church, Montréal, he began his twenty-five years at All Saints Cathedral in 1946. These years in Halifax brought him the Mus.Bac.(Toronto), and, in 1963, an Honorary Doctorate of Canon Law from the University of King's College; he was instrumental in the rebuilding of the Cathedral organ in 1961, and as a teacher he built the organ section of the Halifax Music Festival into a significant part of that annual event, being for several years organ instructor at Dalhousie University. A frequent and eminent recitalist, Dr Farmer was the recipient of an Honorary FRCCO in 1984, at which time the plaque in his honour was placed near the organ console. He died in 1995, was buried in Mount Hermon Cemetery, and the Cathedral Choir Room was named in his honour.

Fred Kimball Graham (1978-1985)
Born in 1946 in Oshawa, Ontario, where he received his early education, Fred Graham then completed the Mus.Bac.(Toronto) followed by study in Germany and in London where he gained the FRCO in 1970. Graduate work earned him the M.Mus.(Eastman) in 1981 and Ph.D.(Drew) in 1991. Appointments in Ottawa and Rothesay, New Brunswick, led to Halifax where in addition to his Cathedral position he taught at the Atlantic School of Theology and Dalhousie University. He later held posts in Toronto for the United Church, Emmanuel College, and Humbercrest United Church, and was involved with the production of the United Church Hymn Book (1996) and Service Book (2000).

Michael Jarvis (Acting Cathedral Organist 1985-1987)
Michael Jarvis spent his early years in Montréal where he developed his
primary interest in harpsichord. He came to Halifax to fill in for Fred
Graham's leave of absence and when the latter resigned Jarvis stayed an
extra year before going to Toronto for harpsichord studies. He then spent
seventeen and a half years in Hamilton, Ontario, at St. Joseph's Roman
Catholic Church being also involved with several other performing groups and teaching and playing concerts on the harpsichord. In 2006 he transferred to St. Jude's Parish and Shrine in Vancouver.

D. Mervyn Games (1987-1993)
A Scotsman, born in India, who was awarded the FRCO and ARCM and graduated with the degree of B.Mus. from the University of Glasgow in 1971, continued his studies in Italy, and served churches in England and Scotland, Mervyn Games immigrated to Canada in 1975. Organist at Ridley College in St. Catharines, assistant organist at St. James' Anglican Cathedral, Toronto, organist at St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral, London, Ontario, and a member of
the faculties of Western Ontario Conservatory of Music and the University of Western Ontario, Games then moved to Halifax and All Saints Cathedral following which he settled in Ottawa at Knox Presbyterian Church and Ashbury College.

Robin King (1994)
Robin King's very brief stay in Halifax was sandwiched between two
residencies in Edmonton. A native of Toronto where he was a chorister at St.
James' Cathedral and also of St. George's College he earned the
Mus.Bac.(Toronto) in 1985. After positions at three Toronto churches King
went to Robertson-Wesley United Church in Edmonton, whose choir under his direction toured several English Cathedrals in 1991. Returning to Edmonton he worked for St. Andrew's United Church, the Alberta Choral Federation and directed the choir Vocal Alchemy; a change in direction led him to an M.Div. at St. Andrew's College in Saskatoon and ministry in the United Church.

James Burchill (1971-1977; 1994-2006)

John Hudson 2006  – present

Further information on these musicians, on the organ, and details of sources
may be found in "The Organs and Organists of All Saints Cathedral, Halifax, Nova Scotia" by James Burchill, available from the Cathedral.