Master of the Music at St Giles' Cathedral, Jack Oades performs a rousing programme of Vierne, Bach, Mahler and De Grigny.

Programme

From Symphony III - Louis Vierne (1870-1937)

• 1. Allegro Maestoso

• 4. Adagio

Prelude and Fugue in f BWV 534 - J S Bach (1685-1750)

Adagietto (Symphony No. 5) - Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)

Ave Maris Stella - Nicolas de Grigny (1672-1703)

• 1. Plein jeu à 5

• 2. Fugue à 5

• 3. Duo

• 4. Dialogue sur les grands Jeux

Reverie - Jack Oades (b. 1994)

Suite No. 2 - Daniel Ficarri (b. 1996)

• 1. Deep River

• 2. There is a Balm in Gilead

• 3. Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit

Hailing from Exeter in the South West, Jack Oades is an organist, composer, conductor and tenor. Jack learned the piano and violin from a young age, but his career in sacred music began in 2010; upon visiting St Giles’ Cathedral and seeing the resplendent Rieger organ, he vowed to take up the instrument himself, aged 16. He read music at Pembroke College, Cambridge, and studied a master’s in Composition at Trinity College, Dublin.

He commenced his appointment as Organist and Master of the Music at St Giles’ Cathedral in January 2025. Previously, Jack has held posts in Cambridge, the Isle of Man, London and Dublin. Most recently, he was Organist and Assistant Director of Music at Christ Church Cathedral from 2018-2022, and following that, Tenor Lay Vicar with the choir of Exeter Cathedral until December 2024. Jack is in demand as a recitalist, with upcoming concerts at the Cuneo Organ Festival in Italy, and Nice Cathedral, France. He studied the organ with William Whitehead and James McVinnie, and choral conducting with Patrick Russill. Jack is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists.

As a composer, his works are published by the RSCM, Ad Fontes and the Chichester Music Press, and his music is performed all over the world, including a number of broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 & 4. He was the winner of several composition prizes, and has been the recipient of many large-scale commissions, including from the JAM on the Marsh Festival, Choir & Organ magazine, and the Whitgift Foundation. Upcoming projects include a commission for the BBC Singers and for the choir of St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden. Alongside his prolific choral and organ writing, Jack has also written chamber, orchestral, and solo works, including two works for symphony orchestra and chorus. More recently, he has branched out into digital and ambient music, including scores and sound design for film and video games.

Jack also enjoys an active freelance career, holding the position of Artistic Director of the Edinburgh University Chamber Choir, and frequently sings tenor with various groups in Edinburgh. He is a keen surfer, plays bass with his university funk band, and loves to read everything from crime novels to Alexander McCall Smith.