Cranbrook Choral Society

Musical Director

Our Musical Director is Francesca Massey

Francesca has recently embarked upon an active portfolio career as an organist, choral conductor and teacher, having worked as a cathedral musician for 15 years.  Born in Birmingham in 1982, Francesca was educated at Cambridge University and the Royal Northern College of Music (on a prestigious ABRSM Scholarship), holding Organ Scholarships at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge and Manchester Cathedral.  She later became Assistant Organist at Great St Mary’s Church, Cambridge, Assistant Director of Music at Peterborough Cathedral, Sub-Organist at Durham Cathedral and Director of Music at Rochester Cathedral.

At the age of 19, Francesca gained all of the top prizes in the Fellowship of the Royal College of Organists’ diploma and was subsequently awarded the WT Best Memorial Scholarship and Silver Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians, and the Musicians Benevolent Fund’s Ian Fleming Award.  Her teachers included Kevin Bowyer, Jeremy Filsell, David Goode and Andrew Fletcher.

Francesca performs regularly as a recitalist throughout the UK and abroad, and works as a liturgical organist/conductor in a number of prestigious London churches and chapels.  She has four critically-acclaimed solo recordings to her name (Carnival, Bravura!, The Forgotten Gem, and The complete works of Maurice Duruflé). Francesca has performed widely as an accompanist (in which capacity she works regularly with The BBC Singers), as well as recording a number of acclaimed CDs with various choirs; Gramophone Magazine describing her as a ‘hugely gifted accompanist.’  Francesca has also worked extensively as a choral conductor, organ teacher (recently for Creative Oundle for Organists), continuo player, pianist and examiner (including for the RCO’s diploma examinations).

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PRESIDENT

Cranbrook Choral Society is delighted to announce that Stephen Langridge, Artistic Director of Glyndebourne Opera House has agreed to become its new president. He is following on from his father, the renowned tenor Philip Langridge CBE, who was president of the choral society for 12 years until his untimely death in 2010.

Janette Lloyd, Chair of the CCS, commented: “It is wonderful that Stephen will continue the link with the Langridge family and take on the role that has remained unfilled since the loss of his father. We are very much looking forward to working with him.”

Stephen Langridge’s career summary to date

Stephen Langridge is Glyndebourne’s Artistic Director. Before moving to Sussex he was Artistic Director for the Gothenburg Opera in Sweden, 2013-19. He is also a practising stage director and, amongst others, has directed operas for Glyndebourne, ROH Covent Garden, Salzburg Festival, Bregenz Festival, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Rome Opera, Theatres des Champs Elysees, Staatsoper Hannover, Gothenburg Opera, Royal Opera Stockholm, Norwegian National Opera, Greek National Opera.

 

He has also led creative work such as the performance of music theatre in diverse and unusual settings from townships in South Africa to prisons in Britain and running professional development laboratories with singers, composers and librettists.