Officers 2025-2026
President: Mark Lee
Vice President: John Talbot
Junior Vice President: Robert Anderson
Treasurer: Richard Powell
Secretary: Eric Tyson
After being educated at Cambridge University, where he was Organ Scholar at Corpus Christi College and read music, Mark became a member of the music department of Westminster School. Two years later he left to become Assistant Organist of Gloucester Cathedral and Assistant Director of Music at the King’s School. In a period of 8 years he was privileged to work with both Dr John Sanders and David Briggs. He also directed the St Cecilia Singers of Gloucester at this time, leading them on a number of tours, and being responsible for their first CD recording, featuring music by Gloucestershire composers.
This was followed by his appointment as Director of Music at Bristol Cathedral. In this time he has enjoyed responsibility for directing numerous tours and live broadcasts of BBC Choral Evensong, the establishment of girl choristers at the Cathedral, the setting up of the Cathedral Consort, deep involvement in the re-foundation of Bristol Cathedral School as Bristol Cathedral Choir School – the first state choir school academy in the UK – and over 500 lunchtime concerts, as well as the daily ‘opus Dei’.
A former pupil of Dr John Butt, Nicholas Danby and Margaret Phillips, Mark won the Coventry Cathedral Recital Award for outstanding performance in the FRCO examination, and, as a recitalist, has enjoyed performing at home and abroad, at venues including Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, and King’s College, Cambridge.
A huge enthusiast for young people singing, he relishes his daily contact with the Choristers, and finds their skill and enjoyment of choral music a huge inspiration. Mark is also an examiner for ABRSM, and currently President of the IAO.