Music - Director of Music

Thomas Moore BMus, MA, FRCO

Director of Music,
Thomas Moore BMus, MA, FRCO

Tom was born in Leicester, and received his first piano lessons at the age of 4. He was a treble in Leicester Cathedral Choir, and it was while he was a chorister that he took up organ lessons with the Assistant Organist at the cathedral, Geoffrey Carter. Tom studied music at A level on the specialist music course run by Charles Keene College in the city.

Moving to Huddersfield University to continue his studies, Tom graduated firstly as a Batchelor of Music, and then went on to take a Master of the Arts postgraduate degree in performance studies. During these years, he held organ scholarships at Huddersfield Parish Church and then Bradford Cathedral, and was then Assistant Organist at St James the Greater Church in Leicester. After completing his degrees, Tom went on to successfully gain his Associateship, and then Fellowship of the Royal College of Organists diplomas.

Tom has spent many years working in cathedral music, becoming Assistant Organist at Peterborough Cathedral the year after he finished his Masters degree. He spent four years in post, and was then appointed Assistant Director of Music at Wakefield Cathedral in West Yorkshire. In this role, he played for many of the services in the cathedral, and trained and directed the girl choristers of the cathedral choir. Between 2010 and 2020, Tom was the Director of Music at the cathedral. Over the years he worked in Wakefield, he directed the choir through numerous recordings, broadcasts, national and international tours, and maintained independent top lines of boy and girl choristers. Many of these children went on to study music at higher level and to forge careers in music. Choristers under Tom's guidance sang at many high profile events, and four of his choristers reached the final of BBC Chorister of the year competition. Tom himself twice played in the presence of HM Queen Elizabeth II, having had the unusual honour of taking part in two Royal Maundy services, at Bradford in 1997 and at Wakefield in 2005.

In September 2022, Tom assumed the appointment of Director of Music at St Matthew's Church in Northampton. It is early days for him in this prestigious role, and there is much work to be done in recruiting for the choir and building the ensemble back up to be at its best. However, there is already much to commend regarding the choir's work, and everyone is pleased to be singing together again.

Tom is married to Heidi and they have two young children. In any spare time Tom has, he takes a keen interest in cars, currently owning four. He is a Formula 1 fan, and occasionally travels abroad to race weekends. He also enjoys working on the family's allotment, likes real ale, and does part time work driving funeral limousines and hearses.

If you would like to reach out to Tom, please contact him via our online contact form.

Paul Weston BA (Hons) Music

Assistant Choral Director

Assistant Choral Director,
Paul Weston BA (Hons) Music

Paul was born in Kettering and was a Chorister at Kettering Parish Church from the age of nine. At the age of thirteen he moved into the back row of the choir to sing alto. He went on to study for a music degree at Bath Spa University, and combined this with a Choral Scholarship at Bath Abbey working under Peter King. From 1998-2008 Paul was a Lay Clerk at Peterborough Cathedral, working with Christopher Gower and latterly Andrew Reid. This involved singing at seven services each week.

During his time at Peterborough, the choir broadcast several times on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Television, including the 2008 BBC1 Christmas broadcast. He also took part in tours to Belgium, France, The Netherlands and Ireland. During this time he also spent a year as Acting Director of Music at Kettering Parish Church.

Paul is currently employed by Lincolnshire Music Service as an instrumental teacher; a role he has held since 2002. In this capacity he teaches the violin at several schools across South Lincolnshire including Bourne Grammar School where he conducts the school String Orchestra. Since 2022 he has been a Lead Tutor for the Music Service, and his duties include managing Spalding Music Centre. He also teaches violin at The King's (Cathedral) School, Peterborough, and conducts the school String Orchestra and coaches a String Quartet. Away from music, he is Chair of Governors at his local Primary School.

Paul is delighted to be working with the choir at St Matthew's and is honoured to be involved in the musical life of a Church that has such a rich heritage of church music.

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