YOST is governed by a committed and experienced group of Trustees, bringing a wealth of musical and educational expertise, as well as contributing skillsets from work in the financial, business, liturgical, and charitable sectors.
THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
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Ann Elise Smoot performs throughout the United States, Great Britain and Europe, with a repertoire that ranges from the 14th century to the present day, and has received wide critical acclaim for her ability to move between musical eras, styles and genres with sympathy and flair. After completing two degrees at Yale, where she won several prizes for scholarship and for organ playing, she moved to England, where she studied organ and harpsichord at the Royal Academy of Music, and privately with Peter Hurford and Dame Gillian Weir. Three critically acclaimed recordings have been issued by the JAV label.
Education has also been a major focus of her career. She was a Professor of Organ at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and for 15 years was director of the St. Giles
Junior Organ Conservatoire, a unique and highly successful programme for teenage organists. In 2014 Ann Elise became the Director of Oundle for Organists; OfO runs innovative and popular courses and provides year-round support for young organists. She was the Education Editor of The Organists’ Review magazine from 2011-2015.
Ann Elise is married to James Vivian, the Director of Music at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. She has two young children and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and loves to read on the rare occasions they will allow this. Visiting historic buildings and museums, writing, and walking are also favourite pastimes.
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Hugh Morris has been the Director of the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) since August 2018. An experienced and accomplished choir trainer, organist and trained teacher, with a passion for a wide range of music both sacred and secular, he has worked in a number of different Cathedrals, churches and schools up and down the country.
Hugh spent eight years at Hexham Abbey as Assistant Organist, combining this post with teaching at the King’s School, Tynemouth, and Newcastle University, before moving to become Director of Music at Christchurch Priory in Dorset in 2009. At Christchurch, he founded a new Priory Music and Arts Festival, acting as Artistic Director for its inauguration in 2014; during this time, he also taught music at Bournemouth School for Girls. Hugh moved to Derby as Director of Music at the Cathedral in January 2015, immersing himself in the life of the Cathedral, city and further afield, until moving to the RSCM in 2018.
As an organist, Hugh has given many solo recitals at venues across the UK and Europe, competed in the finals of two international organ competitions, and accompanied a large number of choirs. Hugh is an ex-pupil of Abingdon School, a graduate of Cambridge University (as organ scholar from Magdalene College) and holds the Fellowship and Choral Direction diplomas of the Royal College of Organists. Hugh and his family continue to live in rural Derbyshire where the pleasures of walking in the Peak District, eating his wife Sarah’s cooking, and trying to keep the garden under control keep them all happily occupied.
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Philip Moore was born in 1943 and educated at the Royal College of Music in London. Here he won the Walford Davies Prize for Organ Playing and the Limpus, Turpin, and Read Prizes in the Royal College of Organists’ exams. He holds a BMus degree from the University of Durham, and more recently was awarded Honorary Fellowships by the Royal School of Church Music, the Guild of Church Musicians, and the Academy of St Cecilia for his services to Church Music. In 2008, the Archbishop of York awarded him the Order of St William, and in 2016 the Archbishop of Canterbury awarded him the Cranmer Award for Worship ‘for his contribution to the English choral tradition as a composer, arranger, and performer’.
After graduation from the RCM he taught for three years at Eton College, moving to Canterbury Cathedral in 1968 as Assistant Organist to Dr Allan Wicks. In 1974 he succeeded Dr Barry Rose as Organist and Master of the Choristers at Guildford Cathedral.
In 1983 Philip Moore became Organist and Master of the Music at York Minster, succeeding Dr Francis Jackson who had occupied the post since 1946.
He retired from the Minster in the summer of 2008 and was appointed Organist Emeritus. He now gives organ recitals across the country, and continues to conduct his choirs in and around York, also giving workshops in the UK and in the USA. Between July 2015 and 2017 he served for two years as President of the Royal College of Organists.
As a composer, he has written extensively, primarily music for choir and organ, but also music for chamber ensembles His larger-scale works include three cantatas as well as a concerto for organ and orchestra. He has over 400 titles of music for the Church, including carols, anthems, and liturgical music. His music is published by major houses including Oxford University Press, Banks Music Publications, Boosey & Hawkes, Faber Music, and Encore Publications.
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Carl Jackson was born in London and studied as a Junior Exhibitioner at the Royal Academy of Music. He also held organ scholarships at the Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace, and at Downing College, Cambridge where he was a pupil of Peter Hurford. He obtained a postgraduate teaching certificate at Goldsmiths’ College (University of London) before embarking upon a thirty-six-year teaching career in both the state and independent sectors, retiring in 2018.He has held positions at Croydon Parish Church (now Croydon Minster) and St Peter’s, Eaton Square, and has been Director of Music at the Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace since 1996. He has appeared regularly on television with its choir and features with them on CDs. HM The Queen appointed him MVO in 2012.He has served as a trustee of music charities for almost thirty years and is a past Section Warden and Regional Councillor of the Incorporated Society of Musicians, spending thirteen years as a member of its Members’ Fund’s grant-making committee - three of them as its Chair. He is a Court Assistant of the Musicians’ Company and one of the team of volunteers who assists in the arrangements of its outreach programme.Carl enjoys opera, theatre, good food and wine, and the beauty of nearby Richmond and Bushy Parks.
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Terence Duffy was born in Liverpool in 1940 and educated at St Edward’s College (now the Metropolitan Cathedral Choir School). After four years of theological study he continued his organ studies with Noel Rawsthorne at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral before being appointed Organist at the Metropolitan Cathedral in 1963, holding this post until 1993. He was organ tutor (1977-93) and Organist (1980-93) of Liverpool University. In 1994 he took up the post of Registrar of St Edward’s College (now an academy with over 1,000 pupils). After retiring in 2004 he was recalled to the cathedral as Director of Music until 2007 with a final spell as Director of the Girls’ Choir in 2011. In that year he was made a Fellow of the Royal School of Church Music. Currently he is Chairman of the Liverpool Diocesan Art & Architecture Department and Curator of the Cathedral Treasury in a voluntary capacity.
With his wife, a former GP, he lives on the Wirral Peninsula and has two adult children. Interests include opera, fine dining and driving.
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Michael has been organist of five churches and a cathedral. His education began at a London school, as a chorister at a West End church and as a Junior Exhibitioner at Trinity College of Music. Music at Oxford followed, as Organ Scholar of Jesus College.
At Norwich Cathedral for twenty-three years, he directed the choir in many acclaimed recordings, numerous radio and TV broadcasts and in eleven foreign tours, including three to the USA. Michael was also a part-time lecturer in music at the University of East Anglia, conducted the Norwich Philharmonic Chorus and Triennial Festival Chorus and founded the Cathedral Chamber Choir. Performances ranged from unaccompanied motets to large-scale choral and orchestral works by Beethoven, Verdi, Elgar and Britten (Including WarRequiem).
On leaving Norwich in 1994, he became Chief Executive of the Royal College of Organists, playing a leading part in the modernisation of its work. A member of the Council of the RSCM for nine years, he directed many courses in this country and abroad. His honours include an honorary doctorate of music (UEA) and Fellowship of the RSCM. He is a Vice-President of the Church Music Society and The Organ Club.
After years of residence in East Anglian villages, he is very aware of the limited musical resources available in country churches and of the need to encourage more organists at all levels. He is a widely experienced music examiner and remains active in music. When time allows, he is an enthusiastic reader and bridge-player, and enjoys the serenity of life on the Norfolk Broads.
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Jason's upbringing took place in Cornwall, England and presently, he splits his time between London and the United States, running the luxury brand, The London Christmas Company.
Before joining the YOST's Board of Trustees in 2019, Jason had a career history with the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office. His work primarily focused on counter-terrorism and nuclear non-proliferation within the diplomatic and national security sectors of the British Government. During his time at the FCDO, Jason begun his next career as a curator, curating an exhibition commemorating the centenary of the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6.
Today he keeps a portfolio of work, including still working as a curator, supporting young, emerging, and established artists and has previously supported artists in co-curating exhibitions, such as the 50th-anniversary art exhibition of James Bond and the centenary art exhibition of Aston Martin.
Beyond his professional pursuits, Jason holds a deep passion for environmental issues and enjoys spending time outdoors. He is also an avid photographer and a collector of contemporary British art.
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Simon Williams is Director for the Royal College of Organists’ East, South, and South West region, having joined the RCO as its first Education Officer in 1995. Part of his work involves overseeing the College’s Accredited Teacher scheme; he is also responsible for the College’s major national courses, including ‘The Organ Scholar Experience’ (TOSE) for ambitious teenage organists which takes place each summer.
Educated at Durham University and the Royal College of Music, Simon is Organist & Director of Music at St George’s Church, Hanover Square, parish church of London’s Mayfair district. With the church’s professional choir he has broadcast several times on BBC Radios 3 and 4, and instituted and directs the annual performance of ‘Messiah’ promoted by the London Handel Festival in the church where Handel worshipped for much of his life. He played a major part in commissioning the church’s acclaimed organ by Richards, Fowkes & Co. installed in 2012 and, with Richard Hobson his counterpart at nearby Grosvenor Chapel, runs Mayfair Organ Concerts. He is also Music Director of Harrow Choral Society with whom he has performed many of the major works of the choral repertory and commissioned several new ones.
Beyond work, Simon enjoys travel, visiting art galleries, attending concerts, plays and operas, eating out and cooking, all in the company of his wife.
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Katherine Dienes-Williams is a pioneering figure in church music, notably as the first female to be both an Organist and Master of the Choristers at Guildford Cathedral since January 2008 and the first woman to hold a leading role within the Church of England's music scene. Her election as the first female President of the Cathedral Organists' Association in May 2022 further underscores her groundbreaking career.
Originally from Wellington, New Zealand, where she completed her music and languages education, Katherine has held significant positions across the UK, including Winchester Cathedral and the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, Liverpool. An acclaimed organist and composer, she's recognized for her international recitals and contributions to music education, serving in leadership roles with the Royal College of Organists and as a trustee for music education trusts.
Her interests span beyond music to languages, travel, and fitness. Katherine's personal life includes her marriage to Patrick Williams and their daughter, Hannah, a singer and music student. Her career and personal achievements reflect her influence and dedication to the world of church music and education.
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Dr Martin Clarke is patron and a founding trustee of the Young Organ Scholar’s Trust. He grew up in Lincolnshire before studying History at Jesus College, Cambridge University. He stayed on after his first degree to do doctoral research into the family structure of 19th century East London gaining his PhD in 1985.
His professional career was most spent in private equity, latterly as Partner and Global Head of Consumer at Permira LLP. He subsequently led a management buy-in of the Automobile Association, the UK’s largest roadside assistance business, and successfully floated it on the London Stock Exchange in 2014. He served as Group CFO for five years before to leaving to concentrate on personal investing from his own family office.
Martin is a former trustee and director of both the Handel House Museum in London and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre where he remains a member of Council. His present charitable commitments include roles as a trustee at the Holburne Museum in Bath, the York Minster Fund and Iford Arts. He also retains a connection with Jesus College as a member of the Society of St Radegund.
He lives in Bath and London with his wife and daughter. Besides choral music he is passionate about collecting art, fine wine and early English silver.
