Nick Abbott, Organist
Born and bred in London, England, Nick began his musical education at St Andrew’s Parish Church and School in Enfield, where he studied piano, cello and voice. With the Parish Choir, Nick often deputized for services at St Paul’s Cathedral from a very young age, an unforgettable experience that sparked his love of the Anglican choral tradition. He continued his studies at the Latymer School of Music in Edmonton, where he studied organ with Alistair Young and performed the Poulenc Organ Concerto at the Royal Festival Hall in London and on tour at St James’s Church in Prague. The latter experience would provide the inspiration for his subsequent career choice several years later.
Nick received master’s degrees in music from the University of Cambridge, where he was Organ Scholar of Girton College, and the University of Bristol. At Cambridge Nick studied organ with Anne Page and directed and accompanied Girton College Chapel Choir for weekly services in the college chapel and for Evensongs at Canterbury, Norwich and St Paul’s Cathedrals, and on tours to Mexico, Switzerland and Japan, where they won the gold medal at the prestigious Takarazuka International Chamber Choir Competition. At Bristol, Nick combined post-graduate studies of the life and music of Thomas Attwood Walmisley with a busy career as an organist, harpsichordist and baritone.
By day Nick is a Director of ACFEA Tour Consultants, where he has worked for the past 20 years, organizing choir, orchestra and band tours worldwide. He has toured throughout much of North America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Nick lives in Phinney Ridge in North Seattle with his wife, Kate, and seven-year-old daughter, Evie.
