Registration is closed for the
51st Annual Conference
for Choirmasters and Organists
at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue
April 29 – May 1, 2026
with Guest Clinician Christopher Gray
Director of Music at St. John’s College, Cambridge University
Review the full conference schedule
Instituted in 1973 by esteemed former Director of Music Gerre Hancock, the annual Conference for Choirmasters and Organists provides participants from around the globe with a distinctive three-day grounding in the Saint Thomas tradition.
Each year, an internationally-recognized organist and choirmaster serves as guest clinician, presenting a keynote lecture and providing mentorship through choral direction, leadership at the organ, and conversation. This spring we are thrilled to welcome Christopher Gray, who will lead the Saint Thomas Consort and offer a presentation on the history and evolution of The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.
Daily tours and lectures will cover myriad topics, including the accompaniment of Orchestral Mass settings by Mozart, Haydn and Schubert, the life and work of composer Kenneth Leighton, the celebrated Saint Thomas organs, and cutting-edge practices for digital content and strategy.
Participants will also have the opportunity to consider the big questions facing church music programs around the globe at a fireside chat with Richard Tanner, Director of Music: How can we expand our musical offerings whilst still preserving our traditions? How do we approach chorister recruitment in the face of financial pressures, a decline in church attendance, and consistent technological evolution? How do we make choral singing accessible and available for all?
PRESENTERS INCLUDE:
Christopher Gray
Director of Music, St. John’s College, Cambridge
Blake Martin
Director of Communications and Digital Production
Jeremiah Sthephenson
Associate Organist, Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue
Maks Adach
Organist and Master of the Choristers, St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church, Greenwich, CT
Lawrence Trupiano
Organ Curator, Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue
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