Choir: People
Reed Rubin Organist & Director of Music
Benjamin Nicholas was born in Norwich and was a chorister at Norwich Cathedral before holding the organ scholarships at Chichester Cathedral; Lincoln College, Oxford; and St Paul’s Cathedral.
Currently Reed Rubin Organist and Director of Music at Merton College, Oxford, he has toured extensively with Merton College Choir in the USA, Europe and the Far East. In December 2025, he directed the choir on its first tour of Japan. In September 2016, he helped found the College’s Girls’ Choir, enabling some thirty school-age singers to receive their musical training at Merton.
Winner of the BBC Music Magazine Choral Award in 2020, he has made over 40 recordings on the Delphian, Signum and Priory labels, including discs of music by Weelkes, Mozart, Stainer, Stanford, Rubbra, Allain, Chilcott, Rutter and Gabriel Jackson. Of the second Volume of Orchestral Anthems, recorded with the Britten Sinfonia, BBC Music Magazine wrote, “Nicholas evidently has the church music of the Anglican tradition in his DNA”. The choir’s two most recent recordings have been ‘Editor’s Choice’ in Gramophone Magazine.
Appointed Music Director of the Oxford Bach Choir in 2018, his recent concerts include Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius and Vaughan Williams’ Sea Symphony with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Philharmonia and Elgar’s The Apostles with the Philharmonia and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. As a guest conductor, he has worked with the BBC Singers, the Holst Singers, the City of London Sinfonia, Novus NY and the Trondheim Soloists.
He was Director of the Edington Festival of Music within the Liturgy for four years and was the founding Director of Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum. As an organist, he has recently given solo recitals in the Frauenkirche, Munich, St Paul’s Cathedral and King’s College, Cambridge. In the 2025-2026 season, he conducted the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and the Oxford Bach Choir in a performance of Elgar’s The Kingdom, and the Britten Sinfonia in a concert to mark Arvo Pärt’s 90th Birthday.
Email: Benjamin Nicholas
Assistant Organist
François Cloete
François began his organ studies on Guernsey with Stephen Le Prevost (Abbey Assistant Organist 1991-2001) before receiving an MDS bursary to attend Wells Cathedral School. He became a prize-winning Fellow of the Royal College of Organists aged 19 and subsequently read Music at Merton College, Oxford, graduating with a Congratulatory First and highest marks in his cohort. As Merton's Organ Scholar he played for five services a week, international tours, and two Radio 3 broadcasts. François returns to Merton after a year as Organ Scholar at Westminster Abbey from 2025-2026, during which time he completed his MMus in Musicology at King’s College, London, having received the graduate research award from the Society for Music Analysis. François has also held posts at Wells and Hereford Cathedrals.
Vocal Coaches
Carys Lane, Giles Underwood, and William Purefoy are the College's Vocal Coaches. They work with the Choral Scholars on a regular basis whilst continuing to give concerts both in the UK and abroad.
Choir Manager
Lizzie Casey manages the Choral Foundation and is responsible for the management of both the Choir of Merton College and the Merton College Girl Choristers.
Email: Lizzie Casey
Patron of the College Choir
Peter Phillips, founder and director of The Tallis Scholars, is Patron of the College Choir. It was Peter’s idea that the College should consider establishing a Choral Foundation. Along with Benjamin Nicholas, he was a Reed Rubin Director of Music from 2008, a post he held until 2016. His involvement included recordings, tours and broadcasts, as well as conducting the choir on a number of occasions each term. The College is enormously grateful for Peter’s enthusiasm for the Choral Foundation and is delighted that he has accepted the honorary position of Patron. Peter is also a Bodley Fellow of the College.