Simon Nieminski
Cathedral Organist

Photo Credit: Frederick Hohman (Used by Permission)

Simon Nieminski was born in London and descended of an unlikely mixture of Edwardian Japanese acrobats, Lancastrian Music Hall artistes and a Polish army veteran.

His formal study was undertaken in London at the Royal College of Music, at Cambridge University and through numerous masterclasses. He has many years’ experience of the Anglican cathedral music tradition, most recently as Organist and Master of the Music at St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral in Edinburgh, where he directed the choir of choristers (drawn from the Cathedral’s choir school) and Lay Clerks in daily choral services and a busy programme of concerts, radio and television broadcasts, Edinburgh Festival events and the annual performance of Messiah. He is also in demand for other choral events, and has conducted the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union in concert at the Usher Hall.

His work as an organist often takes him around the UK and abroad, both in concert and over the airwaves, with regular visits to the USA. As a recitalist, his programmes often include rather unusual but attractive repertoire and it has become his aim to play programmes which appeal to organ buffs and sceptics alike. His recordings have helped to revive the music of composers who deserve greater recognition, with releases on the Pro Organo label of the Promenades en Provence by Eugène Reuchsel and the Symphonies of Edward Shippen Barnes - American pupil of Louis Vierne. These have received reviews in such publications as The American Record Review (“This is a splendid release… There is a lot of poetry here.”) and Organists’ Review, who wrote of Reuchsel’s Promenades, “Simon Nieminski’s playing is utterly convincing and at one stroke establishes him as a recording artist of the first rank,” and The Organ, who commented on the Barnes recording, “Pro Organo and Simon Nieminski must be commended for searching out this music and having the courage to record it - would that other companies would make the efforts to record music which is both unusual and worthy.” A CD of music by Francis Jackson, Organist Emeritus of York Minster, including several first recordings and unpublished works arose partly owing to Simon’s time as Organ Scholar there. An interest in symphonic organ playing has resulted in recordings of transcriptions of works inspired by Shakespeare, and another of transcriptions of works by Elgar (including the complete Enigma Variations) recorded on the ‘Father’ Willis organ of St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh. He is, however, equally at home on baroque organs as on mega-organs of the USA, and studied for some years with Nicholas Danby at the Royal College of Music in London before a three-year residence at the 1708 organ of Pembroke College Chapel in Cambridge; he has been fortunate to receive recent invitations to play concerts on historic organs in Germany.

Simon was appointed Organist of St Mary’s Metropolitan Cathedral, Edinburgh, in September 2007. He is currently planning a series of inaugural events for the large new French-style organ by Matthew Copley, to include concerts and a CD.