Gillian Ward Russell was first appointed Organist and Choir Director at the age of 14. In the 1990s she jointly held the post of Organs Adviser in the Diocese of Chelmsford. Alongside church work Gillian combined recitals, private teaching, choral conducting, and research. Recitals took her to Yale University, USA, St Paul's Cathedral, London (three times), mainland Europe, as well as numerous UK venues. Her doctoral thesis is on William Russell, and she contributed to his entry in Grove's Dictionary. Gillian has brought the organ to the awareness of children, presenting a number of workshops and recitals to school children.

British award-winning classical and jazz composer Isabelle Ryder is an unusual creative voice, bringing to bear her field experience as a former earthquake scientist on her honest and compelling music. A sensitive soul most at home in music and nature, Isabelle has a deep urge to re-imagine through music the sights and sounds that she was privileged to witness around the world. Steeped in the music of the Anglican tradition growing up, she also writes sacred choral and organ music.

Isabelle's works have been performed in the UK, Europe, the US and Australia. She is published by Oxford University Press.

Margaret-Mary is currently completing her DMA in Organ Performance at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, having completed her MM there in 2018. Her research focuses on English Classical composer and famous astronomer Sir William Herschel (1738-1822) and she has published material on the relationship between music and the telegraph in the 19th century. She has been a music teacher, church music director and accompanist, concert series director, and she plays continuo and harpsichord.

Emma was a student at Walthamstow Hall and organ scholar at St Mary's, Riverhead. She began studying the organ at the age of 13 with Graham Bartholomew but since 2018 has been learning with Anne Marsden Thomas. Emma will complete the Organ Foundation year course at the Royal Academy of Music in summer 2021, and will then read music at St Hilda’s, Oxford. Besides playing the organ, Emma is also a keen singer and violinist and plays an active role in many choirs and orchestras. Emma has joined the SWO committee on the Events team.

Lucky is from the US (but goes to school in England) and has been playing the organ for around 2 years. She has grade 8 piano and grade 5 cello and is working on getting her grade 8 theory. She hopes to get a degree in music specializing in organ in university but right now she's in her GCSE year.

Morag started to play the organ when she was 16, nearly 50 years ago. She has held the position of organist and choirleader in a number of churches but she has been in her present post for 22 years.

Pamela Shaw studied organ with Dr William Lindberg and Dr. Donald Beikman in the USA and with Prof Walter Kraft at the Musikhöchschule in Lübeck, Germany. She currently sings with the St Paul (RC) Cathedral Choir in Pittsburgh (PA) and recently served as the long-term interim organist and choirmaster at St Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Highland Park. She has master degrees in musicology and in library sciences. Pam earned her Service Playing Certificate from the AGO and the NPM in 2024.

Katy is an organist and conductor based in London at St Mary’s Church, Putney. After singing in her local parish church choir as a child, Katy took up the organ at 13 and later held the organ scholarship at Worcester College, Oxford. She graduated with Distinction from the Masters course at the Royal College of Music in 2018. Katy currently teaches the organ at City of London School and gives recitals both in London and further afield. She also conducts the children’s choir at St Mary’s and enjoys coaching other young singers on the Oxford and Cambridge Singing School courses.

Claire M Singer is a composer, producer and performer of acoustic and electronic music, film and installations. In recent years her work has focused on composing and performing a mix of organ, cello and electronics with two albums, Solas and Fairge, released on Touch. Claire is also the creator and Artistic Director of the annual Organ Reframed festival at Union Chapel, which she launched in 2016. The only festival of its kind in the UK, Organ Reframed focuses on commissioning innovative new music and introducing new artists and audiences to how versatile the organ is.

Willeke Smits is a Dutch organist, based in Leiden, Hooglandse Kerk, where she plays on the De Swart Van Hagerbeer-organ 1565/1637 and the Father Willis-organ 1892/2015 and accompanies the Leidse Cantorij, the church's permanent choir. As an ambassador of the organ, Willeke also has a thriving career as concert organist, in which a challenging repertoire is for her a priority. She works as an organ teacher to train the new generations, is a conductor and composer.

Ann Elise Smoot is the Director of Oundle for Organists and Chair of the Young Organ Scholars Trust. She has been a founder or participant in numerous educational initiatives since moving to the UK 25 years ago from her native USA. She has combined her passionate interest in education with a recital career that has taken her to major venues across the USA and Europe, where her performances of a wide-ranging repertoire have garnered critical acclaim.

After many years as a church pianist, Eileen first discovered the organ during her master's degree at Michigan State University. Now, as organist at Epworth United Methodist in Durham, NC, she is passionate about presenting new compositions and works by underrepresented composers. She holds masters degrees in composition and music theory, with a focus in music for interactive media. Outside of music she enjoys climbing, reading, and trying new foods.