Leadership: Stuart Forster
Stuart Forster, Organist
A dedicated church musician, Stuart Forster has been Director of Music and Organist at Christ Church, Cambridge, Massachusetts, since 1999. He has performed throughout both hemispheres as organ soloist, accompanist and conductor; as a composer, he has written congregational music and choral anthems (Paraclete Press currently publishes some of these pieces); Mr. Forster has also composed more than 90 hymn arrangements and numerous organ transcriptions (his landmark organ transcription of Dvořák’s Ninth Symphony, “From the New World” was published by Éditions Chantraine, Belgium); he has been broadcast around the world and has recorded numerous CDs, including solo performances on the JAV and Pro Organo labels.
After considerable study and several appointments in his native Sydney, Australia, Mr. Forster traveled to the United States in 1996 to study with Professor Thomas Murray, earning two degrees from Yale University, as well as the Faculty Prize and the Robert S. Baker Scholarship from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, and from the Yale School of Music the Julia R. Sherman Prize for excellence in organ playing. Mr. Forster is currently working toward the Doctor of Sacred Music degree at the Graduate Theological Foundation; in addition to earning qualifications from the University of Sydney, the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and Trinity College of Music, London, Mr. Forster has won numerous accolades, including the Scarf Foundation Award, the Sydney International Organ Competition, the University of Sydney Organ Scholarship (awarded twice), the Alice Bryant Organ Scholarship (for two terms of three years each), and the Ruth and Paul Manz Organ Scholarship. While studying at Yale, Mr. Forster served as Fellow in Church Music at Christ Church, New Haven, Connecticut; his work at the University included appointments as Marquand Chapel Organist, accompanist to various choruses and graduate courses, and teacher to numerous undergraduate and second-instrument organ students.
Details of Mr. Forster’s compositions, performances, and recordings may be found on his web site: www.StuartAForster.com