New Music Director selected

After a nationwide search Trinity Cathedral has named Matthew Steynor as Director of Music. Steynor, who is originally from Great Britain, has lived in Miami for three years. He is currently the organist at St. Thomas Episcopal Parish in Coral Gables and is well known throughout the diocese as an organ recitalist. When he assumes his new position at the Cathedral in mid-November, he will have made more than 20 major solo appearances in the area, ranging from Villa Vizcaya to Bethesda-by-the-Sea.

Matthew Steynor

“St. Thomas has been a wonderful place for me to focus on organ playing, culminating in my being awarded the FRCO earlier this year,” says Steynor. The FRCO (Fellowship of the Royal College of Organists) is the highest attainable accreditation for an organist. The vast majority of organists in British cathedrals hold the FRCO. In comparison, the FAGO, the American equivalent, is not currently held by anyone in Southeast Florida. “Now that I have successfully negotiated the FRCO hurdle, I feel it is time to shift my focus to directing choirs.”

As an organ scholar at Cambridge University, Steynor had ample opportunity to conduct choirs of all sizes and abilities. The organ scholars of the colleges at Oxford and Cambridge without directors of music assume much of the responsibility for college-wide music-making. At Queens’ College Cambridge, Steynor took charge of a large choral society for a season, conducting Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem and Orff’s Carmina Burana. Both concerts were accompanied by full orchestra. “There are many reasons why playing the organ and conducting go so well together, but the main reason is that both positions involve leadership of large forces, whether they be people or pipes.”

During the time Steynor served as organ scholar at Queens’ College, the choir sang a diverse repertoire including works by Gesualdo, Arvo Pärt, Tippett and Poulenc. The choir also sang Evensong in St Paul’s Cathedral, London, toured Germany and Switzerland, performed several concerts, including a candlelit Bach cantata concert, and recorded an acclaimed compact disc, titled Songs of Heaven and Earth.

Emigrating to The Bahamas in 2002, Steynor worked at Christ Church Cathedral, Nassau, as an organist, starting a Men and Boys Choir that continues today. He also taught music full-time at an Anglican School to children ages 4 to 13. “The kids in The Bahamas have lots of energy and can really sing – it was an exhausting but rewarding job,” says Steynor.

Following his move to Miami in September 2004, Steynor became the organist at St. Thomas Episcopal Parish where he has accompanied the choir in all its activities, including two tours to Europe. Fundraising for those tours has included Madrigal Dinners and recording a CD of hymns. He also has worked extensively with the church’s concert series and the parish school during what Steynor describes as “three very happy years at St. Thomas.”

Outside of his work at St. Thomas, Steynor has worked with the choral departments of Florida International University and Miami-Dade Community College’s Kendall Campus, both as accompanist and assistant conductor. He currently accompanies the Master Chorale of South Florida and the Florida Singing Sons, organizations with which he intends to remain when he begins his work at Trinity. “I consider these to be the finest ensembles of their kind in Southeast Florida; and it is a pleasure to accompany them,” says Steynor. “It’s very important to keep learning and observing from those whose rehearsal techniques obviously work. Keeping the accompanying going will also keep my keyboard technique in working order.”

“At Trinity, I am looking forward immensely to being able to utilize all my former musical experience in one place. The Cathedral choir is of a good quality and enjoys interesting and challenging repertoire. The organ, coupled with the acoustics, is always a joy to play. The congregation is a diverse community and I look forward to serving them in the different styles of music from my experience gained in the places where I have lived. I have taught musicians of all ages and nationalities, and I see the Cathedral in the heart of Miami being a great place for musical education at all levels.”

Steynor’s first service as Director of Music at Trinity Cathedral will be Sunday, Nov. 18, the Sunday before the Feast of St. Cecilia, the patron saint of music.