The Parish Magazine September 2021

feature — 1
Hello Hannah!
This month St Andrew's Church welcomes our new
director of music, Hannah Towndrow, a young
professional conductor and musician who is taking
over from Chris Goodwin who has retired after
occupying our organ bench for 6 years.
Despite her age, Hannah is an experienced and highly
talented musician — she plays the organ, piano and
bassoon, all at grade 8, each examination being gained
with distinction.
Hannah is also recognised as a skilled conductor and
sings regularly with the Arcadian Singers of Oxford and
Anthiphon, a choir which she founded and runs.
In her new role at St Andrew's Hannah will be the
main organist, lead our senior and junior choirs, oversee
the selection of worship music and hymns, and begin to
administer a new choral foundation being set up to help
develop young adult choristers and musicians develop
their art.
Below, Hannah tells us a little about herself, her
musical career and her hopes for the future.
The Parish Magazine - September 2021 15
I am a postgraduate student at
the Royal Academy of Music, where
I am studying for an MA in choral
conducting, with organ as a second
study instrument. Previously to
being appointed director of music at
St Andrew's, I was the organist and
director of music at the Church of St
Mary and St John in Cowley, Oxford.
I also work as a freelance organist
and as a private piano teacher.
Worship through music is
something to celebrate and, as an
organist and conductor, I take great
pleasure in facilitating it.
The love and infatuation which
I developed for the organ and for
choral singing at a young age were
largely responsible for my decision to
pursue church music professionally.
As organ scholar at Hertford
College, Oxford, my competence as
a church musician grew through
being responsible for choosing
suitable choral music and organ
voluntaries in accordance with the
church calendar and leading and
accompanying the choir.
I studied music under some highly
regarded teachers, including Robert
Court and Steven Farr, and currently
take lessons with Anne Marsden
Thomas at the Royal Academy of
Music in anticipation of becoming
an Associate of the Royal College of
Organists (UK) in January 2022.
I was the assistant conductor of
the Oxford University Chorus at the
end of my third year at Hertford and
took the choral conducting finals
option, achieving the highest mark
in my cohort.
Recruiting new choir members and
auditioning and appointing choral
clerks was one of my responsibilities
at Hertford and being able to use this
experience was one of the attractions
of joining the St Andrew's Church
team.
Having played regularly for church
services for many years, I am now
well-accustomed to the musical, and
non-musical, components of the
Eucharist, Evensong, weddings
and funerals. I am also a confident
improviser, a skill I use each week
for example, during processions and
after the offertory hymn.
I grow closer to God through the
musical aspects of worship and I
can help others to do so. My work
as an organist and choral conductor
is therefore both musically and
spiritually fulfilling.
During my
interview I was
fortunate to meet
some of the young
choristers and I left
feeling extremely
impressed with
their talent and
their desire to learn.
I am looking forward
to helping them
develop their choral skills even
further.
I enjoy performing as a soloist, a
highlight being playing the Saint-
Saëns Organ Symphony with Cardiff
Youth Orchestra at BBC Hoddinott
Hall in July 2018. It was particularly
special because Cardiff is the city
where I was born and bred.
Away from my career and my love
of making music, singing and
conducting my top four things
to do to relax are step aerobics,
countryside walks, learning German
and baking — my favourite things to
bake are banana bread and brownies!
If I was locked overnight inside St
Andrew's Church I would choose to
be with my partner because we enjoy
singing and playing piano duets
together, and that would be a fun
way to pass the time!