Biography

Roger Sayer is at the forefront of British choral and organ music. A former organ student at St Paul's Cathedral, Roger was Prize Winner at the 1989 St Albans International Organ Competition and won all the organ prizes at the Royal College of Music. Since then, he has been constantly in demand both as a recitalist and accompanist, and his playing takes him to many parts of the world.

 

His organ performances have taken him to many parts of the world, as well as a live recital at Temple Church broadcast on BBC Radio 3, and celebrity recitals at St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. His versatility extends beyond the traditional organ repertoire including the soundtrack for a Sony video game, and a collaboration with saxophonist Mark Lockheart and composer John Ashton Thomas in an album titled Salvator Mundi.

 

Roger Sayer's work as organist has also extended into the film world, with his most celebrated performance as organ soloist for Hans Zimmer's Oscar nominated score for the motion picture Interstellar. Roger later went on to perform the work live with composer Hans Zimmer in a special concert at London's Royal Albert Hall, which was attended by the film's director, cast and supporters, including Christopher Nolan, Jessica Chastain, Professor Brian Cox and Professor Stephen Hawking.

 

He has numerous recordings to his name both as an organ soloist and choir director. His most notable recent achievements include The Complete Organ Sonatas of Josef Rheinberger and The Grand Organ of Temple Church, which have received several 5* ratings and outstanding reviews. The Grand Organ of Temple Church has been recommended on MusicWeb International: “Roger Sayer’s playing has a vitality and vibrancy about it which positively exudes brightness and clarity of thought”. Likewise, his Rheinberger CD was recently Recording of the Month on MusicWeb International: “Roger Sayer proves himself to be an apt interpreter of Josef Rheinberger’s wonderful music; his playing is superior to that of Jürgen Sonnentheil on CPO in the two sonatas that he performs on his disc. The excellence that Sayer shows in those two sonatas is continued on into the other eighteen, so much so that I hope that Priory gives him an opportunity to record further recitals of the composer’s music”.

 

In addition to his organ playing, Roger Sayer is also an acclaimed choral director with some of the UK's finest choirs. After founding the Rochester Cathedral Girls’ choir, Roger joined Temple Church in 2013 as Musical Director and has since created an impressive portfolio of broadcasts, concerts and recordings. The choir’s most recent CD, The Temple Tradition, received a 5* review in Choir and Organ Magazine: “The richly voiced young choristers of the Choir of the Temple Church are a joy to listen to, their unison singing nothing short of miraculous, and Roger Sayer draws from his singers outstanding phrasing and subtle nuances of tone”. Under his direction, Temple Church Choir has broadcast numerous times on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM, and undertaken several international tours of the USA, Holland, Singapore, Australia and Germany. In 2017, Roger conducted the choir at the St Albans International Organ Festival 'Three Choirs' concert, alongside the choirs of St Paul's Cathedral and St Albans Abbey, and initiated a new youth choir of Boys and Girls at Temple Church, which gave its debut in November. In March this year, the Royal School of Church Music acknowledged Roger’s huge contribution to church music, both as an organist and choral director, with an Honorary Fellowship.