American organist Carolyn Craig, FRCO, is Assistant Director of Music at Wells Cathedral and a Teacher of Organ at Wells Cathedral School. Originally from Knoxville, Tennessee, Carolyn earned her undergraduate degree at Indiana University (Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance with minors in Conducting and German, 2018) and her graduate degrees at Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music (Master of Music in Organ, 2021; Master of Musical Arts in Organ, 2022). She studied organ with John Brock, Christopher Young, Jon Laukvik, and Martin Jean in the US and with Ulrich Walther and Johannes Ebenbauer in Austria. In the UK, she held organ scholarships at Truro Cathedral (2018-2019), Westminster Cathedral (2022-2023), and Westminster Abbey (2023-2024).
Prizes include the highest performance and overall prizes in the 2022/2023 FRCO examinations, the 2nd Prize and the Prize for the Interpretation of Tariverdiev’s Works in the 2021 Mikael Tariverdiev International Organ Competition, and Yale’s Mary Baker Prize in Organ Accompaniment for her work with the Yale Schola Cantorum under David Hill.
Carolyn is sought-after as a recitalist in the US, UK, and mainland Europe. Her performances have been featured on BBC Radio 3, live with the Wells Cathedral Choir, and on the American nationally broadcast Pipedreams. She has appeared at national conventions of the American Guild of Organists as a performer and speaker. She contributes to the inclusive church music planning resource at greathostcomposers.org, whose work is published in The Journal of the Association of Anglican Musicians, and is co-founder of amplifyfemalecomposers.org (YouTube: Amplify Female Composers).
When not playing the organ, Carolyn thoroughly enjoys conducting, singing, and playing the piano. In May, she conducted the Monteverdi Vespers as part of the Sound of Wells Festival in Wells Cathedral with the Monteverdi String Band, English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble, Wells Cathedral Chamber Choir, and student instrumentalists from Wells Cathedral School. This summer, she was Guest Conductor of the Girl Chorister Course at St Thomas, Fifth Avenue in New York. To learn more, visit carolyncraigmusician.com
