CHESTER CATHEDRAL - Key Persons
Alexander Lanigan-Palotai is Sub-Organist at Chester Cathedral, where he assists the Organist and Master of the Choristers with the direction of the Cathedral choir and training of the choristers. He is the principal accompanist for the choir's services, concerts, and broadcasts. Alexander also conducts the Cathedral Nave Choir, and regularly performs in the Cathedral's weekly organ recital series. Alexander graduated with a degree in music from Oxford University in 2018 and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
Carolyn is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, having trained in a small firm of accountants after leaving University with a degree in Accountancy.
She spent nine years as Finance Director for a marketing agency in Leeds before returning to Cheshire to take on the role of Finance Director for Chester Cathedral in 2007. In 2013, Carolyn took on additional responsibility and became Executive Director, which now includes the statutory role of Chief Operating Officer as specified by the Cathedrals Measure. Since then she has obtained an MBA from the University of Chester.
Carolyn has overall responsibility for most areas of infrastructure at the Cathedral, including finances, people, buildings and other assets as well as the formal governance role.
Job Titles:
- Head of Music Outreach and Assistant Organist
Daniel joined the team at Chester Cathedral in 2023 as Head of Music Outreach and Assistant Organist. In this role he assists in the training of the choristers and playing for daily services alongside the other Cathedral Musicians, and is responsible for bringing the Cathedral's musical offering to a wider audience through wider projects and collaborations across the local community and diocese.
Prior to coming to Chester, he held positions as organist, director and tutor across the city and university of Oxford, including as Interim Sub-Organist at Christ Church Cathedral and Organist and Assistant Director of Music at St. Mary Magdalen. He also worked as Organist and Choir Director at Keble and Worcester Colleges, and taught topics for the Music Faculty across the University, as well as the organ at Downe House School.
He began his organ studies at York Minster with David Pipe and in 2014 went up to Worcester College, Oxford with an organ scholarship, studying the organ with William Whitehead and Dame Gillian Weir and conducting with Jeremy Summerly. After graduating he took up the organ scholarship at Salisbury Cathedral, playing for the cathedral choir and working closely with the cathedral school and cathedral Junior Choir. Following this, he taught for a year at Radley College while working as Assistant Organist, before returning to Oxford for postgraduate study.
He is in demand as a recitalist across the UK: recent performances have included at St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Cathedral, and for the Three Choirs Festival. He also works with the world-renowned Trinity Boys Choir on tours across Germany and Denmark, giving concerts in venues including Würzburg, Münster and Aarhus Cathedrals in collaboration with their resident choirs.
He is a prizewinning Fellow of the Royal College of Organists and has recently published an article on collaboration in contemporary organ music for the RCO Journal (2023). Recent recordings have included the Duruflé Requiem and Yves Castagnet's Messe Salve Regina at Notre Dame de France, Leicester Place.
Jon Turley - Chief Commercial Officer
Jon has over 15 years experience of managing large teams and projects built up through a career at M&S and Chester Zoo.
Whilst at M&S Jon was responsible for several new store openings including the 209,000sq ft flagship eco store - the largest ever opened by the company - at Cheshire Oaks. As part of the senior team, his role included amongst other areas cost management of budgets over £6m, logistics, contractor liaison, H&S and recruitment of the 550 managers and colleagues. Later, at Chester Zoo Jon played a key role in the opening of the £40m Islands project with direct responsibility for the delivery of the food and beverage offer. As Head of Guest Experience, Jon led a project to review the customer experience and visitor journey which shaped the masterplan to redevelop the zoo.
As Commercial Director at Chester Cathedral Jon leads our admissions, retail, food and beverage, venue hire and events, health, safety, security and IT.
Jonathon was born on the Isle of Man and emigrated to England in his early twenties to study hotel and hospitality management.
After some time in hotel management, he attended Emmanuel Bible College, Birkenhead and went on to assist in free churches in Birkenhead and Preston. During this time, he married and had three children, two of whom are now ordained. From Preston he moved to Sheffield to manage Whirlow Grange, the Diocesan Retreat House, for sixteen years before moving to Rydal Hall in Cumbria where he was the manager for ten years. During his time with Carlisle Diocese, he was ordained and served his curacy in Rydal and Grasmere.
Jonathon moved to Foxhill in 2016 and served as Director for seven years before joining the team at Chester Cathedral.
Kevin is passionate about tourism and the visitor economy, having worked in the industry since his teenage years, starting his career with The Boat Museum in Ellesmere Port.
He graduated from Liverpool John Moores University in 1988 (at Liverpool Cathedral!) with a BA Hons in business, gained whilst working full time at Tatton Park. He went on to work within marketing for Visit Chester & Cheshire before joining a national hotel group based in North Wales. Kevin joined the Cathedral as Marketing Manager in 2017 before assuming broader responsibility for fundraising, communications and marketing in 2020.
Kevin is a major theme park and rollercoaster fan, and loves everything ‘customer journey.' He advocates strongly for Chester, and for the role the Cathedral can play in its development. He is a proud Ambassador for Chester Great and Small.
Job Titles:
- Organist and Master of the Choristers
Philip has had a life-long association with Chester Cathedral as chorister, Organ Scholar, Assistant Director of Music and, ultimately, Organist and Master of the Choristers. He began learning the organ with Cathedral Organist, Roger Fisher, and in 1991 went up to Trinity College, Cambridge, as Organ Scholar working under the direction of Dr Richard Marlow. At Trinity he broadcast and recorded frequently with the world-famous college choir, and toured with them extensively in Europe, Canada and the USA. His organ studies continued with David Sanger.
Upon Graduation in 1994, he took up the post of Assistant Organist at Southwell Minster and co-founded the Southwell Minster Chorale. For eight years he directed the Chorale in Southwell and further afield. Active as a recitalist, he has performed throughout the United Kingdom, in many cathedrals and concert halls, including Westminster Cathedral, St Paul's Cathedral, and King's College, Cambridge. In September 2000 he was a finalist in the prestigious Royal College of Organists' Performer of the Year award, performing with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and Rumon Gamba. He won many recital awards, including performances at St John's, Smith Square and at the Dublin International Organ and Choral Festival.
His playing is well-known in the continent of Europe and invitations have seen him perform in several International Organ Festivals in Berlin, Rome, Milan, Como and in Sens, France. In September 2002 he returned to Chester Cathedral as Assistant Director of Music and was appointed Director of Music and Organist in December 2007. Under his direction the Cathedral Choirs have reached a very high standard of excellence, and in addition to the daily worship of the Cathedral, he has directed them in UK concerts, on CD and in tours of Florida, Belgium, France and Ireland; they are also heard regularly on BBC Radio and Television. He has commissioned choral works for the Choir from Howard Skempton, Francis Pott, Matthew Martin, Charlotte Bray and Philip Moore. In December 2012, a reviewer in Gramophone magazine said of the choir's CD recording of Christmas music Glory to the New-Born King-Priory PRCD 1076-that it was "the most appealing of any cathedral recording I've heard this year".
He organises the prestigious and long running weekly organ recital series at the Cathedral, performing regularly as a recitalist. He is in constant demand as an accompanist and soloist and in October 2013 he performed Poulenc's Organ Concerto with the City of London Sinfonia conducted by Stephen Layton and had the privilege of conducting the orchestra when they returned to Chester Cathedral in October 2016.
His recordings of organ music have received excellent reviews in music journals and on BBC Radio 3. Two discs of organ music from Southwell Minster and Chester Cathedral were awarded five stars by Graeme Kay in the magazine Choir and Organ in 2009. Other noteworthy releases of organ music from Chester Cathedral include French Organ Music by Louis Vierne and Marcel Dupré; Percy Whitlock's Organ Sonata on the Priory label and, also on Priory, a DVD of The Grand Organ of Chester Cathedral was released in 2012, again receiving first-rate reviews in a number of international music journals.
In 2018, two more Priory CDs from Chester Cathedral have also been acclaimed: J S Bach from Chester and, with the Cathedral Choir, Choral Classics from Chester. Marc Rochester said of this CD that "With such excellent singing, Philip Rushforth's superlative direction, some fabulous organ playing and a splendid recorded sound, this is a highly recommended release……an absolute must-have for any lover of English cathedral music". In 2020 he was awarded an honorary Associateship of the Royal School of Church Music (ARSCM) for achievements in church music of national significance and for important musical work within the RSCM.
Job Titles:
- Canon for Worship and Spirituality, Vice Dean and Canon Librarian
Job Titles:
- Cathedral in 2021 As Cathedral Safeguarding Officer ( CSO )
- Director of Culture and Cathedral Safeguarding Officer
- Registered Social Worker
Sharon joined the Cathedral in 2021 as Cathedral Safeguarding Officer (CSO), bringing with her a wealth of social care and safeguarding knowledge from 18 years of experience working within local authorities.
Sharon is a registered social worker and has a BA Hons degree in social work. In previous roles Sharon has managed a mental health support service which provided both practical and psychological support for people with severe and enduring mental health issues. Sharon advocates the ‘recovery approach'; focusing on a personal recovery journey in building a meaningful life, regardless of mental health issues and to foster one's ability to self-manage positive wellbeing.
In 2022 Sharon became Director of Culture and CSO as we embark on a project to review and establish a revitalised set of values and a new ‘Cathedral culture'. Culture encompasses our values, beliefs and attitudes that guide our interactions with one another and how we contribute to the cathedral's overall mission. We are intentional in creating a culture of grace, love and welcome here at Chester Cathedral.
Sharon also has an art and design background and attended Wrexham Art College for five years where she studied Architectural Stained Glass.
Tina was born in Crewe, grew up in Ellesmere Port and then moved to London to train as a nurse.
She returned to Chester four years later where she met and married her husband Mike. They have two wonderful sons, two amazing daughters-in-law and three beautiful grandchildren! After 48 years working in the NHS she discerned God was calling her to ordained ministry, and was ordained Deacon in July 2022 and was licensed to serve her curacy both at St James' Church Christleton and here at the Cathedral.