Dean Chris Announces New Director of Music: Dr. Neil Cockburn

Dr. Neil Cockburn's hello video

Dear Siblings in Christ, 

It is with great joy that I share with you the news that Dr. Neil Cockburn, has accepted my offer and will be our next Director of Music. Neil will begin in the position on 1 January 2025.

Neil was the unanimous first choice of our Music Director Seach Committee and he impressed the Committee and myself  greatly both in his interviews and in audition. Neil was also the most highly scored candidate by the Cathedral choir which was invited to participate in the auditions and feedback. Neil is committed not only to musical excellence but also to diversity, inclusion, and reconciliation. His values are very much aligned with the mission of the Cathedral and the Diocese.

I have every confidence that we have chosen an outstanding church musician for the role, and I look forward to participating in the many years of successful ministry that are sure to ensue. I see him playing an important role in the expansion of our ministry to the city and the diocese. 

Neil Cockburn (he/him) is currently the Director of Chapel Music at the University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he directs the Chapel Choir in weekly services of Choral Evensong and Sung Eucharist, and the King’s Chorus in termly concerts of large-scale choral repertoire. Originally from St. Andrews, Scotland, he has made Canada his home for the past 24 years, most of which he has spent making music just over the Rockies in Calgary, Alberta.

Educated at Oxford, the Royal Northern College of Music (Manchester, UK), the Conservatoire National de Région Rueil-Malmaison in France, and the University of Calgary, he is the recipient of several prestigious accolades, including the W. T. Best Memorial Organ Scholarship, and an award from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust. Organ performances have won him significant prizes, including First Prize at the 1996 Dublin International Organ Competition (giving the winning performance on the Kenneth Jones organ at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin – the same instrument maker as in Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver), and the Lili Boulanger Memorial Fund Prize. His many years of organ teaching at the Mount Royal Conservatory in Calgary were recognized by a Distinguished Teaching Award.

Neil has held church positions in an array of settings, including as Organ Scholar of Keble College, Oxford, Organ Scholar of Chichester Cathedral, and as the Director of Music of the Cathedral Church of the Redeemer in Calgary. He served on the Worship Committee in preparation for the 2023 Assembly of the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, and led the music at the daily worship services on site in Calgary.

While music is his primary passion, when not in the organ loft you may spot him on the curling rink.

Over the next few months we will  have the opportunity to express our appreciation for Rupert as his time here comes to an end. We look forward to planning an appropriate farewell for him in the coming months while preparing for Neil’s arrival in the new year. I am thankful for the members of the Director of Music Search Committee and the months of diligent and exceptional work that they did to lead us to this day.