Hire an organist in the UK

Browse, watch performances and contact your favourite organist for hire in the UK without even leaving our website.

Organist is the term used for a musician who performs on any type of organ.  Although organists often perform solo, it is common for an organist to accompany a choir, or even an orchestra! Organists perform during church services across the world every day of the week accompanying the hymns and church choirs. 

The majority of organists are amateurs and are principally involved in church music. The pipe organ is the instrument most people would associate with an organist, as it is used widely in traditional Christian worship two accompany the hymns, anthems and other special parts of worship.

How far in advance should you book an organ player?

We have some amazingly talented organ players for hire list on our website. But actually, there are generally fewer organists than there are other types of musicians in the UK. As such, booking in advance is really important. This is definitely the case if you're looking to book an organist for an event at a peak season time such as summer wedding season or the Christmas events of December.

The earlier you book, the more choice you're likely to have.

Don't panic if you've left it a little late though! You can still browse our listings and contact your favourite organists to find out about their availability.

Organists for weddings

A wedding organist will normally perform prior to the ceremony, then hymns during the ceremony, background music during the signing of the registers and exit music on the way out.

Wedding music for organ comes in a large variety of forms, from traditional music such as the wedding march, to custom arrangements of popular songs that the bride and groom particularly like.

As the majority of music for organ has been written for worship purposes, if you want a particular song for your wedding, it is advisable to give your organist as much notice as possible so that they can arrange a suitable version for the particular organ at your church.

Organist organisations

The oldest institution of organ studies in the United Kingdom is The Royal College of Organists (RCO). For more information on the church organ itself please visit this page - The church/cathedral organ. Another good resource can be found here - National Pipe Organ Register.

Church or cathedral organists

A church organist is often also choirmaster at that particular church. They are commonly still known by the ancient title “master of the choristers” (choristers are members of the church choir). In contrast, cathedral musicians are now generally titled “Director of Music”. This is often very true as most church or cathedral choirs can’t afford to have an organist and a choirmaster to direct the choir.  There are a number of other ancient titles that are still currently in use today:

• Rector Chori
• Master of Music
• Master of the Music
• Master of the song school
• Informator Choristarum
• Organist & Master of the Chorister

We highly recommend the two musicians above for any type of wedding or service. Please get in touch with us if you require any further information, help or advice.

The Organists featured on this page are all members of the Last Minute Musicians entertainment directory. Use the refine section at the top of this page to find church organist for weddings, christenings or funerals close to you. For more funeral options please visit our funeral musicians page. Simply choose a county or enter a post code into the "available in" box to refine the listings to your local area. Click the "visit listing" button to see the full profiles of the individual Organists. With over 3300 active listings you are sure to find the perfect entertainer, musician, band or entertainment service to make your event just perfect. Don`t forget you can use our online chat (below) to get instant help with your booking.