Festival Director
Robert Quinney was born in Nottingham, UK, and began his musical life as a chorister, initially
in Dundee Cathedral Choir. He began playing the organ at the age of ten, and was subsequently
Organ Scholar at King’s College, Cambridge, where he completed his undergraduate and
graduate studies. A performing career took him to London, working first at Westminster
Cathedral and for nine years as Sub-Organist at Westminster Abbey, during which time he
performed at several national and international events including the marriage of the now
Prince and Princess of Wales. After a short period as Director of Music at Peterborough
Cathedral he moved to Oxford in 2014. He directs the world-famous Choir of New College,
Oxford, where he is also a Tutorial Fellow in Music. In the faculty of music he gives lectures for
the Techniques of Composition and Choral Performance papers, and has taught a history topic
on the keyboard music of J. S. Bach. Alongside his work at Oxford he maintains a busy schedule
as a solo organist, and makes frequent appearances as a guest conductor, notably with the BBC
Singers. He became Director of the Edington Music Festival in time for the 2022 festival, taking
over from Richard Pinel.
