Biographical details about our Music Department
Helen Smee | Director of Music
Helen grew up in East London and went on to study Music at the University of Cambridge, winning an Organ Scholarship to Peterhouse. After her prize-winning postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music, she spent a decade in London as a freelance choral director alongside her role as Director of Music at St Mary Merton, SW19. She holds the Licentiate of the Royal Academy (LRAM), specializing in teaching choral conducting, and is frequently sought after as a teacher and examiner of choral direction.
She has worked with numerous chamber choirs, choral societies, liturgical choirs and youth choirs across the UK, conducting and playing in venues including Sage Gateshead, Westminster Abbey, and the Royal Festival Hall. Following a year as a primary school music specialist, she continues to run schools' singing events and outreach and partnership projects. In 2018 she won the Members’ Award from Action for Children’s Arts in recognition of her outreach work with young people, and in 2022 was made an Associate of the Royal Academy in recognition of her contribution to the field of choral direction and education. As a writer and campaigner, her articles and interviews have featured in a range of publications, including most recently Choir and Organ, Organists' Review, and Cathedral Music magazine.
A passionate advocate and campaigner for the role of women and girls in church music, Helen took up the post of Director of Frideswide Voices, the girls’ treble line of Christ Church Cathedral Oxford, in 2019. During her time at Christ Church, she oversaw significant growth of the choir and the further integration of the girl choristers into the choral foundation, as well as touring and recording with the choir; Frideswide Voices’ first commercial recording is due for release in mid-2026. While based in Oxford, she also held posts and Hertford College and St Edmund Hall, as well as directing Jubilate, a leading Oxford-based chamber choir.
Simon Hogan | Cathedral Organist and Assistant Director of Music
A graduate of the Royal College of Music, Simon Hogan combines a busy freelance career with organist posts at St Bartholomew the Great, London and Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford.
Simon’s musical life began as a chorister at St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol. Following organ scholarships at Bristol and Salisbury Cathedrals, he moved to London in 2008 to study organ performance at the Royal College of Music, where he subsequently graduated with first class honours. In his final year he held the Organ Scholarship at St Paul’s Cathedral, before becoming Assistant Director of Music at Southwell Minster, a post he held for seven years. In 2019 Simon spent a term as Sub-Organist at Christ Church Cathedral Oxford, before beginning his freelance career in January 2020.
As a soloist Simon has given recitals in venues across the UK, including the cathedrals of Durham, Hereford and Westminster, The Albert Hall, Nottingham, and Rochdale Town Hall. He is also the principal organist for JAM, an organisation which commissions and performs new music for brass, organ and choir by leading contemporary composers.
James Gough | Assistant Organist and Music Administrator
A graduate from the Royal Academy of Music, James joined us in 2021 from St Matthew’s Church, Westminster, where he has been Organist. Prior to this, he spent a year as Acting Assistant Organist at Wells Cathedral and has also held positions at St Martin-in-the-Fields and St Bride’s Church, Fleet Street.
James has performed in numerous cathedrals and churches up and down the country and has collaborated with trumpeter Crispian Steele-Perkins in a number of concerts, and with Dame Gillian Weir in a performance of Bach’s six Trio Sonatas. Plans are also in place to record organ works of J. S. Bach with Malcolm Archer at Clifton Roman Catholic Cathedral in Bristol, for release during Clifton Cathedral’s 50th anniversary year in 2023.
Emily Elias | Director of the Merbecke Choir
Emily was Organ Scholar at St Peter’s College, Oxford where she read music, sang and directed choirs.
Shortly after graduation, she moved to Paris where she pursued a career as a singer, was Assistant Conductor of the Paris Choral Society and took the boys at the Maîtrise of St Louis en Ile.
As a singer she has worked with and learnt much from many brilliant conductors and hope that the Merbecke Choir will feel the benefit of their collective wisdom.
Emily now lives in South London with her husband and three children and combines performing with singing teaching and choir directing in several secondary schools and, of course, directing the wonderful Merbecke Choir.