Nigel Poole : Associate Artist
Born of Australian parents who moved to England in the middle of
the last century, Nigel learned pipe organ and developed an early
interest in composition during his school years. He subsequently
began music studies at Edinburgh University in 1970, where the
highly-regarded British composer Kenneth Leighton was then Reid
Professor. When Edinburgh's Music Faculty organised a composition
competition, Nigel duly neglected his formal studies and composed
a Jazz Concertino for the competition. (This piece was highly
commended by Kenneth Leighton for its feeling of
spontaneity!)
But early thoughts of becoming a professional organist or
composer were derailed after he failed to complete his studies
and accidentally found himself playing piano on cruise ships and
holiday resorts... a little diversion which lasted for a couple
of decades into the 1990s.
In 1999, having settled back in Australia, Nigel completed a
Bachelor of Arts through the University of New England (UNE),
studying musicology, German and some computer science. He then
moved to Canberra to work in Information Technology and attained
a Graduate Diploma in Computer Science (through UNE) in 2008. He
also resumed composing, beginning with some choral settings for
liturgical use, which have been sung by church choirs in
Canberra.
Nigel gained his CRCO diploma (Colleague of the Royal College of
Organists) in 2014. He then went on to complete his Bachelor of
Music in 2022 (also with UNE), which included composition studies
with Paul Smith.
Since then, some of Nigel's music has been performed overseas. In
2024, his organ pieces Toccata and Meditation on
Monks Gate were performed by London organist Martyn Noble at
the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music (LFCCM). These
pieces were included in a concert entitled 'Cymbals and Dances',
in which groups from the London Contemporary Dance School
presented new dance works accompanied by organ music. The
programme notes from this concert said this of Nigel's
Toccata:
"When hearing this music for the first time, it instantly
inspired joy and a desire to move, and we wanted to embody this
feeling within the choreography. Creating this piece was so much
fun and we aim to share this light-heartedness with the audience,
while complementing the music."
And in the following year, the LFCCM Festival Singers performed
Nigel's motet, My Eyes for Beauty Pine. Martyn Noble
also performed Nigel's Toccata on Ravenshaw for organ at
the 2025 Festival (see https://lfccm.com/whatson/participants/nigel-poole/
)
Nigel's compositions are published by Wirripang.
Nigel Poole — current to July 2026
