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9
ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE
FOCUS ON MUSIC
Alex
Tester
When did you first become interested
in music?
My best friend started having piano lessons so
my parents thought it would be a good idea
for me too. My teacher was brilliant – covering
the basics of technique, but equally happy to
cover other musical styles, and the theory of
musical harmony and composition. I was taken
to musical shows from an early age, around
seven or eight years old:
Me and My Girl
,
Les
Misérables
,
Cats
,
The Phantom of the Opera
–
I loved them, and this soon became just as
important to me as classical music.
At senior school (Forest in East London),
the Director of Music spotted my enthusiasm
and took me under his wing. By the time I was
16, I was Musical Director for the local amateur
dramatic society, and organist and choirmaster
for a major church in Leytonstone.
Being at a day school meant learning to
juggle from an early age. Boarding pupils
have the luxury of everything being on tap
and an extended school day in which to
pursue other interests. As a day pupil, I had
to find opportunities outside school, and
then tackle the inevitable logistics. It was an
excellent grounding; all musicians need to
be expert jugglers!
What did you do after school?
I won an organ scholarship to Fitzwilliam
College, Cambridge. The Chapel was
built in 1990 so I wasn’t following in a
great tradition – as only the second
Organ Scholar, I had to work with the
organ master to lay the foundations of
scholarship in the practice and study of
organ music. On the academic side, I
specialised in medieval and renaissance
notation, and the emergence of
jazz and Gershwin. Alongside
my academic study and roles of
choirmaster and organist, I became
musical director of Footlights and
played jazz piano regularly. I went
to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
with Footlights in ‘96 and ‘97.
The ’96 Fringe was a complete
whirlwind – we performed
three different shows every
night for a month – at
5pm, 8pm and 11pm. It was
excellent preparation for
managing Gaudy Week!
We catch up with Alex
Tester, Director of Music,
as he looks forward to
taking up residence in his
Department’s new home
on South Parade.