Our Musical Director: Michael Cayton

Michael Cayton Michael Cayton joined us as Musical Director in September 2003. Since then he has conducted our performances of repertoire from Bach to Maxwell-Davies, Purcell to Eric Whitacre. He conducted at the premieres of his compositions Missa Beati Virginis Mariae (November 2017; St Mary’s Church, Rickmansworth) and The Way Through the Woods (March 2024; The Muse, Watford).

Michael is a Lancastrian, educated in Blackpool, where he gained his initial musical grounding, learning the piano and organ. After training at Kneller Hall, Michael served with the Grenadier Guards as a trumpeter, pianist, and organist, performing at a number of State functions in the Royal Palaces. Studying piano at the Royal College of Music, he gained his BMus. He won the Hilda Anderson Deane prize for conducting and improvisation, and became the first Millenium Organ Scholar at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, while completing postgraduate répétiteur studies.

Since 2003 he has been the Director of Music at St John's Wood Church in London, where he conducts both the critically acclaimed professional choir and Community Chamber Choir. During his career he has worked with several music societies (most notably The Medici Choir, Goldsmiths Choral Union, and Vasari Singers), and he was musical director of Watford Philharmonic Society until 2025.

As a session musician Michael has made a number of broadcasts, particularly for BBC’s Songs of Praise. His compositions are published by Redemptorist Publications and Shorterhouse, and his responsorial psalms are a staple of parish churches up and down the country. With broad musical tastes, a hunger to learn new styles, and a particular talent for improvisation, he can often be found performing jazz, German cabaret, and Judeo-Spanish Ladino music, as well as fusion and funk.

In addition to conducting, Michael is in demand as a pianist and organist, with regular appearances in Central London venues, especially at St Martin-in-the-Fields. He lives in London with his wife, Gwendolen, and their two children.