Marnus Greyling
Marnus Greyling obtained a BMus degree cum laude from the University of Pretoria, studying organ performance with Wim Viljoen – a former student of Marie-Claire Alain and Jean Langlais. He completed a Master of Music degree at the University of Cambridge (Jesus College, 2017), receiving a Cambridge Instrumental Award for organ, and studied organ with Gordon Stewart, while working closely with Christopher Robinson on Anglican choral music as organ scholar of Downing College. Other teachers during this time include Sarah MacDonald, Graham Ross, Stephen Cleobury, Andrew Nethsingha, and Stephen Layton. Marnus was subsequently organ scholar at St Albans Cathedral in the United Kingdom, sharing all playing duties, playing for live BBC radio broadcasts, acting as principal accompanist to the Abbey Girl’s Choir, and directing the Abbey Singers. He toured with the choir to Sweden in 2018. He was also accompanist to the St Albans Bach Choir, performing large scale works, such as the Brahms Requiem with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Marnus has performed extensively in his native country South Africa, in England, Wales, as well as in Sweden, Lithuania and the United States. He is a guest conductor and organist for Vox Cantab, a UK based choir made up of former Cambridge choral scholars and has performed with them several times, most recently at St David’s Cathedral, Wales.
Marnus has performed extensively in his native country South Africa, in England, Wales, as well as in Sweden, Lithuania and the United States. He is a guest conductor and organist for Vox Cantab, a UK based choir made up of former Cambridge choral scholars and has performed with them several times, most recently at St David’s Cathedral, Wales.
He was the top prize winner in the national organ competitions of SAKOV (Southern African Concert Organist’s Society) each year from 2011-2015. He won the Pretorium Trust Bursary competition for piano (2012) and received top prizes in the ATKV national music competition for organ (2015 and 2016). Marnus has had masterclasses with Martin Haselböck (Austria), Daniel Roth (France), Clive Driskill- Smith (UK/USA), Mark Williams (UK), Simon Lindley (UK) and Frédéric Blanc (France). He has performed at various international music festivals. In 2020 Marnus organised the first Johannesburg English Music Festival, in collaboration with this UK based festival.
Before recently coming to the United States, he was the university organist of the University of South Africa, director of the jazz vocal a cappella group The Parktown Singers, assistant director of the Symphony Choir of Johannesburg, chairman of the RSCM Northern Branch, and Director of Music at the historic St George’s Anglican Church Parktown. Recordings of his solo performances, and collaborative work with singers and orchestras regularly feature on Southern African radio stations and television. Marnus is on the executive board of SAKOV, a member of the AGO, the Association of Anglican Musicians (AAM), and the St Wilfrid’s Club, a New York city based organists club. He is currently Director of Music at St Barnabas Episcopal in Greenwich, CT, with its highly regarded choral tradition, and renowned Richards, Fowkes & C0. Opus One pipe organ.
Marnus is fluent in Afrikaans and English, while also speaking German and Dutch. He has a great interest in history, particularly archeology, and enjoys traveling and meeting new people and cultures.