Charles Francis is a British organist who is establishing an exciting reputation as a young performer. He has performed extensively across the UK, with appearances at Westminster Abbey; St Paul’s Cathedral; Sinfonia Smith Square; St John’s College, Cambridge; Magdalene College, Oxford; Victoria Hall, Hanley; St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham and St Alban’s Cathedral as part of the International Organ Festival. Charles has also given concerts in Canada, Germany and the USA. His playing has been broadcast on both British and American radio – the latter featuring a live performance for the nationally broadcast show ‘Pipedreams’.

 

Charles won first prizes in the IAO/RCO Organ Playing Competition (2022) and the Dame Gillian Weir Messiaen Competition (2019). Additionally, he has been awarded the Silver Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians (2022) as well as the Dr. James B. Cochran Endowed Organ Prize (2025). Charles is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists.

 

Charles is currently a student at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he studies with Prof. Nathan Laube. He completed master’s studies at Eastman in 2025, and now continues under Prof. Laube in pursuance of a Doctorate in Musical Arts (DMA). His undergraduate studies were at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, where his teachers were Daniel Moult and Nicholas Wearne.