Composer

Biography

Katherine Dienes, MA, BMus, FRCO, Hon. ARSCM was appointed Director of Music at the Collegiate Church of St. Mary in Warwick in September 2001, when she became the first-ever female member to be elected to the Cathedral Organists’ Association.

Katherine was born and educated in Wellington, New Zealand, and studied for a BA in Modern Languages and a BMus at Victoria University, Wellington. Katherine was Organ Scholar at Wellington Cathedral from 1988 to 1991 when she was appointed Assistant Organist there.

She is active as a composer. Treble Clef Music Press publishes much of her treble voice repertoire in the United States of America. Other choral compositions, such as her setting of ‘Jesu dulcis memoria’, have been performed widely both in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Recent commissions have included a Christmas carol ‘Nativity’ commissioned by Choros, a work for violoncello and piano for the Warwick Festival. On 7 May 2006, ’Hannah’s Song’, a major work for women’s chorus and chamber orchestra, was premiered in Washington DC. Future projects include three unaccompanied choral works for ‘Anon’, a New Zealand chamber choir and an a cappella Mass setting. Her composition ‘Ave verum’, performed recently in Exeter College, Oxford by the New Zealand Graduate Choir, was described by one reviewer as follows: “But most moving of all was an Ave Verum Corpus from Katherine Dienes, now music director at St Mary’s, Warwick.”

Katherine is a regular guest workshop leader for the Royal School of Church Music in the UK and the USA. During the past sixteen years, Katherine has given several organ recitals in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Germany, U.S.A., Bermuda, the Netherlands, Australia and Singapore. She has performed as organ soloist with both the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the Halle.

Katherine has studied choral training with David Hill, Chorusmaster to the Bach Choir in London, and Patrick Russill at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she took part in the Church Music Studies Course. She holds a Master of Arts in Music and Liturgy from Leeds University.

Her work at the Collegiate Church of St. Mary broadly involves directing both the Choir of men and boys choir and the Girls’ Choir in the church, planning and leading all music in worship (there are four choral services each week as well as many extra services and special events) and developing the music programme at St. Mary’s, including directing the choral society connected to the church, Collegium. Other interests include languages (her BA is in French and German), travel, reading and swimming. She is a Knight of the Grand Order of Vitez and a Knight of the Order of St. Ladislau (Hungary).

Katherine is married to Patrick Williams, Librarian to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London. Katherine and Patrick have a daughter, Hannah.