Chaplain: The Reverend Canon Roger Hall LVO MBE
After growing up in Shropshire, the Reverend Canon Roger Hall MBE attended school in Liverpool before training for the priesthood in Lincoln. Having spent his curacy back in Shropshire, Canon Hall joined the British Army as a chaplain in 1987. He spent most of the first twelve years of his army career as an operational chaplain, serving in places such as Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo and East Timor. For two years, Canon Hall was chaplain to the Household Division and the Guards Chapel, which he describes as both 'an interesting and demanding time'. After that posting, he returned to Germany as Senior Chaplain before being appointed Assistant Chaplain General, which led to four years in Edinburgh. During his time as an Army Chaplain, in 1993 he was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service and in 1997 he was appointed MBE. In 2025 he was further appointed Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO), an honour in the personal gift of the monarch.
In 2007, having resigned his Commission, Canon Hall became a chaplain to the late Queen and Chaplain to HM Tower of London. As well as his role at HM Tower of London, he was Chaplain to Bacon's College (a city Academy) until 2019, and is still Chaplain to five livery companies, the East India Club and the Order of Gallantry. He is Patron of Veterans’ Voluntary Service (VVS) and was a Trustee of Chapter 1 - a national housing trust based in the City of London.
He was married to Barbara for 47 years and they had three grown up children and six grandchildren. Barbara sadly died in February 2025. Canon Hall supports Liverpool Football Club, skis and loves good food, wine, books and music. He drives a mature Morgan. Travelling and interesting conversation also come high on his list of priorities.
Assistant Priest: The Reverend Cortland Fransella
The Reverend Cortland Fransella grew up in Croydon before going up to Cambridge University to read Modern and Mediaeval Languages, after which he served in HM Diplomatic service for 40 years. In 1998, towards the end of his diplomatic career, he was ordained, spending the next 14 years in parish ministry in North London before moving to the Tower in 2012. In 2019 he was appointed a Deputy Priest in Ordinary to HM Queen Elizabeth II and is now a Deputy Priest in ordinary to HM King Charles III. He is also Honorary Chaplain to 16F Squadron (Wood Green and Hornsey) Royal Air Force Air Cadets.
Since 1998 he has acquired an MA in Philosophy and Religion from the then Heythrop College, University of London and a BSc and MSc in Psychology from the Open University.
He and his wife Laura live in North London and spend a lot of time going to the theatre and to classical concerts. Their family live nearby and they enjoy looking after their two grandsons. Both he and Laura, who used to work for the Open University, are passionate advocates of life-long learning. Cortland volunteers for an educational charity called IntoUniversity which aims to level the playing field for children from disadvantaged backgrounds who aspire to go to university or into other further education.
Master of Music: Colm Carey
Colm Carey is one of a handful of distinctive concert organists who have set out to promote the instrument in a fresh way, widening its appeal through imaginative programming and stimulating outreach work. That he has emerged as a respected and acclaimed performer is testimony to his dedicated mission not only to champion the instrument's remarkable breadth of repertoire but also to devise projects involving exciting performing and recording collaborations with other musicians.
Born in Dublin, Colm studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève. Winning top performing awards with distinction at both institutions, his numerous appearances, both live and recorded, in the UK and Ireland formed strong foundations for his subsequent solo performances in Europe, Australia, Canada and the USA.
As a recording artist, Colm has produced a number of solo and chamber CDs, and he was the featured organist on Paul McCartney’s classical album, Ecce Cor Meum, which premièred at the Albert Hall in London (available on DVD) and the Carnegie Hall in New York. His interpretation of Bach’s The Art of Fugue has been admired for its originality and scholarship.
Since 2003 Colm has been Belfast City Organist. As well as giving recitals on the Mulholland Grand Organ in the Ulster Hall, he has performed many concerti – including Poulenc, Parker, Handel, Haydn, Rheinberger, Jongen, Leighton and Guilmant - with the Ulster Orchestra. In 2005 he presented four programmes on the history of the organ for BBC radio. Under his stewardship the Ulster Hall runs an outreach programme to introduce the organ to new audiences and through further collaboration the international PIPEWORKS Festival held the final of its competition in the Ulster Hall in June 2014.
In addition to his role as Belfast City Organist and his freelance work, Colm is Master of Music of the Chapels Royal, HM Tower of London. Under his direction the choir provides music for the weekly services in the Chapels as well as for special events – including the visit of the Queen in 2014 – in the two historic Chapels Royal. He has toured with the choir to South Africa, Italy and Ireland, and as well as releasing a CD of music inspired by the Psalms of David the choir has broadcast on several occasions, most notably to all the countries in the Commonwealth on Christmas Day 2011.
You can follow Colm Carey on Twitter here: @ColmCareyMusic .
Acting Assistant Master of Music: Dan Greenway
I am honoured to have been asked to step in as Acting Assistant Master of the Music in such a historic chapel, in a place steeped in nearly a millennium of national history. I am very much looking forward to working with Colm and the choir and getting to know the chapel community.
Originally hailing from Liverpool, my formative musical training was as a chorister in its Anglican Cathedral. While singing in its cavernous surroundings I heard the almost 11,000 pipes of the mighty Willis organ thundering away. Soon I was hooked. During my time in the choir, I began organ lessons and was later the cathedral’s organ scholar in the 2020-21 year under the tutelage of the Cathedral organist, Ian Tracey. As well as taking a keen interest in the organ, I trained as a pianist and took up a scholarship to be a junior exhibitioner at the Royal Northern College of Music. This was integral training for my next steps: embarking upon a Music degree at Keble College, Oxford. There, I combined the Music degree with the responsibility of being a chapel organ scholar, playing and conducting regularly for the chapel services.
At Oxford, I was immersed in the musical culture of the University and the city, playing frequently for recitals around the various colleges. I was also much in demand as a piano accompanist. In addition to this, I held the position of organist at Campion Hall and was the principal accompanist to the Oxford Bach Choir. In this latter position, I was given the opportunity to play with some of Britain’s best and well-known orchestras, which I greatly enjoyed. Last year, I was the Organ Scholar at Westminster Cathedral, where I played for daily liturgies and gave solo recitals. A particular highlight was accompanying the Cathedral Choir on tour across the United States as their principal organist.
After many years in the choral world, I felt a strong desire to return to piano accompaniment. As an undergraduate, I had enjoyed performing continuo in Early Music festivals, including productions of Handel and Purcell operas, and enjoyed being part of a company. In contrast, liturgical music, while still very rewarding, offers fewer opportunities for deep engagement with larger-scale works. So, to broaden my horizons as a musician, I have decided to study the art of being a repetiteur for opera at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. I will be doing this in tandem with my work at the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula.
Outside of music, I take a keen interest in urban history, and have a healthy appreciation of nature, often enjoying listening to podcasts on long country walks. When back in my home city, I can be found on the Kop at Anfield watching my beloved Reds.
Others:
Chapel Administrator: Debbie Corbett
Finance Officer: Richard Cushing
Chapel Music Friends: Rosemarie McGurk
Safeguarding Officer: Anna Kimber Deputy Governor / Head of Operations