International Womens Day 2025: Shining A Spotlight On Truro Cathedral's Female Organ Scholars - Carolyn Craig
International Women's Day (IWD) has been around for over a hundred years, as have many of the issues still impacting women's advancement. Since 1911, IWD belongs to all who care about women's equality, celebrate women's achievement, raise awareness about discrimination and take action to forge gender parity.
We want to shine a spotlight on our fantastic female organ scholars of the past and the great work that they're doing now. We spoke to Carolyn Craig, who served as organ scholar at Truro Cathedral from 2018-19.
Tell us a bit about you, and what your current musical activities are:
I’m originally from Knoxville, Tennessee, and am thrilled to be the assistant director of music at Wells Cathedral as of April 2024. I’m also a junior fellow of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, where I’m honoured to be part of the academic community as a resource to the students there and to pursue my own projects with the support of the faculty, and I teach organ at Wells Cathedral School. I first came to the UK as organ scholar of Truro Cathedral (2018-2019, following a Bachelor of Music at Indiana University), and fell in love with my work and with the incredibly stimulating musical environment I found in Truro. Following my organ scholar year, I went back to the US to pursue graduate degrees at Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music before returning to the UK for organ scholarships at Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. It’s absolutely incredible that I get to perform and teach in such a life-giving cathedral community in Wells, and I’m very grateful to Truro for giving me the bug!
What did you learn from being Organ Scholar at Truro, and how has it shaped your music-making?
This answer is in two halves: musical know-how and life know-how.
Musically, I learned a great deal from watching Chris [Gray] and Joseph [Wicks] work with the choirs and from being thrown in the deep end training the probationers, with Chris and Joseph’s constant support. As an organist, I benefited from coachings with Chris and Joseph, detailed marked copies outlining every registration for every choral piece, which gave me a framework for how things ought to sound and trained me to use the organ well, and of course from the 1870 Willis [organ]. I also learned how to support organ scholars in their playing and in their choir training, and I’m glad to get to pass that on now.
In terms of life know-how, I was so inspired by the can-do attitude I found in Truro. In my previous musical experiences, I’d been taught how to do things in a very specific way before I approached any project. In Truro, there is an attitude of endless possibility, of taking on something you don’t know how to do and figuring it out. As a person, being emboldened to tackle things I didn’t already know how to do in a professional context has been absolutely transformative. Chris was also an incredible mentor and source of wisdom, with gems like “figure out how you work best and fit your work pattern to that” and “learn how to say no when you don’t have scope to take on a project.” All good life lessons!
Are there things you’ve found difficult about forging a career as a woman in what is still a male-dominated area?
To be honest, I’ve felt really supported in most environments. I don’t think my gender really factors in to my day-to-day work, and when people say I play sensitively/not like men, I try to use that as an educational moment - regardless of gender, we all play in the way that the liturgy demands. I just try to be the best musician I can be.
I do know that women tend to put themselves forward for promotions less than men do, for example, and I think that ties into our mindsets about what we think we can do and how we embrace what we don’t have a framework for knowing how to do. But I’m grateful to Truro for helping me shift how I think about the unknown.
Have you got any advice for women thinking about going into music /cathedral music?
Go for it! Be the best musician you can be. Sometimes people are so encouraging, you have to guard against being lazy. Sometimes people are so discouraging, you have to get away from those people. But just be the best musician you can be, and the world as a whole is totally receptive.
International Women's Day 2025
Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that's diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge gender equality. Collectively for #IWD2025 we can all #AccelerateAction.