Ark Voicing Ltd

Formed in 2015 to provide organ building services, specialist skills in the area of tonal design and voicing, and new organ building.

I have been organ building for 25 years though my interest began many years before as an organist in the south of England.

In 2000 I joined the workshop of Kenneth Tickell and Company in Northampton (UK) and remained there for the next 17 years. After several years undertaking all aspects of new organ building I became head voicer with responsibility for voicing and finishing new instruments.

Ark was started in 2015 to make it possible for me to work with more clients on a wider range of projects. Although Ark is based in Northampton (UK) I am able to work anywhere in the world.

I have an honours degree in Acoustics and Music (BSc) from the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research (ISVR) at the University of Southampton, UK.

I have been responsible for voicing and tonal finishing around 30 new organs, as well as carrying out tonal work for the restoration of fine historic instruments. Organ building projects have taken me to various countries including France, Germany, Italy, Sicily, Norway, Japan and Australia.

Since starting Ark I have worked on tonal restorations of the large 1911 Steinmeyer organ in Mannheim, Germany (for Orgelbau Lenter) and the 1745 Engler organ, enlarged by Rieger-Kloss, in Olomouc, Czech Republic (for Skrabl).

Some large projects while head voicer for Kenneth Tickell include voicing new organs for:

 

  • Manchester Cathedral

  • St John’s School Leatherhead 

  • Downing College Cambridge

  • Rikkyo Gakuin Tokyo

  • St Mary’s RC Cathedral Newcastle

  • St John’s College University of Queensland

  • Keble College Oxford

  • St Mary le Bow London

  • Lincoln’s Inn Chapel London

  • Latymer School Hammersmith

  • Worcester Cathedral

  • St Mary the Less Cambridge

  • Cheltenham Ladies College

  • Sherborne Abbey

 

Please contact Simon to discuss your latest project.