Thomas Allery
Harpsichord, Organ
Thomas is a director, harpsichordist and organist based in London. He is a specialist in continuo practice, and is also in demand as a conductor, acclaimed for his vivid communication and dynamic conducting style. In 2018, Thomas was appointed Director of Music at the famous city church of St Mary-le-Bow Church, London, where he directs a team of professional singers providing music for liturgical worship and for the services of City Livery companies. He also holds the position of Assistant Director of Music at London’s Temple Church, where he directs the Temple Singers and the educational programme.
Having initially studied Music at the University of Oxford, he graduated with distinction from the Masters programme at the Royal College of Music in 2014. In 2018 he was awarded a scholarship to study for an Artist Diploma at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His teachers have included Stephen Farr, William Whitehead, Margaret Phillips and Terence Charlston. He currently studies harpsichord with Carole Cerasi and James Johnstone.
Thomas is in regular demand as a continuo player on organ and harpsichord, and is the regular continuo player of award-winning chamber ensemble, Ensemble Hesperi. With this group, he has performed at numerous leading UK festivals, presenting a collaborative programme (funded by Arts Council England) showcasing Scottish Baroque Music with Highland dance. With Ensemble Hesperi, Thomas is also a ‘Live Music Now’ artist, delivering regular workshops in care homes, day centres and SEND schools across the UK. In 2014-15, Thomas was a Junior Fellow in Harpsichord and Continuo at the Royal College of Music, and in 2019, he was selected as a Britten-Pears young artist, performing Bach cantatas under the direction of Philippe Herreweghe at Snape Maltings. Thomas is passionate about teaching figured bass and continuo and is undertaking research into how seventeenth and eighteenth centuries continuo treatises can be adapted for use in keyboard education today. Thomas currently teaches basso continuo in the Historical Performance department at the Royal College of Music.
