ABOUT
Learn more about music at St John the Divine in the video below:
Music has been at the heart of our worship for many years. We have several choirs, including over eighty children and thirty adults, who sing for our Masses and Evensongs.
Our music programme has been building links with St John's College Cambridge - our children's choirs attend a residential summer school there every July, and they help to fund organ scholarships at St John the Divine for our young people.
Please explore the music links to find out more about our different groups.
Our music twitter feed is here.
Follow us on Instagram here and check out our feed below:
Music Staff
Click on images to learn more about our music team
Joe Tobin
Director of Music
Joe is a prize-winning conductor, composer, singer and teacher. He works with many leading professional and amateur ensembles in the UK and internationally. In addition to his role as Director of Music at St John the Divine church in Kennington, Joe holds the positions of Musical Director at the Newbury Choral Society and Penshurst Choral Society, and is the Founder and Musical Director of the professional choir, the Lerion Consort.
Joe was first introduced to music as a chorister of St James the Greater church, Leicester. He read music at the University of York and founded Animas, a student chamber choir that continues its leading role in the department today. He proceeded to the world-leading choral conducting postgraduate course at the Royal Academy of Music under the tutelage of Patrick Russill.
In addition to his conducting career, Joe is a dedicated educator. He has been a regular visiting teacher of singing, conducting, and musicianship at the Junior Academy, and is a strong advocate for musical education and equality. His students have gone on to secure scholarships at leading schools, colleges, universities, and conservatoires.
He was previously Director of Music at St Thomas of Canterbury Church, Brentwood from 2020-2024.
Edward Picton-Turbervill
Organist and Keyboard Teacher
Edward was organ scholar at St John's College, Cambridge, graduating with a First in Music and obtaining the FRCO in his final year. He has also studied piano accompaniment at Guildhall, graduating with distinction and the concert recital diploma. He has a long-standing interest in teaching, having worked in choral education and outreach on over thirty choral courses, and he was Head of Music at Atlantic College from 2018-2021. He is proud to have been associated with St John the Divine for over ten years, and has written a great deal of music for the choir in that period.
Anna Cooper
Music Department Coordinator
Alongside her work at St John the Divine, Anna is a freelance singer and teacher. She studied Music at the University of Cambridge, where she was a Choral Scholar, Musical Director of an a cappella group, and President of her College’s Music Society. She takes a keen interest in youth music education, and particularly music outreach.
