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BIOGRAPHY

Sheet Music Over Piano

In addition to his work as a composer and arranger, Simon has wide experience as a choral singer, having sung with the BBC Symphony Chorus, the New London Chamber Choir, Epsom Chamber Choir

and currently Vox Chamber Choir in Farnham.

He has sung in church choirs all his life and was until recently Director of Music and organist at

St Matthew's Church in Surbiton.

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He was awarded the LRSM Diploma in piano performance in 2009.

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Simon has composed music over many years. In September 2024 his entry for the inaugural PRISM International Psalm Chant Competition was chosen as the winner out of over 60 entries. (The chant can be found and downloaded on the Original Compositions page).

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His arrangement of the folk song 'O Waly Waly' for flugelhorn and piano features on the recent debut album 'Connection' by trumpeter Imogen Whitehead and can be heard here, where the score is available as a free download. It was broadcast twice, performed by Imogen and pianist Patrick Milne, on BBC Radio 3's In Tune programme in May 2025.

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In 2019 Simon was one of the six finalists out of over 400 entrants in the 2019 Radio 3 Christmas Carol Competition with his setting of Imtiaz Dharker's 'Go to the child'. The carol has been published by Goodmusic and is available to buy here

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Simon is a House Composer for Church Organ World and currently has six pieces in print with them. The various organ albums are available here

His 'Festival Toccata' was published by Beauty in Sound in their 2023 album 'Veni Creator' (now sold out, but available on the Original Compositions page).

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​His Christmas choral piece 'Welcome Jesus, child of Mary' to words by Michael Perry is published by Jubilate and can be found here

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He had music performed at the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music in 2019 and 2023. 

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In the 1990s Simon won the Dorothy L Sayers Society's competition, adjudicated by Stephen Cleobury, to set Sayers' poem 'The Three Kings', which was performed by the choir of Canterbury Cathedral and

broadcast on Classic FM. ​

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Simon has composed hymns and worship songs for church use, and has also written two school cantatas, Call me Adam, based on the Creation story, and Job the Just,

a re-telling of the biblical book of Job.

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©2020 by Simon Hancock. Created with Wix.com

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