The
Father Willis organ of 1887 is widely regarded as one of the finest instruments in the country. "It is not easy, even today, to think how the magnificence of the Willis organ in Truro Cathedral could be improved" wrote W. L. Sumner in his 1952 book
The Organ. It was built in 1887 in London and arrived in Cornwall by boat. It has an almost identical specification to the organ he built a year earlier for the then parish church of St Michael, Coventry (later
Coventry Cathedral). Both instruments have the standard Willis hallmarks—tierce mixtures on Great and Swell, characterful
gedackts on the Choir, and a small but telling pedal division. Apart from the addition of the electric blower in the 1920s, no major work was done until 1963, when the
grandson of the original builder carried out a conservative restoration, at a cost of some £17,000. Before this time, the
organ console was situated high up within the main case of the instrument, necessitating a walk of two or three minutes up a spiral staircase in the north transept. The action was a mixture of Barker lever, pneumatic and tracker. There were very few playing aids and contact between the organist and choir, some below, would have been almost impossible. In 1963, the organ committee decided to keep the original tonal scheme and voicing, and move the console over on to the south side in a new gallery placed above the choir stalls to a design by the architect John Phillips. Here the organist can hear the instrument properly, and maintain close contact with the choir. The other main organ in the cathedral is a two-manual instrument in St Mary's aisle, the sole remnant of the former parish church. It was originally built by
Renatus Harris and was installed in Truro in 1750 by John Byfield. It was re-installed in the temporary church in 1880, but was significantly rebuilt and reduced in size in 1887 for installation in its current location. There is also a four-stop continuo organ by Kenneth Tickell. In 2012,
Tim Rice backed the 125-year anniversary appeal to support Truro Cathedral's choir and music.
Organists ;Organist and Master of the Choristers • 1876 William Mitchell • 1881
George Robertson Sinclair (later organist of
Hereford Cathedral: the
G. R. S. of
Elgar's
Enigma Variations) • 1890
Mark James Monk • 1920
Hubert Stanley Middleton (later organist of
Ely Cathedral and
Trinity College, Cambridge) • 1926
John Dykes Bower (afterwards organist of
New College Oxford;
Durham Cathedral; and
St Paul's Cathedral;
knighted 1968) • 1929 Francis
Guillaume Ormond • 1971
John Charles Winter (later Organist Emeritus) • 1989
David Briggs (later organist of
Gloucester Cathedral and currently artist-in-residence at the
Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. • 1994
Andrew Nethsingha (currently director of music at
Westminster Abbey) • 2002 Robert Sharpe (currently director of music at
York Minster) • 2008
Christopher Gray (currently director of music at
St. John's College, Cambridge) • 2023
James Anderson-Besant ;Assistant Organists •
Ivor Atkins 1885–1886 (later assistant organist of
Hereford Cathedral and organist of
Worcester Cathedral;
knighted 1921) • Frederick C. Thomas until 1896 • Frederick Rowland Tims 1902–1907 (later organist of
Croydon Minster) • William Stanley Sutton 1907–1911 • Mr Hall 1911 • Donald Behenna •
Gerald Hocken Knight 1922–1926 (later organist of
Canterbury Cathedral and Director of the Royal School of Church Music) • Arthur William Baines 1933-1938 (afterwards organist and director of music at
King's College, Taunton) • Robert Strong ca. 1948 •
John Charles Winter 1950 – 1971 (later Organist and Organist Emeritus) • Henry Doughty 1971–1991 • Simon Morley 1991–2000 (currently organist and director of music at St John's Episcopal Church, Tampa, Florida) •
Christopher Gray 2000–2008 (later Organist) •
Luke Bond 2008–2017 (currently assistant director of music of
St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle) • Joseph Wicks 2017–2019 • Michael Butterfield 2019-2020 (currently organist of
Marlborough College) • Andrew Wyatt 2020– (Former Assistant Organist at Hexham Abbey) ;Organ Scholars •
Luke Bond 1998–1999 (later Assistant Organist 2008–2017) • Christopher Teel 1999–2000 (currently director of music at Christ The Servant Lutheran Church, Houston, Texas) • Andrew Senn 2000–2001 (currently director of music at The First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, and organist for Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania) • Nicholas Wearne 2001–2002 (later assistant organist at
St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh (Episcopal) and
St Martin-in-the-Fields, London) • Michael Phillips 2002 (later director of music and organist at St Luke's Episcopal Church, Dallas, Texas, currently organist at Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Austin, Texas) • Tom Wilkinson 2003–2004 (currently organist at
University of St Andrews) • Claire Cousens 2004–2005 • Tom Little 2005–2006 (currently director of music at
Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin) • David Moore 2006–2007 (later assistant director of music at
St John-at-Hampstead Parish Church, London) • Shiloh Roby 2007–2008 (later organ scholar of
St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, currently associate director of music at
Christ Church Cathedral, Cincinnati) • Joshua Hales 2008–2009 (later organ scholar at
Exeter College, Oxford and
Salisbury Cathedral, later still assistant director of music at
Sheffield Cathedral) • Donald Hunt 2009–2010 (currently assistant organist at
St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh (Episcopal)) • Sachin Gunga 2010–2011 (currently sub-organist at
Portsmouth Cathedral) • Edward Symington 2011–2012 (afterwards organ scholar at
Westminster Cathedral) • Harry Meehan 2012–2013 (afterwards organ scholar at
The Queen's College, Oxford and later assistant organist at
Christ Church Cathedral, Christchurch, New Zealand) • Rachel Mahon 2013–2014 (currently director of music at
Coventry Cathedral) • James Orford 2014–2015 (later organ scholar at
St Paul's Cathedral, organist and assistant director of music at
St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge, currently organist of
St Paul's Cathedral) • Joseph O’Berry 2015–2016 (currently assistant director of music at the
Cathedral of St. John in the Wilderness, Denver, Colorado) • Käthe Wright Kaufman 2016–2017 (later organ scholar at
Peterborough Cathedral, currently associate director of music and worship arts at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church and Chapel Organist at the Candler School of Theology, Emory University campus, Atlanta, Georgia) • William Fairbairn 2017–2018 (currently assistant director of music at
St Marylebone Parish Church, London) • Carolyn Craig 2018–2019 (currently assistant director of music at
Wells Cathedral) • Manuel Piazza 2019–2020 (currently assistant director of music at
St. Thomas's Anglican Church (Toronto) Canada) • Alden Wright 2021–2022 (currently director of music at Christ Episcopal Church of Pittsford, NY) • Tom Dilley 2022–2023 • Jeremiah Mead 2023–2024 • Jeremy Wan 2024-2025 • Alfie Beston 2025- ==Bells==