David Hicken
David Hicken is an organist, composer, pianist, and recording artist whose artistry unites commanding virtuosity with a vivid musical imagination and a deeply expressive sense of storytelling. Both performer and creator, he brings a distinctive contemporary voice to the traditions of the piano and organ, creating original works that combine technical brilliance with emotional depth and narrative power.
Raised in a musical family, David began piano lessons at the age of three with his mother, a piano teacher, and later studied clarinet and organ. By the age of sixteen, he had achieved Grade 8 with distinction in piano, organ, clarinet, and music theory through the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, later earning the Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music. His formative years were shaped by both the great piano repertoire and the English cathedral tradition, where the scale of sacred spaces and the dramatic voice of the organ left a lasting artistic imprint.
A three-time prize winner at the Oundle International Organ Festival and a laureate of the Huddersfield Organ Festival, David later received a major music scholarship to Stowe School. His early career included performances at St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Cathedral in London, the cathedrals of Chester and Newcastle, and St George’s Chapel, Windsor. He has appeared as concerto soloist with the Oxford Symphony Orchestra in England and the Westchester Symphony Orchestra in Los Angeles, earning recognition for both expressive depth and technical command.
After studies in London with Nicholas Danby, David continued his training in the United States at Peabody Conservatory of Music, where his artistry quickly attracted international attention. A symphonic appearance as featured soloist led to a two-album recording contract, bringing his work to a global audience.
David later served as Director of Music at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills. During a decade in Hawaii, he conducted major choral-orchestral works including Gloria and Magnificat, further establishing his reputation as both performer and musical leader.
As a composer, his published choral work Adoramus te has received international performances, including at Vatican City, Notre-Dame Cathedral, Carnegie Hall, and Canterbury Cathedral. Alongside his choral writing, he has composed an extensive catalogue of piano and organ music that has attracted performers and listeners throughout the world.
Today, David is recognised for forging a distinctive voice in contemporary classical music. His compositions for piano and organ draw on the structural clarity of Baroque counterpoint, the emotional breadth of the Romantic tradition, and a modern cinematic sense of atmosphere and narrative. From intimate piano miniatures and lyrical nocturnes to thunderous organ toccatas and large-scale concert works, his music spans a wide expressive range while remaining immediately accessible and deeply communicative.
He creates and records from his studio in northern Thailand, where the surrounding landscape and solitude inform the expansive character of his work. Whether performing on his concert grand piano or at the organ, he combines traditional musicianship with modern recording techniques to capture exceptional detail, colour, and expression, reaching a global audience through recordings, publications, and digital releases.
Through these recordings and platforms, David has built a substantial international following, with tens of millions of video views and a rapidly growing audience. His piano and organ works are performed by musicians worldwide who seek repertoire that is both compelling to listeners and deeply rewarding to play.