Music

Biography

Praised for his “virtuoso piano playing” and his ability to leave audiences “spellbound” (ClassicSA), as well as his “clean, clear and elegant” performances (American Record Guide), Bradley Burgess is one of today’s few concert artists who can move seamlessly between the piano bench and organ console.

He has appeared in recital in many major venues of his home country of South Africa, as well as in the UK, Finland, and across the United States, including performances at Church of the Transfiguration (New York, NY), Third Baptist Church (St. Louis, MO), St. Peter’s Church (Long Island, NY), Rutgers University (Camden, NJ), Woolsey Hall (New Haven, CT), St. George’s Cathedral, Baxter Concert Hall (Cape Town, South Africa), and King’s Chapel (Boston, MA).

Highly in demand as an accompanist, recent collaborations include Choral Evensong with the choir of St. Michael's, Raleigh and the Schola Cantorum of the Diocese of East Carolina, as well as the Raleigh Convocation Choir. As an educator he has taught at several music schools and academies, and served as a chamber music coach for North Carolina Chamber Music Institute in Raleigh, NC.

As a liturgical musician, he has served as Assistant Organist at Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral (Raleigh, NC), Lay Associate for Music at Church of the Nativity (Raleigh, NC), Director of Music & Organist at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church (Islip, NY), Minister of Music at Middlebury Congregational Church (Middlebury, CT), and Associate Director of Music and Worship Arts at Edenton Street United Methodist Church (Raleigh, NC).

After a successful Indigogo campaign in 2024, Bradley released his first album, the complete Orgelbüchlein of J. S. Bach ­— recorded on the beautiful 2023 Paul Fritts Op. 43 organ at St. Thomas's Church (Terrace Park, OH) — released under the RavenCD label. The album was praised in The American Record Guide and was featured on Pipedreams #2522: The Creative Spirit, and on The King of Instruments: Bach's 340th, and is regularly played on Organroxx. The album is available to stream on all major platforms, and available to purchase from RavenCD.

Bradley holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in piano and organ from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, the University of Cape Town, and Yale University’s Institute of Sacred Music and School of Music, where he was awarded the Julie B. Sherman Prize for excellence in organ playing. While at Yale, he served as Organ Scholar at Marquand Chapel (Yale Divinity School) and Organist for Berkeley Divinity School. He has also been the recipient of First Prize at the Fine Music Radio / Pick ‘n Pay 101.3 Music Awards, the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust Bursary, and a generous grant from the National Arts Council of South Africa.