Short Biography
Dr John Wells
As the first and only New Zealand musician in history to live primarily as a free-lance professional organist, Wells has won over audiences throughout the country and abroad with the skill of his playing, the variety of his programmes and the engaging way he relates to his audiences.
English-born John Wells is a graduate of Cambridge University where he was organ scholar at King's College Chapel under Sir David Willcocks. He received his organ doctorate with high distinction from Indiana University after studies with Dr Oswald Ragatz. He is well-known to New Zealand audiences as a concert performer, composer, recording artist and teacher. Tours have taken him to Australia, England, Poland, Germany, France and North America.
Dr Wells is Organist to the University of Auckland, Visiting Artist-Tutor at the School of Music and Organist for Musica Sacra; he is also Auckland City Organist and has played a key role in the successful campaign to rebuild the Town Hall organ. He is a past-President of the New Zealand Association of Organists which elected him an honorary Fellow in 2002 for his services to organ music in New Zealand. He has made seven CDs including the very first New Zealand organ CD in 1989, and has recorded the entire Well-Tempered Clavier of Bach on the organ. He is much in demand as a composer and also tours to the Far East regularly as a music examiner.
