Nigel Poole

Composer

Nigel Poole is a composer and church musician in Canberra, Australia. He studied pipe organ and piano throughout his school years in the 1960s and developed an interest in composition at an early age. But early thoughts of becoming a professional church organist were abandoned after he went on to spend a lengthy period between the 1970s and the 1990s playing piano and keyboards on cruise ships and in resort hotels.

Then, in the late 1990s, while playing in the tourist resorts of tropical north Queensland, Nigel completed an Arts degree through Australia’s University of New England (UNE), incorporating strands of Musicology, German and Computer Science.

Following this, he moved to Canberra to work in the field of information and communications technology. At the same time, his enthusiasm for classical music was re-ignited and he became active once again as a church musician in Canberra, playing the organ and singing with choirs. He also resumed composing.

Nigel gained his CRCO diploma (Colleague of the Royal College of Organists) in 2014. In 2022, he graduated once again from UNE with a Bachelor of Music, with a major focus on composition.

Nigel’s compositional style aims to be melodic and accessible, while incorporating elements of modern harmony and rhythm.