Director of Music
Emma Trounson
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Emma was appointed as Director of Music at Saint James the Greater in May 2022 and is also Musical Director of Fosse Singers, Semper Singers, Corah (female vocal ensemble) and SoundCafe Choir (for homeless and vulnerably housed people). She was formerly Director of Music at All Saints with Holy Trinity, Loughborough.
As a solo and choral soprano, Emma has enjoyed television and radio appearances. She studied at the University of Bristol and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama for an MA in Choral Conducting.
Emma now lives in Anstey with her husband Mark (also a professional musician) and their young son Henry. They are all rugby fans and have season tickets for Leicester Tigers!
Organist and Director of St James Singers
Michael Rule
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Michael Rule is Associate Minister at St James, but also plays the organ and directs St James Singers.
Mike first visited St James the Greater in 1999 and was instantly hooked by the beautiful music, liturgy and building. This led him on a path as a church musician and organist which continued whilst studying at university where he sang in the choir at Bath Abbey and was appointed Assistant Organist at Christ Church, Bath. He returned to Leicester in 2007 and has been back at St James ever since, most recently being licensed as Associate Minister at Pentecost 2024.
He is a teacher by day, follows the Leicester Tigers, loves to cook (and eat!) and is the guitarist in a rock band.
Organist
Phil Johnson
Phil's musical life started as a chorister in Nuneaton at the age of six, singing in his local church choir as well as the RSCM Cathedral Singers. He studied the organ at Coventry Cathedral and played for services at churches in Nuneaton and Coventry during his secondary school years.
Work and family life took over after he left school and it wasn't until his boys started at school in Rugby that he got back into organ playing at St. Mark's, Bilton in 2013 as assistant organist. He took on the role of organist at St. Mark's in April 2021.
Phil sings with two choirs who do "Cathedral weekends", and also accompanies them on the organ for some of the weekends each year.
Born in Leicester, he now lives just outside Rugby, spending his working week in telecoms and enjoying music and cooking, as well as gardening and the allotment, to relax and get away from a computer screen.
Phil joined our team of organists at Saint James the Greater in March 2025.
Organ Scholar
Nicholas Friedersdorff
Nicholas is the Organ Scholar at St James the Greater. He has been singing in the choir since joining in 2018. His musical development is very much encouraged and supported by his teachers John and Roxanne Gull.
Thanks to the Leicester MusicFest scheme "Re-homing an instrument" he was able to continue his studies and practice on his own organ during the pandemic. He is currently preparing for his grade 8 Organ exam whilst preparing for his GCSE's at The Lancaster Academy.
His dreams are to study music and to continue to play the organ.