Simon Dunbavand was Organ Scholar of Peterhouse, Cambridge, and also held a postgraduate scholarship at The University of Sheffield for his research into the music of Olivier Messiaen.
Simon is Musical Director of Dartington Community Choir at Dartington Hall, Chair and Chorus Master of Dart Festival Chorus, and Director of Music for the East Cornwall Bach Choir, South Devon Choir, and Paignton Parish Church. Simon is Accompanist for the University of Plymouth Choral Society and he is also pleased to work as an occasional accompanist with the Britannia Choral Society in Dartmouth.
As a performer he presents programmes with a spiritual dimension, highlighting symbolic bonds between Catholic thought and organ music. He was especially thrilled to play the ceremonial gong at a Hindu watermelon ceremony on Moheshkhali Island, Bangladesh, on the first of many expeditions to unusual parts of the globe, as well as trekking to active volcanoes such as Fuego in Guatemala and Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Simon conducts across Devon and Cornwall, plays the organ for church services and recitals, accompanies singers and instrumentalists for concerts and exams, and teaches music to private pupils. He is also a Destinations Lecturer and Enrichment Lecturer for numerous cruise lines.