David John Briggs (born 1 November 1962) is an English organist and composer. He started his career as a cathedral organist as Assistant Organist at Hereford Cathedral before becoming the organist of Truro and Gloucester Cathedrals. Heavily influenced by Jean Langlais and Pierre Cochereau, Briggs is regarded as one of the world's finest improvisors, and now works as a concert organist. He is also a composer of choral and organ music, and has transcribed many orchestral works for solo organ, as well as many of Cochereau's recorded improvisations. Early life and training Briggs was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, to a musical family. His grandfather, Lawrence Briggs, had been organist at St Jude's Church, Birmingham, for over 40 years, and his parents met while playing in the Birmingham Hospitals Orchestra. He was a chorister at St Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham, from 1970 to 1973, where he began to develop his interest in the organ. In 1973 he won a BBC Television piano competition and was awarded a music scholarship to Solihull School, where he studied piano, organ, violin and viola. He played the viola in the National Youth Orchestra from 1977 to 1981, becoming Principal Viola in his final year. From 1979 to 1981 he also served as organist at the church of St Alban the Martyr, Birmingham. At the relatively early age of 17 he was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal College of Organists (FRCO), and from 1981 to 1984 was an organ scholar at King's College, Cambridge. In 1982 and 1983 he played during the well-known Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, heard by millions around the world He also toured Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany with the college choir. In 1983 he received the Countess of Munster Award to study interpretation and improvisation with Jean Langlais in Paris, with whom he furthered in his interest in the art of improvisation by his transcriptions of the recordings of Pierre Cochereau. Transcribing the remarkable improvisations from Cochereau's cassette recordings took eleven years, and Briggs's subsequent performances and recordings of them earned him his initial acclaim. In 1993 Briggs became the first British organist to win the Tournemire prize for improvisation at the St Albans International Organ Festival. Cathedral organist On leaving university, Briggs was appointed as Assistant Organist at Hereford Cathedral, where he also took over the directorship of Hereford Chamber Choir and Hereford String Orchestra. He