 Sayer began his musical career as a chorister in Portsmouth and then studied at the Royal College of Music under Nicholas Danby.Between 1980 and 1984 he was an organ student at St. Paul's Cathedral, London, and was appointed organist of Woodford Parish Church in 1981.In 1989 he was appointed Assistant Organist at Rochester Cathedral and was promoted to Organist and Director of Music in 1994.