Ian de Massini began life under a different name (Ian Moore) and spent much of his mis-spent youth as a chorister and keen campanologist at the village church of Cuckfield, Sussex.

During his teens, he attended the local grammar school in Haywards Heath as well as studying the piano, albeit half-heartedly, with the redoubtable Joan Last, under whom he won no prizes or any engagements. Yet, to everybody's amazement, Ian was then awarded a scholarship to sing in the choir of King's College Chapel, Cambridge and to read music at Cambridge University, now and then.

Following graduation, he held a number of organist positions, including Little Saint Mary's Church, Cambridge, Saint Alban's Church, Holborn and Ely Cathedral. However, it wasn’t long before, curiously, he turned his hand at accordion-playing.

Having taught himself the instrument from scratch in just eight days in early 1990, Ian was then appointed accordionist and musical-arranger for The Classic Buskers (formerly known as The Cambridge Buskers) with whom he has been touring the world ever since.

Part of his work with this iconoclastic classical-music comedy duo also involves playing the Eunuch-flute: indeed, he is thought to be the world's highest-paid Eunuch-flautist. Combining his love of singing with his little accordion, Ian's rendition of Mozart's Queen of the night aria sung in Japanese whilst accompanying himself on the Hohner 48 Bass accordion has brought tears to the audience in Tokyo on a number of occasions.

Fortunately, Ian's in

“indeed, he is thought to be
the World's highest-paid Eunuch-flautist”

herent love of choral music has not left him. In 1987, he founded his own choir that later became known as Cambridge Voices and with this ensemble he has commissioned well over 200 new compositions from composers across Europe.

Ian has directed the choir in all fourteen CDs that it has recorded to date.

Ian is now the Director of Music at St Columba's United Reformed Church, Cambridge.

Lately, he has returned his attention to the piano and, as Senior Member of Hughes Hall, Cambridge University, Ian is currently presenting a series of concerts, spread over five years, comprising the complete solo-keyboard works of J.S.Bach played from memory, alongside the works of Shostakovich, Messiaen and Duruflé.