Neil studied organ with Richard Popplewell at the Royal College of Music and went on to an organ scholarship at Worcester College, Oxford, where he read music. He has worked as a musician, accompanist, repetiteur and teacher, as well as writing about music.
He taught at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Sylvia Young Stage School, and in further education in London.
He moved to Dorset in 1999 and was organist at Milton Abbey before his appointment to St. Peter’s in 2015.