Living the dream – a Father Willis in the garden shed
Here’s a woman after my own heart – retired music teacher Alison Malcolm has installed an 1881 Father Willis (bought for £500 in 1995) in a custom built garden shed, at her home near Salisbury, England. Planning permission was…
Living the life of an organ scholar
Next week 38 teenagers* are gathering in Cambridge to ‘live the life of an organ scholar’ on the RCO’s ‘The Organ Scholar Experience’ course (TOSE). They will have tuition in repertoire and keyboard skills and will also sing, accompany and conduct two…
Anne Page and the demanding Dr Chipp
Anne Page tells me she has gone out and bought a new pair of Organmaster shoes in order to do full justice to the Introduction and variations on ‘God preserve the Emperor’ by E T Chipp, which she will play…
Cocteau, Ralph Downes, and Notre Dame de France
Eric Shepherd has just drawn my attention to a fascinating recital coming up, in a fascinating place. Eglise Notre Dame de France is an unassuming post-War building in a side street off London’s Leicester Square – an area known for…
Lionel Rogg plays Bach: the Goldberg Variations
A reminder that Lionel Rogg will play the Goldberg Variations on the organ of Trinity College, Cambridge this weekend – a unique performance in the UK, and the colours of the Chapel’s Metzler organ will bring a new dimension to…
St Alban’s International Organ Festival – the 2015 competition music
Here’s some entertaining reading for your next coffee break – the schedules of music for both the improvisation and interpretation competitions at the next St Alban’s Organ Festival, just launched. Application deadline 16 March 2015, so you’ve got a bit…
Create an organist (or just have a good day out) – The Great North Organ Day
Do you know anyone – of any age – who you think might secretly hanker after playing the pipe organ? Who lives in the north of England? The Great North Organ Day hits Newcastle on Saturday 17th May. Based around…
Thomas Morgan premiere – thanks to Twitter
Before I get too full of self-importance, I need to confess that having a piece of organ music written specially for me was most undeserving – I simply won a competition on Twitter. Composer Thomas Morgan celebrated getting to 300…
Like a mighty tortoise, moves the Church of God
Whether they are people of faith or people of none, most organists’ lives are caught up in the life of the church, simply because their chosen instrument is mainly to be found there. So I include this astonishing photograph, unthinkable…
Get on-trend this Spring with the now colours from the Methodist Church
Given that my day job is teaching at an interior design school in London, I couldn’t resist this, which appeared on Twitter this morning. Thanks Central Methodists @preston_church and Dave Walker @davewalker for tweeting.
St Paul’s appoints first woman organ scholar – congratulations Rachel!
The new organ scholar of St Paul’s Cathedral in London has been appointed, and will mark a first in the Cathedral’s history. Rachel Mahon will take up the position of William and Irene Miller Organ Scholar for the 2014/15 academic…
The Royal Festival Hall Organ – one week on
The British organ world emerged, blinking slightly, into the media spotlight last week. The inauguration of the restored Royal Festival Hall organ, with the Opening Gala, has kicked off a fortnight’s residency of BBC Radio3 at the Hall itself, focussing…
International Organ Festival wants new members
Whenever I bump into the people who help run the St Albans International Organ Festival I’m impressed by their knowledge and enthusiasm. They are one of the secrets of the success of the Festival, which last year celebrated its 50th…
Five questions for…..Jennifer Bate
This interview was first published in the run-up to Jennifer’s recital on 1st March 2014 at Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church – which was fabulous by the way: the Liszt Ad nos, ad salutarem undam a masterclass in orchestration. Details of…
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