Category Archives: News and Views

Christopher Rathbone will perform a recital at St. Margaret’s Ilkley on Friday 6 March at 12.30pm, featuring Widor 7 (three movements) plus King Lear Fantasia from 1989.

Please click here to see the full programme for the series between February and October 2026.

The next concert with Cantorelli at Hebden Bridge Parish Church is on Sunday 1st March at 3.30pm when we will be joined by organist Professor David Baker on a chest organ, for a programme of timeless sacred choral and organ masterpieces spanning five centuries from Renaissance composer Thomas Tallis to late Romantic Josef Rheinberger.

Cantorelli, with some new faces, is joined in this concert by Professor David Baker who will accompany us and also perform solo music on a chest organ. David is an accredited tutor with the RCO Academy, the premier body for tuition for the pipe organ. His book The Organ: a guide to its construction, history, usage and music is a standard text on the subject. He is founder and director of Halifax Organ Association. He is also choirmaster and organist at St.Michael’s Church, Mytholmroyd.

Highlights include music by Tallis, whose spare and perfectly balanced writing remains a cornerstone of English choral tradition; a masterful contrapuntal motet by J.S.Bach, Lobet den Herrn; a richly textured and deeply human  motet, Geistliches Lied (Sacred song) by Brahms; a warm and lyrical Stabat Materby Josef Rheinberger; awe-inspiring harmonic motets by Bruckner and William Croft’s Funeral Sentences (recently used at the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II); together with organ music by Bach, Tallis’s contemporary John Cosyn, and Croft’s near contemporaries, Henry Purcell and John Stanley.

Admission £10.00 on the door (free admission for under 18’s)

There are three classes at the organ day in May, they are:

253 Organ (Junior)
Grade 0-3
Fee ₤5.50
Up to 3 mins

254 Organ (Intermediate)
Grade 4-7
Fee ₤6.00
Up to 4 mins

255 Organ (Senior)
Grade 8+
Fee ₤8.00
Up to 8 mins

Concerto Competition For Concerto entries, please see our Concerto Competition section

More information is available here. The closing date is 25 February 2026.

Click here for further details of Kent County Organists’ Association’s annual competition.

Uppingham School is seeking an experienced and highly qualified organist to join our vibrant and ambitious music department on a permanent basis. The deadline is 2 December 2025.

Further details are available here.

A unique opportunity for young players to explore the organs of St Paul’s Cathedral and receive masterclass tuition in repertoire, improvisation, choral direction and accompaniment. Led by Organ Education Lead Jeremiah Stephenson, this event is designed to give an immersive experience for budding players to learn more about the Cathedral Music tradition in a friendly and supportive environment. This event includes a dedicated workshop on choral conducting with Director of Music Andrew Carwood MBE, and the opportunity to observe the Vicars Choral in rehearsal, concluding with Evensong.

The cost is £80 but bursaries are available on request. The closing date for applications is the 17 October. Click here for further information and the sign up form.

Here are two upcoming RCO classes that might be of interest.

Polish Your CRCO and ARCO Pieces: Saturday 15 November, 11.00 – 14.00 with Julian Haggett at St Giles Cripplegate Church, London. This is both for the those entered for the January exam session and for those whose sights are set further ahead.

The French Classical Organ School: Saturday 28 February, 11.00 – 14.00 with Richard Brasier. The first in a series of ‘Application of Historic Playing Styles’ classes to be led by Richard Brasier over two years. This will take place at St Marylebone Church, London.