Christopher Allsop

All change at Worcester Cathedral - yesterday I finished as Assistant Director of Music to move to the new post of Assistant Director of Music across College Green at the King's School, Worcester, and Peter Nardone announced that he has stood down as Director of Music, also with effect from yesterday (see the cathedral website, www.worcestercathedral.org.uk) to pursue freelance singing, conducting and composing. Nicholas Freestone takes over the Assistant post next week (as previously mentioned on this thread I think), and I believe the cathedral will be making an announcement in due course about interim arrangements before the process begins to appoint a new Organist and Director of Music.

There's a very nice job indeed available at Worcester Cathedral from September... Application pack attached below. Worcester Cathedral Assistant Director of Music recruitment pack.pdf

I don't know if Carleton Etherington is on this Forum to give a more fullsome update, but I did have a quick play on the Grove during the Summer. Although the instrument still sounds astonishing, it doesn't take long to discover quite a few notes off and wind escapes. Wonderful and unique to play and hear, but I wouldn't want to try and give a recital on it at the moment...

Worcester Cathedral Saturday October 3, 2015, 6.45pm Wayne Marshall plays on the Tickell Quire Organ's 7th Anniversary Tickets £14 (under-18s free - no ticket required) from Worcester Cathedral Shop or from www.ticketsource.co.uk/date/181056 Programme: Widor: Marche Pontificale Ducasse: Pastorale Schmidt: Variations and Fugue on a theme from Fredigundis Interval Widor: Symphonie no.6 in G minor Improvisation

Yes is the short answer... With any luck we'll be able to report further details later this year or next.

Worcester Cathedral Tuesday April 21, 1.10pm Free admission, with a retiring collection. Tom Winpenny (Assistant Master of the Music, St. Albans Cathedral) March: A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Sir William Walton (1902-1983) arr. Tom Winpenny Concerto in A minor BWV 593 J.S. Bach (1685-1750) after the Violin Concerto op. 3 no. 8 (RV522) by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) i [Allegro] ii Adagio iii Allegro Vol de nuit (arranged from The Secret Garden, 2004) Judith Bingham (b.1952) Pastorale (1909) Jean Roger-Ducasse (1873-1954) Toccata (1993) Jiří Ropek (1922-2005) Tom Winpenny is Assistant Master of the Music at St Albans Cathedral where his duties include accompanying the daily choral services and directing the acclaimed Abbey Girls Choir. Previously, he was Sub-Organist at St Paul's Cathedral, and during this time he performed with the Cathedral Choir at the American Guild of Organists National Convention, performed in Mahler's Symphony no. 8 with Valery Gergiev and the LSO, and played for many great state occasions. He has also broadcast regularly on BBC Radio and been featured on American Public Media's Pipedreams He began organ lessons under John Scott Whiteley while a chorister at York Minster, and continued as a Music Scholar at Eton College under Alastair Sampson. After holding the post of Organ Scholar at Worcester Cathedral and then St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, he was for three years Organ Scholar at King's College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a degree in music. With the Choir of King's College, he gave concerts in the USA, Hong Kong and throughout Europe, in addition to appearing as their accompanist on CD releases on EMI Classics. He has taken part in the first performance of works by Cecilia McDowall, Judith Bingham, Jonathan Dove, Paul Mealor, Francis Grier and Francis Pott. He has studied with Thomas Trotter and Johannes Geffert, and won First Prize and the Audience Prize at the 2008 Miami International Organ Competition. He is an organ tutor for the annual Eton Choral Courses Recent and forthcoming engagements include recitals in Birmingham Town Hall, Norwich Cathedral and St Paul’s, K Street, Washington DC. In December 2013 he appeared as organ soloist in John Rutter’s Christmas Celebration concerts at the Royal Albert Hall. His solo organ recordings include a recital on the organ of St Albans Cathedral (JAV Recordings), organ works by Judith Bingham (Naxos), music by Malcolm Williamson (Toccata Classics) and works by Charles Villiers Stanford, John McCabe and Lennox & Michael Berkeley (Resonus Classics – download only). A recording of Messiaen’s La Nativité du Seigneur has recently been released on the Naxos label. He also directs St Albans Abbey Girls Choir in a recording of Mendelssohn Choral Works (Naxos).

This one's lovely too: http://www.bhamorgan.org.uk/organs/042.htm 1915 II/17 in the Friends Meeting House, Bournville, Birmingham.

It's this little one isn't it https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154377451995324&l=309b622e95 I think it might be a Casson Positive organ.

We're not quite as technologically advanced as that, Sotto Voce! The transmission goes up a computer CAT cable to each organ chamber. We do have a wireless MIDI sender/receiver, but don't use it, as the cathedral's pillars block the signal...

Sorry not to get the chance to say hello to all of you on the board who came yesterday to Ken's memorial service and Olivier Latry's concert - thank you for coming. The Quire was full to capacity for both, and they made a hugely moving tribute to the work of Ken and his wonderful team. Olivier's playing will go down as a musical benchmark for me, and I imagine everyone else there too - impeccable technique linked to insightful musicianship. Remarkable and privileged to have been there and experienced him live at Worcester.

And the organ music before and after, in case anyone's interested: Beforehand: Clerambault - Suite de deuxieme ton (all of it) After: Bach - Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C Both particular favourites of Ken's - it will be lovely to see lots of you there. The programme for Olivier Latry's recital is: Marcel DUPRÉ (1886 – 1971) : Cortège et litanie César FRANCK (1822 – 1890) : Prélude, fugue et variation Louis VIERNE (1870 – 1937) : Scherzetto Légende (extraits des « Pièces en style libre ») Franz LISZT (1811 – 1885) : Saint-François de Paul marchant sur les flots (transcription pour orgue de Max Reger) Interval Charles-Marie WIDOR (1844 – 1937) : 5ème Symphonie : Allegro vivace Allegro cantabile Andantino quasi allegretto Adagio Toccata Plus an improvisation as an encore if we all applaud enough....

I'm pretty sure it was in a room in the Cambridge Music Faculty in the mid 1990s, although I must admit I never played it.

Indeed - if you can, come on Sunday too, where both the ordinary in the morning and canticles in the afternoon are by Francis.

Full job details for Worcester Organist and D of M available at: www.worcestercathedral.co.uk

I played it a year or so ago - I've a vague memory that it might be a Casson Positive.