It’s the Caird Hall’s 100th anniversary and organist Anna Lapwood is kicking off a year of celebrations in style with a performance at the hallowed venue on January 28.
The concert, at 2.30pm, will offer a sparkling and eclectic programme of music for the organ, including favourites by Johann Sebastian Bach and Claude Debussy, new gems commissioned by Anna to highlight contemporary female composers, and her own transcriptions of popular film soundtracks.
Anna, who is not only an organist, conductor and broadcaster but the director of music at Pembroke College in Cambridge, is hugely excited and honoured to be playing the revered Caird Hall organ.
“New year, new concerts. I’m so looking forward to playing here!” she said.
TikTok star
Anna, 27, is a fan of the video-sharing app TikTok and regularly posts clips of herself rehearsing at the Royal Albert Hall in London to her 444,000 followers.
She hopes this will inspire TikTok users to fall in love with classical music.
Her clips include funny and interesting moments – whether vibrant renditions of film soundtracks or a sneeze in the middle of a piece!
She also features detailed explanations of how organs work and outtakes of her working the instrument’s pedals wearing slippers in chilly weather.
“It’s the best thing I’ve done in my career, in terms of bringing people to the instrument,” she said.
Pop-up performances
Anna, who started playing the organ around the age of 15, has made herself arguably the most visible organist with her ‘pop-up’ performances – including playing a pipe organ installed on a concourse inside London Bridge railway station, and appearing at pop concerts.
In May last year, musicians touring with cult electronic act Bonobo were in the Royal Albert Hall one night while Lapwood was rehearsing.
They were so impressed with her rendition of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor that they asked her to appear with them at a sold-out show in the same venue the next evening.
Eighteen hours later, Anna was playing power chords over Bonobo’s pounding electronic beats as a 5,000-strong audience cheered wildly. When she posted a clip of that moment to TikTok, it got more than five million views.
Scholarship
While studying at Oxford University, Anna became the first female in Magdalen College’s 560-year history to be awarded the Organ Scholarship.
In 2022 she was appointed associate artist of the Royal Albert Hall and artist in association with the BBC Singers.
Now performing organ concertos with leading orchestras and multiple recitals each season across Europe, Anna released her debut solo album Images on Signum Records in 2021.
The recording includes her transcription for organ of Britten’s Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, now published by Boosey & Hawkes.
A new anthology of organ pieces by female composers Gregoriana, commissioned and edited by Anna, was published in 2022 by Stainer & Bell.
@annalapwoodorgan Goosebump central. @celestemusicofficial is such an incredible musician. @candlelight.concerts #organ #organtok #pipeorgan #celeste #organist #concert #singer #candlelitconcerts #classicalmusic #musician
TV career
Making her TV presenting debut hosting coverage of BBC Young Musician, Anna was also invited to present a televised BBC Prom from the Royal Albert Hall in 2021.
As a radio broadcaster she is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4, and until July 2020 she hosted a live, weekly classical music show on Radio Cambridgeshire.
Anna has also been featured on Classic FM and presented for Scala Radio.
Her passion for the organ is matched by her mission to support girls and women in music.
Anna’s commitment to opportunity, equality and diversity is evident in almost every aspect of her life and work, especially in programming.
She is humbled to find that she is an inspiration to many young women and proud that they have adopted her hashtag, #playlikeagirl.
Opening concert
Caird Hall manager Susan Gillan said: “We’re delighted Anna is to open our centenary celebrations with an organ concert.
“This is one of a varied programme of concerts and events taking place at the Caird Hall throughout 2023 to celebrate 100 years of the venue.”
Cultural jewel
The organ, one of Dundee’s cultural jewels, was designed by eminent Edinburgh-based organist Alfred Hollins and installed by Harrison & Harrison of Durham in 1923.
Hollins, who was blind, gave the inaugural recital on the organ on June 27, 1923.
The instrument has been acclaimed as one of the world’s outstanding concert hall organs, and is renowned for its marvellous acoustics. It was restored by its original builders in 1991.
A charity – Friends of the Caird Hall Organ – was established in 2009 to increase the instrument’s profile and to provide financial support that will help secure its long-term future.
- For tickets see dundeebox.co.uk
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