YOUNG ORGANISTS BEAT THE SNOW TO RAISE THEIR GAME
With the NDSO & the NEW RCO ACADEMY
James Parsons, Head of Student Development RCO Academy, and Jonathan Clegg at the Console of St Thomas in the Haymarket, Newcastle upon Tyne
The Magnificent organ in Newcastle’s City Hall proved the magnetic attraction for the many youngsters who attended last Saturday’s "Raise Your Game" day arranged by the Royal College of Organists and Newcastle & District Society of Organists.
Under the watchful eye of virtuoso organist Tom Bell, Moses Stubbs (age 10) finds his feet as he explores the awesome four manual and pedal console of the City Hall Organ
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In all about thirty "youngsters braved the elements to make the most of this fantastic opportunity and came from as far afield as Barnard Castle, Hexham and Edinburgh. These included Juliet O'Brien from Barnard Castle School (pictured below)
The day was "kicked-off" by City Hall Manager, Peter Brennan, who enthused over the history of the Hall and its famous, locally built Harrison & Harrison organ. It is hoped that there will be many more events of this kind in the future, providing impetus and funds to care for this important national treasure.
After the introduction, different groups visited different instruments with Michael Haynes (see below) taking one group to St Nichloas Church South Gosfort. Then, at lunchtime, there was an inspiring recital given by James Lancelot in St Thomas' Church, Newcastle. The students seemed particu;arly entertained by his performances of Dubois' Marches des Rois Mages with its cipher-like star theme and the rhythmical Salamance by Guy Bovet.
The day concluded with a stunning concert given in St Nicholas Anglican Cathedral by 14 of the students. This was kicked-off in fine style with Noel Rawsthorne's Festival Fanfare by George Warren (pictured below in rehearsal) and concluded with a sparkling performance of the famous Widor Toccata from Simon Passmore.
SOME EXTRACTS FROM PAST NDSO MONTHLY NEWSLETTERS
ORGANISTS IN ACTION!
NDSO Member Aiden Berry (18) on the Luturna during his recent North Atlantic Crossing
In addition to being an Organ Scholar at Hexham Abbey, leader of the Queen Elizabeth’s High School Orchestra and winner of his Organ Class in the Ryton Music Festival, young Aiden Berry also found time to become a qualified sailing instructor. To mark the start of his gap year he travelled to Boston, as he told the Mixture in typically self-effacing manner, to “do some sailing”. Some sailing indeed, for Aiden’s journey, as we learnt from the Hexham Courant (an excellent source of local Arts news too), was to take part in one of the “ultimate challenges for keen sailors, an 18-day voyage across the North Atlantic Ocean. Eighteen year Aiden was the youngest of the three-man crew of the 33-ft sailing yacht Luturna”. Aiden’s dad Paul, also an enthusiastic sailor, writes to tell us that he has recently packed in his day-job to buy NDSO member John Ross’s Music Shop in Corbridge and intends to get in a reasonable selection of organ (and choral) music, enough to make it worth the detour as the Michelin guide says! So watch this space for news of the opening.
Running the Cathedral Choirs
On Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th July 2009, Michael Stoddart, Organist and Director of Music of St Nicholas Cathedral, ran the 29 miles from Hexham Abbey to Newcastle Cathedral, breaking the journey at Prudhoe. On route he visited eight churches in the Diocese (Hexham Abbey, St Andrew Corbridge, St James Riding Mill, St Peter Bywell, St Mary Ovingham, St Mary Magdalene, Prudhoe, St Oswin, Wylam, St Michael & All Angels, Newburn) before "gannin' alang the Scotswood Road", the historic route of the Blaydon Races, to be met by the Cathedral Choristers on the Sunday afternoon, ready to rehearse them for Choral Evensong. The run raised over £1000 for the Cathedral Music.
Diamond Wedding Celebration for Edward and Mary Underhill
Michael Haynes Organist of Hexham Abbey, gave a stunning recital at St George’s Church, Gateshead on the occasion of Mary Underhill’s 85th Birthday and Edward and Mary’s Diamond Wedding Anniversary the previous day. The programme consisted of English organ music of a celebratory nature. The opening Festival Toccata set the mood for the the evening. Michael’s fingerwork and organ management were truly spectacular and combined with the musicality of the performance made for a hugely enjoyable finale to an amazing era. This, as we learnt during the evening, was Revd. Underhill’s last recital at St George’s. The encore, an improvisation on “Happy Birthday to You” proved to be the icing on the cake. The evening concluded with a Salmon 'n Chablis buffet, enjoyed by all. We thank Edward and Mary for everything over the years and wish them a long and happy retirement.
JAMES PARSONS ELECTED NEW NDSO PRESIDENT
NDSO are delighted to announce that James Parsons, founder of the Oundle International Festival and Oundle for Organists, has been appointed President of the Newcastle & District Society of Organists. See him in action in Newcastle earlier in the year below.
With typical drive and enthusiasm, James Parsons gave a hands on and masterclass at St Nicholas Church, South Gosforth. The picture above shows James Jarvis from Aysgarth School, watched by Henry Brearley and Adriel Yap, receiving instruction from James Parsons in pedalling a quiet Reger chorale prelude on "How Brightly Shines the Morning Star". This was a great afternoon that really went with a swing as James even had the students stomping round the church and banging their feet on the floor in time as one of their number played and really got the feel of the beat. Then there was the "leg pulling" when we learnt for example that Buxtehude was a flamboyant, larger than life personality with a big red bushy "flying-officer" handlebar moustache who used to fly around Lubeck disturbing and upsetting all the townsfolk. Naturally, we learnt, these attributes also found their way into his compositions, never more so than in the Prelude, Fugue & Chaconne with which Graham Thorpe opened the afternoon. Everyone had a chance to play at least twice and the benefits were mirrored in the varying expressions of concentration, enjoyment and delight on the students' faces and in their playing which also noticeably benefited.
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