Organist Nigel Ogden Entertains At Beverley Minster
Wed 30th March 2016
BBC Radio 2 celebrity organist, Nigel Ogden, is coming to play in Beverley Minster on Saturday April 16th at 7.30pm, courtesy Beverley Arts Trust.
Nigel celebrates 45 years of presenting ‘The Organist Entertains’ this year – it’s the BBC’s longest-running specialist music programme. Yet he has always wanted to play the Beverley Minster organ, so was delighted to accept the invitation when it landed on his doorstep.
Nigel learnt to play the organ as a boy when growing up in Blackpool. There he was able to listen to the incomparable Reginal Dixon playing the Wurlitzer in the Tower Ballroom. So can we expect Beverley Minster to be transformed into the Blackpool Tower Ballroom on April 16th? Well, Nigel is renown as one of the most versatile organists in the country!
For this concert, he has put together a special programme of light classical and popular music designed to appeal to Radio 2 fans as well as to fans of organ music. Nigel is a world-renown concert organist. He has played in churches, chapels, cathedrals, town halls and theatres all over the world. He has accompanied choirs and soloists and played background music for plays, documentaries and films – as well as silent films! His technique, creativity and spontaneity is recognised by the American Theatre Organ Society where he has been inducted into their Hall of Fame. The British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) have also recognised his skills by awarding him a Gold Badge of Merit in 2012. So Nigel is equally at home with Bach or Broadway!
arol Hancock who is Chair of the Beverley Arts Trust said “We’re thrilled to be bringing such a prestigious musician to Beverley. We’re sure people are really going to enjoy hearing the Minster’s magnificent organ doing something a bit different, in a non-Sunday mode, so to speak! And afterwards, there’ll be a chance to meet Nigel at our post-concert drinks reception in the Minster. Everyone is welcome.”
The Beverley Arts Trust is a group of volunteers behind many successful events over recent years, including the biennial, REYTA award-winning Puppet Festival; ArtERY, which is a scheme which brings high quality professional music and theatre to Beverley in partnership with Longcroft School and numerous concerts.
They are always keen to hear from other people who are interested in the arts who would like to join them. Contact them on www.beverleyartstrust.com.
ickets are £10 (Under 18s free) from The Beverley Arts Trust (01482 870751), Beverley Tourist Information (01482 391672) and the Minster Parish Office (01482 868540). If they haven’t all been snapped up, they will also be available on the door.
