Norfolk Organists' Association Events
For details of any of the future or past events below, please e-mail the Events Secretary.
Future Events
Saturday 25th February 2012 - Desert Island Discs: Church Rooms, Brooke at 2pm
The Precentor of Norwich Cathedral, Canon Jeremy Haselock, has very kindly agreed to be our latest castaway. Many of you will remember the very entertaining after-dinner speech he gave at one our President's Dinners a few years back and he will undoubtedly give good value again this time round. Ron Watson, as ever, will act as Grand Inquisitor.
Saturday 31st March 2012 - AGM, Buffet Lunch, and Recital: Aylsham Church at 11.30am
Once again our AGM will follow the format that has become familiar in recent years. The business part of proceedings will begin at 11.30am followed by a buffet lunch (cost: £5 per head for NOA members and non-members). From 1.30pm our two youngest Committee members, David Ballard and Matthew Bond, have very kindly agreed to perform a half hour recital each. The middle of the recital will be a short organ duet. Please let Harry Macey (president@norfolkorganists.org.uk) know by Saturday 24th March at the latest if you require the buffet lunch.
Tuesday 10th - Friday 13th April 2012 - Organ Tour to Groningen, Holland
We shall be travelling from Norwich to Groningen by coach via the Harwich - Hook of Holland ferry, and the same coach will transport us to and from the various venues in Groningen province on the tour itself. The wonderfully gifted Sietze de Vries has been ‘reserved’ as our organist guide to the historic instruments we shall be visiting.
At this stage it is only possible to give guide prices for the tour; exact figures are dependent on the number of people coming, exchange rates, etc. Prices include all travel costs between Norwich and Groningen, the costs of the organ tour itself, and three nights half board, en suite accommodation in a Groningen hotel.
NOA warmly invites you to participate in this opportunity to hear and play some of the world’s finest historic organs to be found in the Dutch city of Groningen and its surrounding province.
Please contact Martin Cottam by Sunday 20th November at the latest if you are definitely committing yourself to come on the tour, stating which type of room you require. Once it has been confirmed there are sufficient numbers for the tour to go ahead, a non-returnable deposit of £45 per person will be required (payment details to follow.).
Read full details of the tour, including a Provisional Tour Itinerary here.
Saturday 21st July 2012 - President's Dinner: Park Farm Hotel, Hethersett at 7.30pm
We are returning to Park Farm for our President's Dinner where our Guest of Honour and after-dinner speaker will be Carl Jackson, Organist of Her Majesty's Chapel Royal, Hampton Court. He will be speaking about the work of the Chapels Royal. Do please put this date in your diary.
Past Events
Saturday 14th January 2012 - Quiz and Chips
Our traditional and ever popular opener for a new year took place at the Holy Trinity Church, Essex Street, Norwich, with a new Quizmaster at the helm. Our President, Harry Macey very kindly supplied a goodly selection of brain-teasers and a suitable local establishment provided the all important fish & chips.
Saturday 26th November 2011 - Outing to Central London
NOA member Philip Luke has been organist at Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church (235 Shaftesbury Avenue) for 25 years. In that time he has overseen the complete rebuilding of the organ there and the establishment of a highly successful regular recital series.
Philip invited us to join him for the 4pm recital given by our local favourite, David Dunnett after which there was a light buffet. Following the buffet, NOA members had the opportunity to play the organ for themselves for an hour or two. The large 3 manual west gallery instrument is comprised mainly of ranks from two redundant JJ Binns organs, the work being undertaken by BC Shepherd & Sons who have added the 32ft Sackbut and 16ft Trombone in the pedal along with some new pipes in the re-scaled mixture stops.
Earlier in the day at 2pm there was an opportunity to hear and play the brand new organ by Späth Orgelbau (13 II/P) in the nearby Swiss Church (79 Endell St, Convent Garden). Resident organist, Peter Yardley-Jones was on hand to welcome us and demonstrate the instrument.
Saturday 15th October 2011 - Attleborough Church
In place of our postponed trip to Groningen we visited and played the organ in the church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Attleborough. The organ was rebuilt in 1962 by Arnold, Williamson & Hyatt and is a fine example of their work. Restored in recent years it is a sizeable instrument spread across 3 manuals and pedals.
Saturday 17th September 2011 - Liszt, Composer and Transcriber
Brent Palmer celebrated the work of the great Hungarian, the bi-centenary of whose birth falls in 2011, at the Church Rooms in Brooke.
Tuesday 16th August 2011 - Young Organist's Recital
The recital took place at St. Margaret's Church, King's Lynn.
Our young recitalist this year was Matthew Searles, who was born in 1991 and lives in Peterborough. A former chorister at the cathedral there, he now has lessons with Andrew Reid, the organist at Peterborough Cathedral. He is also the Organ Scholar at Doncaster Minster where he accompanies the choral services on the celebrated 5 manual Schulze organ there. In September, having sat his exams for the ARCO Diploma during the summer, he takes up the prestigious Organ Scholarship at Royal Holloway, University of London.
The 45 stop organ at St. Margaret's is famous for containing a significant amount of Snetzler pipework within the fine, carved and gilded casework by the same builder.
Saturday 23rd July 2011 - President's Day
Held at St. Thomas' Church, Earlham Road, Norwich. Our new President, Harry Macey organised a rich and fascinating programme exploring aspects of J.S. Bach's creative genius.
After coffee and intros we viewed a DVD entitled 'J.S.Bach: Allein Gott in der Höhe sei Ehr', then Dr. Nicholas Groves MA, BMus, PhD, FRHistS, gave a talk on Lutheranism in the context of Bach's life and work. Following lunch in the Church Hall, Harry gave a lecture/recital on the 'Eighteen Preludes' BWV 651-668.
Saturday 18th June 2011 - Outing to Breckland
We visited and played three small but very interesting and important organs, all of which have been recorded for the HOSA project - All Saints, Hilborough (Bevington, 1857, IIP, 14 stops), St. George's, Gooderstone (J.C.Bishop, 1835, IP, 7 stops) and St. Leonard's, Mundford.
Mundford Church was transformed in the early 20th century by the work of Sir Ninian Comper which included the erection of a spectacular rood screen. He also designed the beautiful organ case which sits atop the screen. The instrument itself is very unusual. Built by Harrison and Harrison in 1912 it has 3 manuals and pedals but only 12 speaking stops.
Saturday 21st May 2011, St. George's Colegate, Norwich - 'L'Orgue Expressif'
Anne Page is Professor of Harmonium Studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London. She used her own 19th century Alexandre Harmonium during her presentation about this unjustly neglected instrument for which the likes of Franck, Widor, Guilmant, Vierne, and Langlais wrote much fine music. The 19th French Harmonium is a very different creature from the more familiar 'American' organ that resided in so many English Victorian and Edwardian parlours. The event concluded with the opportunity to take part in a masterclass.
Saturday 16th April 2011, St. George's RC Church, Sprowston Rd, Norwich
A Rodgers Digital Organ Revealed. In recent years an impressive 3-manual and pedal digital organ made by the American company, Rodgers has been installed at St. George's RC church. Possessing a predominantly French stop-list it speaks into a splendidly spacious acoustic.
Resident 'titulaire', Paul Allen, was on hand to talk about the project and demonstrate this highly interesting instrument before members had the chance to play it for themselves.
Saturday 26th March 2011, URC Princes St, Norwich at 11.30am - AGM, Buffet, and Recital
Saturday 19th February 2011, Brooke Church Rooms at 2.30pm - The Heart of the Matter
Following his highly entertaining and illuminating talk on compositional 'sins' last February, Ron Watson returned to bring enlightenment on the subject of rhythm in music.
Saturday 15th January 2011 - Quiz and Chips
The annual Quiz and Chips evening took place at Holy Trinity Church, Norwich. Martin Cottam posed the brain-teasers one last time before handing the role of quizmaster to another in 2012.
Saturday 13th November 2010 - "Desert Island Discs"
Held at St. Andrew's Church, Eaton, Norwich.
We were enormously privileged to have Dr. Francis Jackson as our 'castaway' this year. Now in his nineties, Dr. Jackson is a hugely respected figure in the world of music. Formerly the Master of Music at York Minster he has received considerable acclaim over many decades as a performer, teacher, and composer. Prompted by Ron Watson's questions Dr. Jackson related stories about his long life and achievements and shared his choice of music to sustain him during his sojourn on the mythical island.
Saturday 9th October 2010 - "A Treasure Chest Unlocked?"
The event took place at the Old Meeting House, Colegate, Norwich.
For many years the organ inside the Old Meeting House has presented something of an enigma. The casework certainly dates from the 17th century, but who built it and for where? When did it find its way into this venue and just what manner of pipework lurks within? Is treasure to be found there?
For some time John Plunkett, as a labour of love and employing the lightest and most sensitive of touches, has been returning the organ to playable condition, carefully recording and documenting his findings each step of the way. He shared with us what he has so far unearthed and members had the opportunity to play the instrument and judge for themselves whether treasure has indeed been unearthed in what John was happy to subtitle 'a Restoration Comedy'.
Saturday 18th September 2010 - Lecture/recital on J.S.Bach's Clavierübung Part 3
The event took place at St. Thomas' Church, Earlham Road, Norwich and was led by Harry Macey, President Elect of the association, who presented a lecture recital on this monumental collection "consisting of various preludes on the Catechism and other hymns for the organ... [dedicated to] music lovers and particularly for connoisseurs of such work for the recreation of the spirit".
Saturday 7th August 2010 - Young Organist's Recital
The recital took place at The Octagon Chapel, Colegate, Norwich.
This year's recitalist was William Warns who has just completed his first year as Organ Scholar at Fitzwilliam College Cambridge and is no stranger to the organ loft at the Octagon.
Saturday 17th July 2010 - President's Dinner
The dinner took place at The Ellingham Suite, Park Farm Hotel, Hethersett. View photo gallery.
Saturday 19th June 2010
We visited The Electric Picture Palace in Southwold.
Here we watched 'Martinikerk Rondeau', a fascinating and beautiful documentary by Fugue State Films. The film investigates the spectacular organ heritage of the Dutch city of Groningen and its surrounding province, arguably home to the greatest concentration of historic organs in the world.
Light relief came in the form of an interval complete with suitably entertaining accompaniment provided by our President on the cinema's own organ as we relaxed and nibbled on our ice creams.
Saturday 17th April 2010
We visited organs in the parish churches at Blofield, South Walsham and Acle. View photo gallery.
Saturday 27th March 2010
Our Annual General Meeting was held at St. Thomas' Church, Earlham Road, Norwich, followed a by buffet lunch and organ recital.
Saturday 20th February 2010
Renowned local composer, and editor of the Norfolk Organists’ Association’s quarterly publication "The Journal", Ron Watson led an event entitled Tritones and other musical sins.
Saturday 16th January 2010
The annual Quiz and Chips evening took place at Holy Trinity Church, Norwich.
November 2009
David Watson led an afternoon about Purcell’s life and music.
October 2009
The day started with a visit to St. Agnes’ Church, Cawston where the organ has recently been restored by Richard Bower.
After lunch we gathered at All Saints, Bawdeswell where we were able to hear and play the new electronic instrument by Johannus. This instrument has been built into the former pipe organ and was ably demonstrated by James Lilwall, organist at the Church and a former President of the association.
The day finished with refreshments at James’ house.
September 2009
Tim Patient led a lecture/recital exploring J.S.Bach’s Orgelbüchlein.
August 2009
The annual Young Organist Recital was given by student member of David Ballard. The event was well attended and David is certainly a very talented player.
July 2009
The President’s Day. View photo gallery.
This started at Blythburgh Church where members were able to play the organ recently built by Rodney Briscoe of Boggis and Co. Some members had seen this instrument in the workshop while it was being built.
After lunch, the day moved to the Electric Picture Palace in Southwold, where excerpts of DVDs were shown. There was an interval, during which the President appeared through the stage floor, playing the keyboard in true cinema organ style.
The final venue of the day was at St. Edmund’s Church, Southwold, where members were able to play the Arnold, Williamson and Hyatt instrument of 1966.
May 2009
The day started at Cley Church where there was a chance to play the two-manual and pedal instrument rebuilt by Bower and Company in 2002.
Following lunch we re-convened at Wiveton Church to play the one-manual and pedal instrument built by Holdich for the Great Exhibition of 1851.
The final venue was Blakeney Church, where the two-manual and pedal instrument re-built by Hill, Norman and Beard was available for people to play.