Our new organ will accompany music making at St Giles’ and facilitate the musical education of a new generation of young organists and singers.
A newly commissioned instrument will allow us to create an entirely new musical and performance resource in the city. This will enable us to invest in the next generation of young musicians, who will carry forward the musical traditions of St Giles’ through the 21st Century and beyond.
Accompanying the liturgy: The organ must serve divine worship, providing effective accompaniments for the choir’s contribution to the services, as well as a rousing stimulus to the singing of the congregation, especially on the great Feasts of the Church when large numbers of people call for a strong and joyous voice from the organ to lead them. St Giles’ has four choirs and an increasing number of singers wishing to get involved.
Training young organists: The obvious enthusiasm of the growing number of young organists studying at St Giles’ makes it clear that they will take full advantage of an instrument on which they can study every aspect of organ performance. This will bring them more closely into our church community and at the same time help to expand our outreach into the wider community. For this task we need an instrument capable of serving all the varied schools of music, from Bach and his school to the most recent of contemporary composers.
Widening access: Our commitment to widening access to the beauty of choral and organ music emboldens us to aspire to the installation of an instrument that reflects the very best of organ-building craftsmanship, making this available to learners of all backgrounds and abilities.
Developing skills: We, therefore, want our new organ to be one on which young musicians can develop their skills. We also want it to boast a range of colour and sophistication in its design to allow experienced organists to demonstrate the vast repertoire of magnificent organ music written over the last five hundred years.
