15 March 2024
Fr Gerry Devlin, Chaplain
On Monday 11 March, eight student organists had the privilege of playing Westminster Cathedral’s Grand Organ and meeting Christopher Too, Organ Scholar at Westminster Cathedral.
Chris talked to the students about his role and about the organ, built between 1922 and 1932, which is played for all liturgical celebrations. It was a wonderful experience for our musicians to each perform a short piece of music in the beautiful setting of the Cathedral, which was closed to the public. All played to a very high standard, drawing compliments from Chris. We are very grateful to Chris for taking the time to meet our students, who very much appreciated his thoughtful guidance.
We are so lucky to have such a talented and dedicated group of student organists at Woldingham. The celebration of Mass in the School Chapel is enhanced by their playing, which complements our musicians and choir.
Our Music Ribbon, Isabel, who has been offered an Organ Scholarship and place to study music at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, shares her perspective of this wonderful opportunity.
Isabel L, Music Ribbon
Playing the organ at Westminster Cathedral was a profoundly unforgettable experience. I was mesmerised by both the grandeur of the architectural setting and the powerful, melodious sound the four-manual organ can produce under such lovely acoustic. We are all very grateful to Chris, whose assistance was invaluable, from helping us register our pieces to guiding us through the complexities of this vast organ, and whose advice for young organists was both insightful and inspiring.