Centre Stage

At Choral Society concerts in the Town Hall, even when the organ is not being played, its presence at the very centre of proceedings is unmistakeable.  That is how the builder, William Hill, meant it to be – a concert organ, taking pride of place in the Music Room of the then new Town Hall.  Completed in 1850, it was in fact one of the earliest concert organs, and it continues to be used in that way , despite the difficulties that are inevitable in a 160-year-old mechanism.

 Audience members and singers alike will know how much the organ contributes to our concerts, but it is also very well-known as a solo instrument. Over the years since it was last rebuilt in 1982, such leading organists as Francis Jackson, Nigel Ogden, Carlo Curley and Thomas Trotter have given concerts, and the group that is dedicated to publicising it – the Hill Organ Promotion Society – continues to arrange a number of lunchtime recitals during the year at which the organ can be heard to best advantage. In the Spring and Summer this year, concerts are as follows:

• April 8 – Tim Morris (Town Hall Organist)
• May 20 – Trevor Tipple (St. Martin’s Church, Worcester)
• June 10 – David Brookshaw (King’s School, Worcester)
• July 8 – John Wilderspin (Royal Grammar School, Worcester)

Recitals start at 1.10 p.m., and last for about an hour.

Later in the year, recitalists will include Birmingham Cathedral’s Marcus Huxley, who is well-known to Kidderminster Choral Society.

Full details of all the recitals can be found on www.Concert-Diary.com or www.organrecitals.com.

Ray Harrowing