Virtual Organ Recital #7: John Challenger - 27/06/2021

Welcome to Music at GMC's second virtual organ recital of 2021.

Our performer today is John Challenger. John has been Assistant Director of Music at Salisbury Cathedral since September 2012, where he accompanies the Cathedral's liturgy on the great Father Willis Organ. He received his musical education as a chorister at Hereford Cathedral under Dr Roy Massey and Geraint Bowen, and as an Organ Scholar at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, and St John’s College, Cambridge; at St John’s, under the directorship of Andrew Nethsingha, he played the organ for services, concerts, recordings, broadcasts, tours, and four critically-acclaimed recordings on the Chandos label. He studied the organ with David Briggs, Jeremy Filsell, Mark Williams, and the late David Sanger, and obtained his Fellowship of the Royal College of Organists in 2008. In addition to his duties at the Cathedral, John is active as an organ teacher and recitalist. Between January and March 2017, John acted as Director of Music at St John's College, Cambridge, during the sabbatical of the College's full-time Director of Music, Andrew Nethsingha. During this time, the world-famous choir undertook numerous high-profile engagements, including a BBC Radio 3 live broadcast of Choral Evensong on Ash Wednesday.
As always, if you wish to donate after watching this concert then here is the appropriate link: https://www.paypal.me/musicatgmc. Any proceeds will be shared between Gillingham Methodist Church and the musician. A big thank you to all who have given donations so far - your kindness has been much appreciated.

Programme:
Prelude & Fugue in C (BWV 545) – JS Bach
Fantasia in A minor – William Byrd
Adagio for strings & organ – Tomaso Albinoni & Remo Giazotto
Rhosymedre (3 Preludes on Welsh Hymn Tunes) – Ralph Vaughan Williams
Prelude to ‘Te Deum’ – Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Trois Pieces: Prélude, Petit Canon, Improvisation – Nadia Boulanger
Meditation (Trois Improvisations) – Louis Vierne, realised by Maurice Duruflé
Imperial March – Edward Elgar

Details of our Sweetland organ can be found at:
http://musicatgmc.org.uk/organ/