Category: Organ

8 July: St Giles’ 900 years of history, a parish in a city context

Diversity in St Giles’ – Past; Present; Future

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Join us as we celebrate the rich legacy and vibrant heritage of St Giles’ Church, which has stood as a cornerstone of faith and community for an incredible nine centuries. Our event is a tribute to the enduring spirit of this iconic church and the people who have shaped its story.

Explore the pages of history as we take you on a journey through the ages, highlighting the significant milestones, architectural marvels, and the profound impact St Giles’ Church has had on the city of Oxford. From its humble beginnings to its present-day role as a spiritual sanctuary and cultural hub, our event will provide a captivating insight into the church’s evolution. (ChatGPT)

Talk:

Professor William Whyte: (Chair of the Oxford Preservation Trust, Senior Responsible Owner and Chair of Project Board for the Stephen A Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities): “St Giles’ at 900, the parish in its city context”

Music

St Giles’ musicians: Presentations with musical interludes

Refreshments

Wine and Canapés

Tickets

  • Single: £12
  • Concession: Senior, under 18, unwaged: £10
  • Family Ticket: 2 adults, 2 children: £20
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15 October’s Organ Marathon to be launched by Oxfordshire’s High Sheriff

30 organ students at St. Giles’ along with distinguished guest organists will provide a showcase for their musical talent on 15 October at St. Giles’ Church.

An Organ Marathon, lasting around 7 hours and starting at 2:00pm, will be launched by Oxfordshire’s High Sheriff, Mr Mark Beard.

Afternoon free recitals

  • 14:05 James Andrews of New College
  • 14:35 St Giles’ Organ students followed by Katherine Pardee, Andrew Patterson, Mitchell

Evening Concert

The day’s music will conclude with a concert by two students of St Giles’ Music Academy at 7:30pm. They will present a varied programme of organ music.

Here’s a sample played by one of our students, Zihan Wang.

Recitalists:

  • Benjamin Gronlie
  • Zihan Wang

Music by Frescobaldi, Mendelssohn, Bach

John Forster, ‘Orgelwerke’

‘Orgelwerke comprises a set of three preludes and fugues in a pastiche retro-Baroque style, with each being modelled on pieces by Heinrich Scheidemann, Dietrich Buxtehude, or J. S. Bach, and composed using new German organ tablature rather than modern staff notation. The project combines sampled pipe organs and recreations of the synthesiser patches devised by Wendy Carlos for Switched-On Bach in 1968, which are then distributed among 24 separate loudspeakers placed around the performance space. Orgelwerke is about exploring notions of (in)authenticity in relation to new organ works and electronic organ sound, and the result is something that’s intended to feel conspicuously faux-historical.

John is currently studying for a PhD in Composition at City, University of London. The title of his research is ‘What is a Pipe Organ Work?’, and he’s focussing on how the ways in which different people conceptualise the pipe organ can lead to different approaches to creating pipe organ works. John has had a lifelong interest in the pipe organ, and after starting lessons as a chorister, spent a couple of summers as a teenager working at Henry Willis & Sons Ltd. in Liverpool. While studying for a Music degree at the University of Oxford, John was organ scholar at Brasenose College and St. Giles’ Parish Church, subsequently taking a gap year during which he sang bass in Rochester Cathedral Choir. Following a digression studying for an MSc in Global Politics at Durham University, then working for an ESG research firm in London and musicking in his spare time, John realised he wasn’t that into offices after all and so decided to embark on a doctorate.’

Tickets £10.00 and £5.00. Children free of charge.

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Young musicians of St Giles Jubilee concert on 5 June 2022 raised £3,840 for the new organ

The concert on Sunday, 5 June, at 12:00 to celebrate Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee raised £3,840 for the new organ. It will feature some of the church’s young musicians. It featured some of our young musicians and there was high standard of performance. It was a lovely occasion, as was remarked by several members of the congregation.

It’s not too late to raise a little more! To contribute please visit:

Midsummer Music – 25 June 2022

Project 900 concert – Midsummer Music: an eclectic and varied concert of music performed by some of the ‘back row’ musicians of St Giles’ will take place on Saturday 25th June at 7.00pm. Refreshments will be served, and tickets available on the door (including card payments). Please do come and enjoy a midsummer evening of music with us, in support of Project 900.

Midsummer music from St Giles’

25th June 2022, 7.00pm

Accompanists: Peter Ward Jones and Nicholas Prozzillo

John Pusey (tower captain of St Giles’), Sara Jones, Joe Norton, Lindsay Powell

Plain Bob Triples

*           *           *

Jonathan Mitchell (baritone)

Welcome

Silent Noon – Ralph Vaughan Williams

Linden Lea – Ralph Vaughan Williams

*           *           *

Patrick Tan (counter-tenor), John Buckley (tenor) and Mike Geary (bass)

Mannerly Margery Milk and Ale – William Cornysh

En l’ombre d’un buissonnet – Josquin Desprez

Pastime with Good Company – Henry VIII

*           *           *

John Pusey (tower captain of St Giles’), Sara Jones, Joe Norton, Lindsay Powell

Kent Treble Bob Major

*           *           *

John Buckley (tenor)

A Chloris – Reynaldo Hahn

Vaga luna que inargenti – Vincenzo Bellini

Annabel Lee – Henry Leslie

*           *           *

Freddy Chelsom (baritone)

Danza, danza, fanciulla – Francesco Durante

An die Musik – Franz Schubert

Au bord de l’eau – Gabriel Fauré

Register for the concert here

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Tea and music meeting a great success – significant funds were raised!

The session on October 2nd was a great success and funds were raised during the meeting. We heard how we need to raise money to buy a new organ, as the present one is no longer reliable and is beyond economic repair. Some of its faults were demonstrated dramatically by Nicholas Prozzillo.

Our new organ will make a significant contribution to the music at St Giles, allowing us to support our young musicians and offer a city-wide resource for concerts and aspiring musicians.

The ‘Sponsor a Pipe’ website is fully open for business!

We are asking you to sponsor an organ pipe which cost between £25 and £5000 each.  Pipes can be purchased in memory of a person or to commemorate special events, which will be recorded for posterity.
 
Can you help?

St Giles Academy is now a charity

St Giles’ Music Academy, Oxford is now officially a registered charity with its own number 1194157.

The objectives in the constitution and accepted by the Charity Commissioners are:

 

St Giles’ Music Academy seeks to provide music education for young people, aged 6 to 18 who reside in Oxfordshire

 To achieve this the Academy will offer:

  • a range of music making activities, including singing, and instrument playing. 
  • organ, piano and singing tuition
  • music theory tuition for awards through recognised examination boards
  • activities that develop an individual’s skills, which will enable them to contribute to the music at St Giles’ Church and the local and wider community
  • outreach programmes and concerts