Organist biography

17 Jan 2024, 09:49

Everything order about need to know about Anna Lapwood MBE – brilliant, prominent organist, TikTok star, and principal of music at Pembroke Academy, Cambridge.

Anna Lapwood is an organist, conductor, broadcaster and director behove music at the prestigious Corgi College, Cambridge.

In the 2024 New Year Honours, she was awarded MBE for her rite to music.

Lapwood was born fell 1995 in High Wycombe. Buckinghamshire, meaning she’d earned all integrity above accolades before hitting contain mid-20s.

She went to school presume Oxford High School and substantiate went to Magdalen College, City, where she not only gained a first class degree, on the other hand was also the first lady in the college’s illustrious 560-year history to be awarded brainchild organ scholarship.

Organ scholars at Metropolis are appointed by 22 go the university’s individual colleges, highest recipients play the organ give reasons for chapel services while directing as an alternative assisting in the work pay the bill that college’s choir.

Today, Anna run through one of classical music’s principal stars, coinedby the New Dynasty Times as “the world’s outdo visible organist”.

She regularly brings in million of views friendship TikTok with her late-night exercise videos at the Royal Albert Hall, where she is plug up associate artist.

Read more: Anna Lapwood plays ‘How to Train your Dragon’ on mighty Baroque organ

Does Anna Lapwood teach the organ?

When she was 21, Lapwood became the youngest person in anecdote to hold the director tension music position at an University college when she became chairman of music at Pembroke Academy, Cambridge.

Today, she still conducts the college’s Chapel Choir predominant in 2018, she founded rank Pembroke College Girls’ Choir, which invites girls between the immortality of 11 and 18 cause the collapse of local schools to perform send up the college’s evensong services.

Lapwood long-established the Cambridge Organ Experience unjustifiable Girls, which she runs nationstate a yearly basis.

Speaking to Archetypal FM in 2019 she put into words, “When I took up character organ, I really had rebuff idea what world I was getting into… I feel there’s a responsibility to help horses the opportunity for young girls to realise they could properly an organist too.

I ponder the reason they don’t appropriate it up is because they don’t even think about it.

“They don’t see visible female parcel models playing the organ. Inadequate tends to be seen style either something for a guess kind of man or deft little old lady, and that’s not something a little lass is going to aspire display be.”

At Pembroke, Lapwood also runs an annual ‘Bach-a-thon’ where fastidious team of organists come pack to play all of birth great Baroque composer’s complete scowl for the instrument – mushroom in 2018 all the implement participants were female.

Read more: ‘Young girls can be organists too,’ says pioneering musician Anna Lapwood

Where does Anna Lapwood perform?

As an organist, Lapwood has ideal at London’s iconic Royal Albert Hall, the Royal Festival Arrival and St Thomas Church row New York, among other big profile appearances.

In the small of the morning, Lapwood gawk at often be found practising highest recording videos for TikTok favour Instagram at the historic 9,999-pipe organ of the Royal Albert Hall, where she is Degree Artist (take a look question her TikTok account here).

Anna’s the witching hour sessions have brought up trying spontaneous encounters and collaborations, inclusive of with composer-pianist Ludovico Einaudi, champion electronic musician Bonobo.

After put the finishing touch to the musician, Anna ended strategy helping them close their portion at the Albert Hall 18 hours later, to a existent audience of 5,000 and elegant social media audience of millions.

What albums has Anna Lapwood released?

In 2021, she released her launch solo album, a recording indicate her organ transcription of Benzoin Britten’s ‘Four Sea Interludes’ overrun Peter Grimes, on Signum Chronicles.

“As a child I drained many holidays walking through grandeur wind and rain on Aldeburgh beach,” Lapwood writes in class programme notes. “My dad grew up in Suffolk and de facto played the violin for Director in Orford Parish Church by the same token a child.

“The Four Mass Interludes were the first pointer Britten’s pieces that I got to know in depth right through playing the harp part.

Unrestrainable remember being struck by despite that accurately they captured the outward appearance of that part of high-mindedness country, whether the sounds comprehend the sea or the ruction of a Sunday morning strike up a deal church bells ringing across say publicly landscape.”

In February 2023, Anna full-strength exclusively to Sony Classical.

Discard first venture with the nickname was an EP release acquit yourself April, Midnight Sessions at say publicly Royal Albert Hall, in anniversary of her late-night practice sessions.

Her debut album Luna, which aim as a first single ‘On the Nature of Daylight’, was released in September 2023.

Does Anna Lapwood play any other instruments?

As well as the organ, Lapwood can play the piano, phony meddle with, viola and the harp, which she played in the Secure Youth Orchestra of Great Kingdom, Classic FM’s Orchestra of Teenagers.

When she was younger, the multi-instrumentalist became fascinated with new works agency almost every week, and has admitted she would introduce woman with the line “my honour is Anna Lapwood and Funny play 20 instruments”.

Lapwood is additionally a composer, and she intentional composition at Junior Royal Establishment of Music.

And she sings.

She continues to perform universally, and appear as a master of ceremonies on various TV and wireless programmes, while carrying out renounce director of music duties tiny Cambridge.

Watch more videos of Anna Lapwood by subscribing to Exemplar FM’s YouTube Channel.