Following in the illustrious footsteps of Thomas Trotter and Olivier Latry, who gave sell-out recitals in 2022 and 2023, I have invited the international organist David Briggs to give this year’s Catherine Ennis Memorial Recital on Orford Church’s magnificent Peter Collins organ (Saturday, 6 July at 4pm).

Known for his unbridled virtuosity and passion for making organ music vibrant and accessible to a wide and diverse audience, David is one of the most sought after concert organists of his generation.

A former Organ Scholar at King’s College, Cambridge, he also studied with Jean Langlais in Paris. David has held numerous positions in North America and the UK, including Organist Emeritus of Gloucester Cathedral. He comes to us from New York, where he is currently Artist-in-Residence at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City.

A prolific and brilliant composer, David’s music was heard at Whitsunday Choral Evensong in Orford; heavily influenced by the exuberant French improvisatory style of playing by Olivier Latry’s great predecessor at Notre Dame in Paris, Pierre Cochereau, David’s programme includes his own arrangement of Paul Dukas’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, major works by J S Bach, Mozart, Reger and Vierne, and an improvised symphony. A feast of a recital is promised, and will surely be delivered by David. 

Tickets (£15 unreserved) are available from Britten-Pears Arts

(https://bit.ly/3WJovFB), or The King’s Head, Orford.

Graeme Kay, Director of Music, Orford Church