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X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://essexorganists.org
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for EOA
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DTSTART:20250101T000000
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260509T143000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260509T170000
DTSTAMP:20260729T145354Z
CREATED:20250922T092052Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260729T145354Z
UID:3197-1778337000-1778346000@essexorganists.org
SUMMARY:A Celebration of the Life and Music of Percy Whitlock (1903-1946)
DESCRIPTION:On Saturday 9th May\, we were delighted to welcome renowned Whitlock scholar\, Malcolm Riley to give an illustrated talk about Percy Whitlock at Waltham Abbey Church.  The talk was attended by members of the EOA\, members of neighbouring Organists’ Associations and even attracted some non-members. \nMalcolm gave a fascinating talk with plenty of insights into Whitlock’s life and music. We learnt about those who influenced Whitlock and helped him develop his own distinctive\, idiomatic style\, which combined elements of his teacher at London’s Royal College of Music\, Vaughan Williams\, elements from Elgar\, Stanford and Rachmaninov\, the influence of folksongs and traces of the lush harmonic style of Gershwin and other popular composers of the 1920s. The audience was particularly interested to learn about all the links and connections between musicians at that time. \nMalcolm talked in some detail about Whitlock’s life\, illustrated by many interesting photographs from his childhood\, from his time at Rochester Cathedral\, St Stephen’s Church in Bournemouth and as Bournemouth’s borough organist\, playing at the Pavillion Theatre\, regularly working with the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra. \nWe heard several musical examples\, including the only known recording of Whitlock playing his own music\, a tiny 16 second fragment of him playing the Scherzetto from the Organ Sonata\, recorded in October 1945 on the Compton organ of St Osmund’s Parkstone. \nAfter a break for refreshments\, Jonathan Lilley\, Director of Music at Waltham Abbey Church\, gave a brilliant rendition of Whitlock’s Sonata in C minor.  This was a truly breath-taking and magical performance\, on a magnificent organ perfectly suited to Whitlock’s music.  Everybody appreciated the variety of colours in Jonathan’s registrations\, which really helped communicate the structure and form of this epic work\, from the brassy four-note theme in the first movement\, through the lyrical\, wistful Elgarian motifs\, the sombre chorale sections\, the melodies on the solo clarinet to the grand fanfares and flourishes. \nIt was a thoroughly enjoyable and informative event.
URL:https://essexorganists.org/event/a-celebration-of-the-life-and-music-of-percy-whitlock-1903-1946-with-distinguished-whitlock-scholar-malcolm-riley/
LOCATION:Waltham Abbey Church\, Highbridge Street\, Waltham Abbey\, EN9 1DG
CATEGORIES:EOA
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260512T113000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260512T170000
DTSTAMP:20260809T151357Z
CREATED:20260223T110259Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260809T151357Z
UID:3319-1778585400-1778605200@essexorganists.org
SUMMARY:Recital\, Masterclass and Playing Opportunity at the Moot Hall\, Colchester Town Hall
DESCRIPTION:On Tuesday 12th May\, EOA President Emma Gibbins gave a very enjoyable recital on the 1902 Norman & Beard organ to an audience of over 150 people in the Moot Hall of Colchester Town Hall. Emma’s programme\, which was carefully chosen to suit the instrument and to appeal to the audience\, was as follows:\nCrown Imperial\nWilliam Walton (1902-1983) Tr. Herbert Murrill\nLiebster Jesu\, wir sind hier\, BWV 731\nJ.S. Bach (1685-1750) \nWaltz & Dancing Feet (from Dance Suite)\nNoel Rawsthorne (1919-2019)\nVariations on Amazing Grace\nDenis Bédard (b. 1950)\nOver the rainbow\nHarold Arlen (1905-1986) Tr. David E. Coleman\nFinlandia\nJean Sibelius (1865-1957) Tr. Herbert Austin Fricker \nThis was followed by a Masterclass\, led by Emma\, in which two EOA members\, Wendy Hildreth and Michaela Cottee\, participated alongside Chelmsford Cathedral Organ Scholar\, Helen Lunn. The theme of the Masterclass was ‘Confidence at the Console’. The session focussed on building confidence in performance situations – from managing nerves to developing physical and musical control at the instrument. Following an overview of strategies and techniques by Emma\, the three Masterclass participants each had an opportunity to perform a piece on the Moot Hall organ\, with assistance\, input and insights from Emma\, all of which helped to inspire confidence in the three players.
URL:https://essexorganists.org/event/recital-masterclass-and-playing-opportunity-at-the-moot-hall-colchester-town-hall/
LOCATION:Colchester Moot Hall\, High Street\, Colchester CO1 1PJ
CATEGORIES:EOA
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260627T120000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260627T160000
DTSTAMP:20260809T151009Z
CREATED:20260223T110736Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260809T151009Z
UID:3321-1782561600-1782576000@essexorganists.org
SUMMARY:EOA AGM plus lunch and a concert at Chelmsford Cathedral
DESCRIPTION:The 76th Annual General Meeting of the Essex Organists’ Association took place on Saturday 27th June in the Song School at Chelmsford Cathedral. Dr. Emma Gibbins presented her first report as President\, and Dr. Michaela Cottee presented her third report as Treasurer & Membership Secretary. Together\, these comprehensive reports showed that the EOA had enjoyed a very busy and successful year. Although the accounts were presented in draft form\, as they had not yet been signed off by the Independent Examiner\, they showed that efforts to top-up the Christopher Kingsley Memorial Fund during the year had been very successful\, that a number of events had either broken even or made a profit\, and that the EOA made a surplus in 2025/26\, after reporting a deficit in 2024/25. \nBefore the AGM\, some members of the EOA enjoyed lunch together at the Côte Brasserie near to the Cathedral and a performance of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf in the Cathedral\, narrated by storyteller Mike Dodsworth with Samuel Bristow (Assistant Director of Music) on the organ. Elections for Committee roles took place as follows:\n Chris Denney was elected as Minutes Secretary for another two years (until June 2028).\n Andrew Stevens was elected as an Ordinary Committee Member for another two years\n(until June 2028)\n Fiona Bodmer was elected as an Ordinary Committee Member for two years (until June\n2028)\, having previously been a co-opted member of the Committee. \nThis means that the EOA Committee for the year 2026-27 is as follows:\nPresident: Dr. Emma Gibbins (until 2027)\nVice-Chairman: Dr. Michaela Cottee (until 2027)\nTreasurer & Membership Secretary: Dr. Michaela Cottee (until 2027)\nWebmaster: Suzanna Brooks (until 2027)\nMinutes Secretary: Chris Denney (until 2028)\nOrdinary Committee Members: Lyndon Ford (until 2027)\nJonathan Lilley (until 2027)\nFiona Bodmer (until 2028)\nAndrew Stevens (until 2028)
URL:https://essexorganists.org/event/eoa-agm-plus-lunch-and-a-concert-at-chelmsford-cathedral/
LOCATION:Chelmsford Cathedral\, Chelmsford\, Essex
CATEGORIES:EOA
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260725T120000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260725T170000
DTSTAMP:20260809T150758Z
CREATED:20260223T110922Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260809T150758Z
UID:3323-1784980800-1784998800@essexorganists.org
SUMMARY:EOA Summer Social in Thaxted
DESCRIPTION:Eight people travelled to the pretty market town of Thaxted in order to participate in the EOA Summer Social. We began at Thaxted Parish Church (dedicated to St John the Baptist with Our Lady and St Laurence) where we were made most welcome\, with refreshments provided upon arrival. \nFollowing a brief Extraordinary General Meeting (to approve the Independently Examined accounts) the six players present each played the lovely little one-manual\, electro-pneumatic action\, 8 stop organ at the west end of the church. Built by local builder Cedric Arnold in 1952\, the case and most of the pipework is by George Pike England and dates from 1795. \nWe then moved across to the historic Lincoln organ\, which was awarded a Grade 1 Historic Organ Certificate by BIOS following restoration work by Goetze & Gwynne in 2014. This three manual\, tracker action\, 23 stop organ with a straight flat pedalboard and 1/6th comma meantone tuning\, was originally built by Henry Lincoln in 1821 for the church of St. John\, Bedford Row\, Holborn\, London\, where Theophania Cecil was the organist. The organ was moved to Thaxted Church in 1858. Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan-Williams would have played this organ\, as have many well-known organists in more recent years (including Anna Lapwood\, Thomas Trotter and Iain Farrington) as part of the Thaxted Festival. \nUnfortunately\, there wasn’t time for anybody to play the three-manual Makin digital organ as we needed to walk to Thaxted URC in order to play the two-manual\, tracker action\, 15 stop instrument therein. Originally by Peter Conacher and installed in 1883 (according to NPOR) or 1889 (according to the church website)\, the highly decorated pipework is visually stunning and dominates the church. It is hoped that the URC will find the necessary funding in order to sort out the problems caused by cone tuning. \nFollowing our visit to the two Thaxted churches\, six people\, plus two people from Thaxted Parish Church\, made their way to the India Villa restaurant for a very enjoyable and sociable meal. \nThe EOA is very grateful to both churches for making us so welcome\, and to Committee members Michaela Cottee and Andrew Stevens for their help to make this event possible.
URL:https://essexorganists.org/event/eoa-summer-social-in-thaxted/
LOCATION:Thaxted
CATEGORIES:EOA
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://essexorganists.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/260725-EOA-3.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260919T100000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260919T150000
DTSTAMP:20260809T134801Z
CREATED:20260223T111110Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260809T134801Z
UID:3325-1789812000-1789830000@essexorganists.org
SUMMARY:All Day Visit to Organs in the Bishops Stortford Area
DESCRIPTION:EOA Committee member Andrew Stevens is organising this event for the Essex Organists’\nAssociation\, and we look forward to welcoming friends from two of our neighbouring\nAssociations\, Beds & Herts and Enfield & District\, to this event. Last year this visit was\ncancelled because insufficient expressions of interest were received in a timely manner\,\nbut we are hopeful that it will go ahead this year! \nThe timetable for the day will be:\n10.00am St Mary the Virgin Church\, Stansted Mountfitchet (CM24 8UB) – 2 manuals &\npedals (15 stops)\, originally built by Hill & Son in 1874 but rebuilt and moved by Hill\, Norman\n& Beard in 1950.\nNPOR: npor.org.uk/survey/N18642 \n12.00 noon St Mary the Virgin Church\, Birchanger (CM23 5QH) – 3 manuals & pedals\n(24 stops)\, built by August Gern (previously foreman at the Cavaillé-Coll works in Paris) in\n1884. Grade I Historic Organ certificate.\nNPOR: npor.org.uk/survey/N08628 \n1.30pm Pub Lunch at The Three Willows\, Birchanger (CM23 5QR) \n3.30pm St Michael’s Church\, Bishop’s Stortford (CM23 2ND) – 3 manuals & pedals (44\nstops)\, recently rebuilt (2016) by Mander Organs.\nNPOR: npor.org.uk/survey/V00394 \nThe cost of this event is £10 for players\, and £5 for non-players or players under 18 years old. For further details and to book your place for the visit and for lunch (if required)\, please email Andrew Stevens as early as possible using a.stevens50@btinternet.com.
URL:https://essexorganists.org/event/all-day-visit-to-organs-in-the-bishops-stortford-area/
LOCATION:Bishops Stortford
CATEGORIES:EOA
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20261003T140000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20261003T160000
DTSTAMP:20260809T135320Z
CREATED:20260809T135030Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260809T135320Z
UID:3465-1791036000-1791043200@essexorganists.org
SUMMARY:Broomfield Organ Centenary Celebrations
DESCRIPTION:The 1926 Hill\, Norman & Beard organ in Broomfield Church (St Mary with St Leonard\, Church Green\, Broomfield\, Chelmsford CM1 7BD) is 100 years old this year and the church is planning to celebrate this milestone with an organ concert at 2pm on Saturday 3rd October. They would love the Essex Organists’ Association to join in the celebrations and have invited EOA members to participate in a composite recital. If you are interested in taking part in this recital\, do please email organistassociation@gmail.com. \nBroomfield Church has been a very welcoming venue for many EOA events over the years\, so it would be great if we can show our appreciation by supporting this event as players and as audience members.\nNPOR: npor.org.uk/survey/A01024
URL:https://essexorganists.org/event/broomfield-organ-centenary-celebrations/
LOCATION:St Mary with St Leonard\, Broomfield\, Church Green\, Broomfield\, Chelmsford\, Essex\, CM1 7BD
CATEGORIES:EOA
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20261027T080000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20261029T170000
DTSTAMP:20260809T135659Z
CREATED:20260223T111245Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260809T135659Z
UID:3327-1793088000-1793293200@essexorganists.org
SUMMARY:EOA Extended visit to South Wales
DESCRIPTION:EOA President Emma Gibbins has organised an excellent three-day Extended Visit to play organs in South Wales. The programme of visits (to eight venues) is as follows:\nTuesday 27th October\nSt Mary’s\, Usk (2pm – 4pm)\n3 manuals\, 33 stops Gray & Davison 1861. Ex-Llandaff Cathedral\nSt German’s\, Splott\, Cardiff (5pm – 6.30pm)\n3 manuals\, 37 stops\, Hill\, 1885\nWednesday 28th October\nLlandaff Cathedral (9am – 11am)\n4 manuals\, 77 stops\, Nicholson 2008\nBrangwyn Hall\, Swansea (12.30pm – 2.30pm)\n4 manuals\, 34 stops\, Willis 1920\, built for the Elite Cinema in Nottingham\nSwansea Minster (from 3pm)\n3 manuals\, 48 stop\, Hill Norman and Beard 1959\nInvited to give a recital as background music to their Luke Jerram installation of\nGaia. Composite recital 4pm? Followed by open console? (timings TBC)\nThursday 29th October\nSt John the Baptist\, Cardiff (9am – 10.30am)\n3 manuals\, 38 stops\, Willis 1894\nOrganist Philip Thomas will meet us and talk to us about the organ\nNational Museum of Wales\, Cardiff (11.30am – 1pm)\n2 manuals\, 19 stops\, Snetzler 1774\nRobert Court (Cardiff University Organist and curator of the museum organ) will\nmeet us and talk to us about the organ\nSt Peter’s Roath (2.30 – 4.30pm)\n3 manuals\, 38 stops\, Späth\, 2006\nOrganist Peter Clark will meet us and talk to us about the organ\nFurther details will be provided in due course to those who have expressed an interest in participating in the visit. Non-members are welcome if invited by an EOA member who is attending. \nParticipants in this extended visit are responsible for making their own travel and accommodation arrangements. We recommend staying at the Premier Inn Cardiff City Centre (Stadium)\, Custom House Street\, Cardiff\, CF10 1AP\, which is located right next to Cardiff Central railway station. There isn’t any on-site parking at the Premier Inn\, but there is a 24-hour NCP car park nearby on Pellett Street (CF10 4FD). We know from previous extended visits that being in the same hotel as other participants enhances the enjoyment of the visit\, as well as making it easier to sort out lifts\, etc. Some people will be arriving on the Monday and staying until the Friday\, but others may prefer to stay Tuesday to Thursday.\nThe easiest way to get around the venues will be by car. Some people have already said that they plan to drive and can offer people lifts between venues (in return for some petrol money). At this stage\, it would be really helpful to know:\na) If you are interested in participating in the Extended Visit to South Wales\nb) If you are planning to go by car or by train (it may be possible\, by negotiation\, to hitch a lift to/from Wales from one of the car drivers)\nc) If you are likely to need lifts between venues in Wales (if necessary\, places will be allocated on a first come\, first served basis)\nd) If you can offer lifts between venues in Wales (and how many people you could transport)\nIf you plan to travel to Wales by train\, we recommend buying a return ticket to Newport. On Tuesday 27th October\, there is an 1148 from Paddington\, getting into Newport 1324. Newport station is much easier to negotiate than Cardiff station and Newport is the right side of Cardiff for getting to Usk\, which is our first venue and is about a 30-minute drive from Newport. Then you’ll just need to buy a single from Cardiff to Newport on the last day\, to get back to Newport to get the Paddington train. There are lots of trains from Cardiff to Newport\, so you can easily just turn up at the station and buy a ticket when you arrive (tickets are currently only £6.30).\nAs we wish to offer the venues\, who are generously hosting us\, a donation\, we need to charge participants the following to help us cover these costs: £15 per day for players and £7.50 per day for non-players.\nPlease send expressions of interest to Emma Gibbins\, using emmagibbins1978@gmail.com.
URL:https://essexorganists.org/event/eoa-extended-visit-to-south-wales/
LOCATION:South Wales
CATEGORIES:EOA
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20261121T140000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20261121T160000
DTSTAMP:20260809T145236Z
CREATED:20260223T111435Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260809T145236Z
UID:3330-1795269600-1795276800@essexorganists.org
SUMMARY:Bring & Share Music for Advent\, Christmas and Epiphany\, at Christ Church\, Chelmsford
DESCRIPTION:The idea of this event\, which is being organised by EOA President Emma Gibbins\, is to bring and “share” – by talking about and playing – organ music that is appropriate for Advent\, Christmas or Epiphany. It is taking place at Christ Church\, 164 New London Road\, Chelmsford\, CM2 0AW\, on Saturday 21st November\, 2.30pm – 4.30pm. Look out for further information nearer the time but start choosing your pieces soon as the start of Advent (Sunday 29th November) is just over three months away!\nThe organ at Christ Church is a big 3 manual instrument\, rebuilt and enlarged by The Village Workshop in 2004. NPOR: npor.org.uk/survey/N01271
URL:https://essexorganists.org/event/bring-share-music-for-advent-christmas-and-epiphany-at-christ-church-chelmsford/
LOCATION:Christ Church\, Chelmsford
CATEGORIES:EOA
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20270130T130000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20270130T153000
DTSTAMP:20260809T150156Z
CREATED:20260809T150156Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260809T150156Z
UID:3471-1801314000-1801323000@essexorganists.org
SUMMARY:EOA Annual Lunch with Tom Bell
DESCRIPTION:Following the success of the EOA 75th Anniversary Lunch in January 2026\, with special guest speaker Daniel Moult\, we are planning to return to the County Hotel in Chelmsford on Saturday 30th January 2027 for lunch with special guest speaker Tom Bell. The County Hotel\, which is within easy reach of Chelmsford railway station\, has once again offered us use of the private dining room on the first floor (please note\, there is no lift access.) Partners and friends are welcome to join us.\nMany of you are doubtless already familiar with Tom and his wide-ranging body of work. According to his website (tombell-organist.net)\, Tom has built a vibrant portfolio as a performer\, teacher and animateur. He has performed across Europe\, in Australia\, the Far East and the USA. Tom’s recordings have been broadcast and won praise internationally. Tom’s students have held prestigious positions across the UK. He himself was taught by Kevin Bowyer\, Jacques van Oortmerssen and Ann Elise Smoot. Organist to the renowned Organworks project from 2007-2017\, Tom continues his educational work as a Director of the Royal College of Organists. Tom was Artistic Director of the London Organ Day 2013-2026\, is a patron of the Society of Women Organists and a member of the Association of Independent Organ Advisers. Further details\, including a copy of the a la carte menu\, will be provided in due course. In the meantime\, as places are limited\, you are invited to express an interest in joining us by emailing organistassociation@gmail.com.
URL:https://essexorganists.org/event/eoa-annual-lunch-with-tom-bell/
LOCATION:County Hotel\, Chelmsford
CATEGORIES:EOA
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20270220T140000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20270220T160000
DTSTAMP:20260809T150505Z
CREATED:20260809T150505Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260809T150505Z
UID:3473-1803132000-1803139200@essexorganists.org
SUMMARY:Composite Recital in aid of the Christopher Kingsley Memorial Fund for Organists
DESCRIPTION:The aim of the Christopher Kingsley Memorial Fund (CKMF) is to offer modest grants towards the costs associated with being an organist\, such as organ music\, organ shoes and organ lessons. The fund is open to organists aged 25 and under who are living\, working or studying in Essex.\nFollowing the success of the composite recital that took place at Shenfield Parish Church in February 2026\, which raised over £400 for the CKMF\, it is our intention to hold another composite recital to raise much-needed funds for the CKMF. This will take place at Witham Parish Church (St Nicolas\, Chipping Hill\, Witham CM8 2JS) on Saturday 20th February and coincides with the tenth anniversary of the original launch concert. We already have some players lined up to take part but if you are interested in playing\, we would love to hear from you. Please email organistassociation@gmail.com.\nThe organ in Witham Parish Church is a two manual Kenneth Tickell organ\, built in 2003.\nNPOR: npor.org.uk/survey/E00462
URL:https://essexorganists.org/event/composite-recital-in-aid-of-the-christopher-kingsley-memorial-fund-for-organists/
LOCATION:St Nicholas\, Witham\, Chipping Hill\, Witham\, Essex\, CM8 2JS
CATEGORIES:EOA
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