A resounding success

An Open Organ Morning at Holy Trinity Church, Aberystwyth, exceeded all expectations. Tessa Briggs reports from the event and invites readers to come and play in April

Our event was inspired by, but not run under the auspices of, the Royal School of Church Music’s play-along project.

We advertised the event on our social media pages, noticeboards and in the local press and then opened the doors to absolutely anyone who was interested in playing our (Conacher) organ. We were delighted with the response and welcomed around 25 people to our church – one came from as far away as Cardigan but most were from the local area, albeit not regular attenders at Holy Trinity.

One of our organists, Daniel Smith [pictured], started the morning by playing Ombra Mai Fu (Handel’s Largo from the opera Xerxes) for us. He then gave a brief introduction to the complexities of the organ, including stops and pedals, following which anyone interested was invited to have a go at playing.

About 15 people, of all ages and all levels of ability, took up the invitation and, under Daniel’s guidance, discovered what a remarkable instrument our organ is. Some had several turns and one has since played the organ voluntary for us at the end of a Sunday morning service. Thanks go to Daniel for all his hard work - you can watch him playing Ombra Mai Fu on YouTube at: "OMBRA MAI FU"/ "LARGO FROM XERXES" HWV 40 by. G.F. Handel (1685 - 1759)

We plan to host another Open Organ Morning on Saturday, 18th April at 10.30am, when Daniel will play Bach’s Toccata and Fugue before inviting anyone interested to have a go at playing. All are welcome (bring your own music if you wish) – the event is free and refreshments will be available. For more information, or to contact us, visit our Facebook pages: HolyTrinityAber