Support
A year of events is planned during 2023 to celebrate the 10th birthday of Llandaff Cathedral’s Nicholson & Co. Ltd. Organ.
This magnificent instrument with its 4780 pipes was installed between 2010 and 2013 and is the largest wholly new Cathedral Organ to be built for a UK Cathedral since that of Coventry Cathedral in the 1960s. The organ is in daily use accompanying worship, for concerts and recitals, and has been heard the world over in broadcasts and recordings. During 2023 Celebrate 10! will showcase the different facets of the organ’s life through an exciting programme of events.
The celebrations will begin at 4.00pm on Sunday 29th January when Assistant Director of Music Aaron Shilson will give the Welsh Premiere of Philip Moore’s Nativitas, with the formal launch of Celebrate 10! on Sunday 5th February. There’s something for everyone during the year; from a Cymanfa Ganu celebrating the Welsh hymn, to a silent film with live improvised soundtrack. There will be recitals during May, June and July given by leading organists including Gordon Stewart and winner of the 2022 IAO/RCO Organ Playing Competition, Charles Francis. Educational events and opportunities for organists young and old to play will take place throughout the year and the organ will also appear in a solo capacity with musicians from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in a Gala Concert in December. Celebrations come to an end with a performance of Olivier Messiaen’s La Nativité du Seigneur on Saturday 23rd December. Llandaff Cathedral’s own team of organists will take centre stage at various points of the year, most particularly during a 24-hour Playathon from Friday 3rd to Saturday 4th March.
Director of Music, Stephen Moore, is looking forward to the year ahead:
“The organ is at the heart of the daily life of the Cathedral, and we are extremely proud of this remarkable instrument. As we approach the 10th anniversary of the completion of the organ, it is right that we should celebrate the vision of those who sought to bring an instrument of such a high calibre to Llandaff and the doubtless achievement of the cathedral community who worked so hard to bring the project to fruition. We are really looking forward to an amazing year of events ahead and hope that many people will join us in celebrating this landmark in the life of Llandaff Cathedral.”
Click here to find out more information about what we’ve got planned
