Salisbury Cathedral's treasured organ back in action for first live concert since 2018
It's undergone a huge restoration
For the first time in four years Salisbury Cathedral's famous organ will be the star of a live concert tonight (Saturday 30th April).
The Father Willis instrument underwent a huge restoration costing £700,000 in 2019 and was out of action for 14 months.
By the time the works, which included cleaning 4,000 pipes had been complete, the Covid pandemic had hit and the organ was effectively silenced for many months when live music was cancelled.
The organ which was installed in the Cathedral in 1934 did however make a triumphant return during the mass vaccination sessions when it was played to accompany those getting their jabs.
This evening celebrity organist Thomas Trotter will perform a selection of works by Bach, Gardner, Mozart, Volans and Willan.
Assistant Director of Music and concert organiser, John Challenger said:
“I am extremely excited that, at long last and after such great delay, our wonderful organ is going to be heard in concert again. We could think of no better way to honour its return than by asking the most famous organist in the country, Thomas Trotter, to give the opening recital. Thomas is well known as one of the greatest organists of our time, and I cannot wait to see him put the Willis organ through its paces, and watch it on our new big screen.”
Those attending sat in the nave will be able to see all the action in the organ loft in high definition thanks to a new extra large screen too.
The concert starts at 7pm with tickets on sale via the Cathedral website.
It's the first in a series of concerts with more details available on the link above.