Your RCO event details can be found below.
Please note that the 24-hour clock is used on all event listings, with all times being GMT/BST. To book courses and classes, please follow the Book Online link wherever you see it, and email bookings@rco.org.uk or call 020 3865 6998 with any queries. Where events are free or not bookable online, please follow the instructions for that event.
Reading Town Hall's annual Organ Heritage Open Day marks Play the Organ Year with an expanded programme. Admission is free. Join us for the whole day or drop in for the section(s) that interest you. Promoted by Reading Town Hall in association with the Royal College of Organists, the Berkshire Organists' Association, the Incorporated Association of Organists, the British Institute of Organ Studies, and Harrison & Harrison Organ Builders.
Morning programme
10.30 Doors open
11.00 Welcome followed by
How was the organ built? How does it work? How is it used?
An introduction to the famous ‘Father’ Willis Town Hall organ, with William McVicker Organ Curator, Andrew Scott Managing Director of Harrison & Harrison Ltd, and Tom Bell concert organist
12.15 Lunch break and an opportunity to visit the displays and stalls. Food and drink available for purchase at The Pantry.
13.00-13.45 Recital given by Tom Bell concert organist
Afternoon programme in the Concert Hall
14.00 Open Console - an opportunity for newcomers to play the organ
15.00 Tea break (refreshments available at The Pantry)
15.15 Masterclass with Tom Bell - young players will perform for an expert teacher
16.30 Ends
Afternoon programme in the Victoria Hall
14.00 Bruce Buchanan explores the Willis family organ-building enterprise
15.00 Tea break (refreshments available at The Pantry)
15.15 ‘The culture of organs in nineteenth-century town halls’ – Nicholas Thistlethwaite, project monitor to the Heritage Lottery Fund for the 1999 restoration of Reading's Father Willis organ
16.00 Organ restoration: the nuts and bolts. Andrew Scott Managing Director of Harrison & Harrison Ltd
16.30 Ends