RCO launches The Organ Podcast

The Royal College of Organists (RCO) has launched a new podcast dedicated to the world of the organ, organists and organ music.

The Organ Podcast is a fortnightly show designed to inform and entertain organists and organ enthusiasts alike, including those who are simply curious and want to know more about this unique instrument and its music.

LISTEN NOW AT theorganpodcast.buzzsprout.com

Episodes will feature interviews with leading UK and international organists, visit historic or little-known organs of interest, catch-up with organ rebuilds and restorations, and encounter a diverse mix of individual organ-related activities, news, discussions and initiatives from around the UK.  

Host Mark O’Brien is both an organist and an award-winning former BBC radio and tv producer. He said: “The aim is to make a show which is friendly, informal and entertaining, but at the same time as being an intelligent and authoritative guide to the whole world of the organ.

“In that spirit we will be covering all manner of organ-related activities, initiatives, and cultural aspects, exploring performance, organ design and history, the instrument’s many secular as well as liturgical uses, different approaches to educational and outreach work, the organ’s links with choral traditions, as well as the insights, experiences and stories of organists around the world.”

The first episode of The Organ Podcast takes a closer look at the huge project to restore Manchester Town Hall’s 1877 Cavaillé-Coll organ; joins Tom Bell as he records a new CD of Olivier Messiaen’s Livre du Saint Sacrement from Blackburn Cathedral; and meets concert organist Margaret Phillips at the remarkable English Organ School & Museum which she founded in 1996.

RCO Head of Marketing Marc Sanderson said: “The podcast is the latest addition to the RCO’s vital work to bring the organ and its music to new audiences, both in the UK and around the world.

“We hope that as well as entertaining and informing existing organists and enthusiasts, this new show will reach and engage those with a more recent or casual interest, helping to nurture a completely new generation of players and audiences.”

The Organ Podcast is available free of charge from Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon and all popular podcast directories. It is also available to hear to via the College’s YouTube page, and the RCO content platform iRCO (with either a member or free guest account). Or visit theorganpodcast.buzzsprout.com