Play the Organ Year urges organists to ‘throw open the doors’

Play the Organ Year urges organists to ‘throw open the doors’


Organisations from across the organ and church music world have announced Play the Organ Year 2025, a year-long project to increase the number of people playing the organ and appreciating its music.

The Play the Organ Year campaign aims to create as many opportunities as possible for people to not just hear, but also play, an organ for the first time.

The initiative involves organisations including The Royal College of Organists, Incorporated Association of Organists, Royal School of Church Music, Society of Women Organists, British Institute of Organ Studies, Institute of British Organ Building, The Organ Club, the Cathedral Organists Association, and the Association of Assistant Cathedral Organists.

Organists and venues are being asked to plan First Encounter organ recitals throughout 2025, including specially designed Play the Organ sessions for newcomers wherever possible.

Organists can also join in by simply using Play the Organ Year material to introduce one or more new people to the instrument over the course of the year.

Organist and broadcaster Anna Lapwood MBE is supporting Play the Organ Year as its patron, alongside a team of leading organists around the UK working as regional ambassadors.

Anna said: “The organ is a unique and fabulous instrument, and we want as many people as possible to discover how truly thrilling it is to play one!

“No one knows this better than organists, so I hope that as many of us as possible take up the Play the Organ Year challenge to throw open the doors and make 2025 the year we share this remarkable experience with a record number of people.”

To help organists and venues arrange Play the Organ Year events and activities, a free Play the Organ Year resource pack is available to download at www.rco.org.uk/play.

The pack includes how-to guides and advice, branded content and templates, and detailed plans and resources for hands-on Play the Organ sessions suitable for anyone from a complete music novice to someone with a little experience of piano or other keyboard instruments.

Also at www.rco.org.uk/play is a Play the Organ Year listings page, where organists and venues can upload details of their Play the Organ Year events, and people can then search to find events near them throughout the year.

The RCO, its partners, and the Play the Organ Year ambassadors also be running their own events around the UK, starting with a launch First Encounter event on the afternoon of Sunday 19 January at Central Hall Westminster in London.
Digital resources will also be published on YouTube and Instagram, providing opportunities for anyone unable to attend a physical Play the Organ Year event to take part on keyboard instruments at home.

Organists will be encouraged to submit the results of their Play the Organ Year activities, with the target of reaching more than 2,000 newcomer sessions on the organ during the year.

Chief Executive of the Royal College of Organists Sir Andrew Parmley said: “The organ is a magnificent instrument unlike any other – powerful, versatile, visceral and enormous fun to play.

“But with declining church attendances, drastic cuts in school music education, and ever-smaller audiences for live performances, we know that fewer and fewer people are getting the chance to discover this for themselves.

“So, at the heart of Play the Organ Year is an attempt to reopen this experience to as many people as possible - to encourage them to take a step towards the organ, to lay hands on it wherever possible, and to discover for the first time the unique and thrilling experience of playing this remarkable instrument.”

Play the Organ Year information and resources can be found at www.rco.org.uk/play

Notes for Editors

1. Play the Organ Year 2025 is being managed by the Royal College of Organists with support from organisations throughout the organ and church music world, including: The Royal College of Organists, Incorporated Association of Organists, Royal School of Church Music, Society of Women Organists, British Institute of Organ Studies, Institute of British Organ Building, The Organ Club and the Cathedral Organists Association.

2. Patron of Play the Organ Year 2025 is organist and broadcaster Anna Lapwood MBE. The regional Play the Organ Year Ambassadors are: John Kitchen (Scotland); Sarah MacDonald (East of England); Richard McVeigh (South of England); Stephen Moore (Wales); Daniel Moult (West Midlands); Matthew Owens (Northern Ireland); and David Pipe (North of England).

3. For more information on Play the Organ Year 2025, please visit www.rco.org.uk/play

Media Contact

For more information about this release, please contact:
Marc Sanderson, Head of Marketing on +44 (0)1789 739247 or +44 (0)7879 600803, or email: marc.sanderson@rco.org.uk

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