A new series of monthly organ recitals will begin in Harrogate tomorrow.
The series will see some of the country’s finest organists give hour-long recitals on the new digital organ at St Wilfrid’s Church on Duchy Road.
The organ console will be situated in the middle of the nave, which should enhance the audience experience.
Anthony Gray, director of music at St Wilfrid’s, said:
“We are beginning the fundraising process to restore our pipe organ, which will cost over £500,000.
“This series should be an excellent showcase of the capability of digital organs, and in our relatively cavernous acoustic, it sounds very exciting and rich.”
Anthony Gray
Mr Gray, who is among the organists due to play in the series in the Grade 1 listed building, added he was trying to offer something different to organ recitals held in places like Bradford, Leeds and Ripon by giving each recital a short title, hinting at what is on the programme.
He added:
“We are also offering some slightly different recital experience with a jazz recital next month, a showcase of the entire music department in the summer, and some interesting celebrations of specific composers too.”
John Longstaff, from St Peter’s Church in Harrogate will begin the series this week. Alexander Berry, from Bradford Cathedral and David Pipe, from Newcastle Cathedral, are among the names that will follow.
John Longstaff
The concerts will take place on, or as close to as possible, the first Wednesday evening of each month, beginning at 7:30pm. Admission is £6; under-18s are free,
The full programme is here.
Ripon choristers sing their way to scholarship success
Upper sixth formers Barnaby Sladden and James Kitchingman have sung their way to success.
The friends sang together for years in the Ripon Cathedral choir and are now heading to Cambridge and Worcester.
They have secured much sought-after choral scholarships.
The Dean of Ripon, the Very Rev John Dobson, said:
“James and Barnaby were gifted members of Ripon Cathedral Choir when I arrived in Ripon in 2014.
“It is such a joy to see them using their musical talents and flourishing so brilliantly.”
Barnaby has been offered a tenor position in the Clare College Chapel Choir at the University of Cambridge.
He will also study maths at the university.
As well as singing with the world-famous choir, he will be involved in regular performances on radio and overseas tours.
Barnaby and James san together for 11 years in the Ripon Cathedral choir.
James won his place at Worcester Cathedral, where he will receive free accommodation in an eighteenth century flat above the cathedral’s Song School.
Barnaby, who is 17, is following in the footsteps of his parents, Dan and Ruth Sladden.
The couple met in the 1990s, when they were Cambridge choral scholars, Dan at King’s and Ruth at Clare College
James, 18, will spend his gap year singing at six services a week in the cathedral and helping to run the music department there,
Michael Barker, director of music at Ripon Grammar School, said:
“Choral scholarships are only given out to the select few students who have shown dedication over time and commitment to choral music.
“I wish them the very best of luck on the next stage of their journeys.”
As a choral scholar, as well as being paid £3,000 a year and enjoying rent-free accommodation, he is looking forward to free singing lessons and mentoring from acclaimed professional musicians.
The famous choir performs in major concert venues all over the UK and has toured in Japan, the USA, Israel and throughout Europe in recent years.
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Like Barnaby, James comes from a musical family.
His mother Cathy, sings and plays the piano, father Andrew, plays piano and organ and sister Helena, 15, is a keen electric guitar player.
Ripon Cathedral appoints new director of musicGerman organist Dr Ronny Krippner has been appointed director of music at Ripon Cathedral.
Dr. Krippner, who is currently organist and director of choral music at Croydon Minster and Whitgift School in London, will start in January.
He will take over from the cathedral’s interim director of music, Peter Wright.
Born in Bavaria, Dr Krippner has considerable experience of both the German and British choral traditions.
Described by BBC Music Magazine as a ‘phenomenal improviser’, Dr Krippner has recorded CDs of organ and choir music on German record labels.
He has performed on television and radio in Germany and the UK.
He has performed organ recitals in Germany, Holland, Belgium, the UK, the United States, Mexico and Australia.
Ripon’s music tradition
Music is an integral part of services and other aspects of life at Ripon Cathedral so this is a key appointment.
Dr Krippner will take charge of the cathedral choir, which consists of boy and girl choristers aged 8 to13 and professional adult singers.
The cathedral’s website says about the choir:
“They sing six services each week and at the great festivals of Christmas and Easter.
“CD recordings, broadcasts, concerts and tours are a major part of the choir’s schedule.”
Dr Krippner studied organ playing and improvisation with Prof. Franz-Josef Stoiber at the Hochschule für Kirchenmusik in Regensburg while at the same time working as assistant choirmaster of the Regensburger Domspatzen, Regensburg Cathedral’s famous boys’ choir.
After graduating, he went to Exeter University to take his master’s degree in English Cathedral Music, while singing in the city’s cathedral choir as a choral scholar.
Ripon Cathedral has a strong musical tradition
Building on his twin musical foundations, Dr Krippner went on to take up various posts.
In 2005 he became organ scholar at Bristol Cathedral, organist at Clifton College and a member of staff at Bristol Grammar school, combining his expertise in organ playing with a gift for choral direction.
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After a period working at Newport Cathedral, he moved to London where he was organist and teacher of music at King’s College School, Wimbledon.
In addition to his school activities, Dr Krippner also held the post of assistant director of music at the celebrated ‘Handel church’, St George’s, Hanover Square, London, with its professional choir and annual Handel Festival.
Fond farewell to Ripon Cathedral’s music man
Andrew Bryden was concerned when his wife, Lisa, said they were going to see friends who needed urgent help.
What he didn’t know, was that she was taking him to a surprise party in Spa Gardens to celebrate his transformational 22 years of work as the director of music at Ripon Cathedral.
Mr Bryden, who has moved on to provide private tuition for organists and pianists, realised something was afoot as he approached the park.
Families he hadn’t seen in the flesh since the first covid lockdown in March suddenly emerged from behind trees with gifts in hand.
Choristers and their families went to Spa Gardens to say goodbye to Andrew Bryden (Photograph courtesy of Lisa Bryden)
He told the Stray Ferret:
“It was an emotional occasion and I am so grateful to the mums, dads, children and other friends who turned out on a damp and windy day.”
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The covid pandemic, which closed the cathedral in spring and put services such as Sung Eucharist in suspension, meant choir practice and other activities were restricted to virtual sessions on Zoom.
Mr Bryden said:
“I created a website and the use of technology, which was also employed to put services online during the first lockdown, meant we had a way of keeping the choir community connected.”
Community is a key word because the Ripon Cathedral Choir School on Whitcliffe Lane, which for generations developed the vocal talent of young choristers, closed at short notice in 2012 and is now being redeveloped for housing.
Chorister success
Suddenly Ripon Cathedral, whose choir is recognised as being among the best in the UK, had to change its focus.
An outreach programme, developed as part of Mr Bryden’s forward-looking strategy, saw more new members recruited from schools in the local community.
Children aged six and upwards were invited to take part in rehearsals and some eventually joined teenage and adult members in the 36-strong choir.
Testimony to the success of the strategy is the fact that within 10 years, the choir had six finalists in the BBC Young Chorister of the Year competition, including 2018 winner Emilia Jaques.
With the cathedral back in lockdown, it will be some time before choristers will be heard in the ancient building.
When it does, many of those occupying the choir stalls, will be singing the praises once more of Mr Bryden and the part he played in their musical development.