TikTok Organ Sensation Anna Lapwood

“She is much more than a gifted organist, choral conductor and social media sensation…
she’s a star on a mission” – The Sunday Times

”TikTok organist told to ‘play like a man’ is leading musical gender equality movement” – The I Newspaper

“She had rightly become “the world’s most visible organist” – New York Times 

After picking up the prestigious RPS Gamechanger Award at The Royal Philharmonic Society Awards this week, Anna Lapwood releases ‘Chevalier De Sangreal’, the second track to be taken from her forthcoming 5 track EP of film transcriptions. Recorded on the organ of the Royal Albert Hall, Midnight Sessions At The Royal Albert Hall EP will be released April 21st on Sony Classical. 

Taken from The Da Vinci Code and composed by Hans Zimmer, Anna delivers a beautifully haunting version of ‘Chevalier De Sangreal’ (from The Da Vinci Code). “We all have those pieces of music that have a strong childhood memory associated with them – they feel formative in a way – and Chevaliers De Sangreal (from “The Da Vinci Code”) is one of those pieces for me,” Anna said of the track. “ I vividly remember watching the film for the first time with my family, hearing the music and feeling incredibly emotional. I wanted to understand how the music worked so I sat in bed with a torch and manuscript paper, writing out the harmony, and trying to understand how Hans Zimmer achieved such emotion through repetition and orchestration.” Listen to ‘Chevalier De Sangreal’ (from The Da Vinci Code) HERE.

The track follows – ‘Cornfield Chase (From “Interstellar”)’ composed by Hans Zimmer – the first track to be released from Midnight Sessions At The Royal Albert Hall (listen here), and you can get to know this extremely exciting and talented artist via her Introduction video here.

Of the EP Anna comments; “Over the last 11 months I’ve been lucky enough to be let into the Royal Albert Hall in the middle-of-the night for practice sessions on the hall’s magnificent organ. As I’ve explored the strange, beautiful and wonderful colours that it has to offer, I’ve written a set of new film music transcriptions with that specific instrument in mind, capturing some of the magic that I feel in that iconic building after hours.”

The 27-year-old from a small Oxfordshire village has been making waves with her exciting approach to organ playing, awakening the senses of young and old alike, opening the gateways to classical music and shining a light on an often under-appreciated instrument. 

By day she runs choirs and teaches at Cambridge University’s Pembroke College, practising the organ at every opportunity. By night, her role as Associate Artist of the Royal Albert Hall sees her granted special access to the majestic instrument while most of us are fast asleep. This has led to an entirely spontaneous collaboration with electronic musician Bonobo – one late-night practice session was interrupted by a request shouted up from the stage, which turned out to come from a couple of members of Bonobo’s band. 18 hours later, she was helping them close their show to an unsuspecting audience of 5,000.

Anna continues to relive the magic of that event through her videos to her 450,000+ TikTok followers – a tool she is using with exciting results. The power of social media gives the ability to demystify the outdated baggage the organ once carried along with it, throwing open the doors to all sorts of possibilities.

Only 8% of organists responsible for recitals in the UK in 2022 are women. Anna’s #playlikeagirl social media hashtag, which isn’t about dividing, but uniting and reminding women to own themselves, be themselves and find themselves through music, has blown up.

With an exciting year to come, including an album on the horizon and her signing to Sony Classical indicating a new and exciting chapter in her career, keep an eye out for the woman who can do it all. 

“There’s all sorts of old ideas about who goes to an organ concert, and it was seen as having gone out of fashion. That has definitely changed,” insists Anna: “This instrument is anything from boring – just ask Benedict Cumberbatch!”

EP TRACKLIST: MIDNIGHT SESSIONS AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL

1. Cornfield Chase (From “Interstellar”)
2. Test Drive (From “How To Train Your Dragon”)
3. Davy Jones (From “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”)
4. Chevaliers De Sangreal (From “The Da Vinci Code”)
5. No Time For Caution (From “Interstellar”)

Appearances include the following, with more concerts to be announced soon

March
Tue 28th Organ Recital – First Palo Alto United Methodist Church, California

April
Sat 1st Organ Recital: Segerstrom Concert Hall, California

Sat 22nd Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony No. 3 with the London Mozart Players – Fairfield Halls, Croydon (Pipe Dreams)

Wed 26th Poulenc Organ Concerto and Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony No. 3, Hallé Orchestra – Bridgewater Hall

Thu 27th Chetham’s School of Music Masterclass – Manchester

Thu 27th Poulenc Organ Concerto and Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony, Hallé Orchestra – Bridgewater Hall

Sun 30th Poulenc Organ Concerto and Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony, Hallé Orchestra – Bridgewater Hall

June
Sun 4th Royal Albert Hall Organ Celebration (Recital) – Royal Albert Hall

July
Sat 1st Organ Recital – St Mary’s Church, Saffron Walden

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