Posted on: 3rd April 2024

The recitals take place every Wednesday at 1pm from the 17th April to the 3rd July 2024 (except 29th May) and will include the world premiere of Kambaramayanam-34 by Leeds-based composer, Dr Niki Zohdi.

The popular weekly free ‘Wednesday@One’ organ recitals return to Bradford Cathedral after a short break for Easter.

This season will feature a line-up of eleven organists, starting with Paul Dewhurst from Bridlington, on Wednesday 17th April 2024.

The organ recitals are at 1pm every Wednesday – except the 29th May – and are preceded by an optional £4 buffet lunch at 12:30pm.

During the week’s gap in the recital season the Bradford Cathedral Choir are heading out on tour to Northumberland.

The organ recitals are free to attend, though donations are welcome. The recitals last around 45-minutes and those attending are also welcome to explore the Cathedral before and after the recital.

Anthony Gray, Assistant Director of Music at Bradford Cathedral, says:
“’We’re greatly looking forward to another season of fabulous performances in our Wednesday@One series at Bradford Cathedral. This term, we are once again welcoming organists from all over the country, as well as some international visitors, to delight us in a huge variety of music.

“The summer season is themed around the development in the French symphonic repertoire, so we will be exploring the music of composers such as Widor, Vierne and Guilmant, through to Franck and Duruflé and other lesser-known composers such as Marie Prestat.

“The season will also include a world premiere by Leeds-based composer, Dr Niki Zohdi.

“Do look out for our regular ‘notes from an organist’ blog posts, in which our recitalists preview their programmes, and we look forward to seeing you for another great series.”

Dr Niki Zohdi says of his composition:
“My piece is called Kambaramayanam-34 and is inspired by my recent travels to the Tamil Nadu region of India. The piece uses an ancient Tamil poem as its starting point. A rumbling pedal drone continues for the entirety of the piece with interjections of different material played on the organ manuals.”

The organ recital series takes a break for the summer, with the Autumn season following on Wednesday 4th September 2024.

For more information about the new series of ‘Wednesday@One’ organ recitals, please visit bradfordcathedral.org.uk/organ-recitals.

You can read an interview with Dr Niki Zohdi at https://bradfordcathedral.org.uk/2024/04/02/kambaramayanam-34/

This season’s organists in full:
17th April 2024 – Paul Dewhurst (Bridlington)
24th April 2024 – Alberto Barbetta (Italy)

1st May 2024 – James Mitchell (Sheffield)
8th May 2024 – Anthony Gray (Bradford)
15th May 2024 – Christopher Stokes (Manchester)
22nd May 2024 – Graham Thorpe (Bradford)

5th June 2024 – David Bendix Nielsen (Denmark)
12th June 2024 – Jonathan Allsopp (Southwell Minster)
19th June 2024 – Pete Gunstone (Bradford Cathedral)
26th June 2024 – Francesca Massey (London)

3rd July 2024 – Jonathan Kingston (Stony Stratford)