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1. christopherthompson
   Member

   Hi there,

   As well as the theatre organs and electronic organ societies, we have some excellent church organs in the UK. A church organ is a lot more versatile than what you may think and eversince I have been a church organist since I was 15 I have always enjoyed playing a few show numbers in theatre organ style after the service - and occassionally before as well!!!! It's amazing the variety of sounds you can get from a victorian organ of just a dozen stops!

   After I ditched playing the theatre organ back in 2006, I received much encouragement from my church and started providing background organ music for several church flower festivals playing classical and also show tunes adapting the skills I had gained from the theatre organ.

   After a successful year of flower festivals, I was persuaded by the church council to do an organ concert in August 2007. However, in the May before this I went to a church in Harrogate to do what I thought was provide some background music for their flower festival playing a Compton organ. A misunderstanding had somehow resulted and the flower festival organisers were under the impression I was doing a proper concert which I did not know about until I was stood outside the church!!! Some very last minute re-arranging (10 minutes before in fact!!!) was done and the whole thing was a success given the fact I had never played to a listening audience or used a microphone before!

   As a result of this and my concert in August in August, my previous church in Wolverhampton got wind of this and had me do a concert there and so it went on.....

   So for 2009 I am going to be doing the following

   SATURDAY 21ST MARCH
   LANESFIELD METHODIST CHURCH, WOLVERHAMPTON
   7.30PM
   PROCEEDS IN AID OF THE "GRAPE VINE" CLUB.
   I return to my Black Country roots! Come along and see how a 2 manual Norwich electronic church organ will handle being played in theatre organ style!!!!

   SATURDAY 9TH MAY
   MANCHESTER ROAD METHODIST CHURCH, SWINTON, MANCHESTER
   7.30PM
   Playing at my own church here. As well as playing the 2 manual Young & Sons pipe organ, I will be using the grand piano. For this my friend and local preacher Mrs Carole Burgess is going to sing a couple of solos! Come along and see Salfords answer to Deana Durban!

   WEDNESDAY 27TH MAY
   ST LUKE'S CHURCH, SEVENOAKS
   12.30PM
   The first of my twice yearly visits to Sevenoaks to play my 6th concert here on the versatile unit pipe organ here. Sevenoaks is a long way from Manchester but the church are so friendly, encouraging and welcoming I regard them as part of my family!

   SATURDAY 4TH JULY
   ST ANDREW'S METHODIST CHURCH, SHERINGHAM, NORFOLK
   Not a concert but I will be playing a wide variety of background music to fit in with the theme of the church flower festival on the 3 manual drawstop digital organ by Banton here. This will be my 3rd annual visit to play for this excellent flower festival at such a friendly church. Like Sevenoaks, the welcome I get from this church makes the trip worthwhile! I will be playing from 2pm to 4pm.

   SATURDAY 29TH AUGUST
   WESLEY METHODIST CHURCH, ST GEORGE'S,BRISTOL
   7.30PM
   A new venue for me! A wide variety of music on the 2 manual Sweetland pipe organ.

   SATURDAY 31ST OCTOBER
   ST MARY'S CHURCH, YATTON, SOMERSET
   7.30PM
   Another new venue and staying in the West Country. I will be putting the 2 manual Nicholson & Lord through it's paces with a concert arranged by the Yatton music society.

   SUNDAY 15TH NOVEMBER
   ST AUGUSTINE'S CHURCH, DUDLEY, WEST MIDLANDS
   3.00PM
   Returning to my homeland, I play the 2 manual Nicholson organ for one of a series of recitals to raise funds for the restoration of this instrument.

   WEDNESDAY 23RD DECEMBER
   ST LUKE'S CHURCH, SEVENOAKS, KENT
   12.30PM
   I end the year at my favourite venue - St Luke's, Sevenoaks for a concert of christmas music.

   My thanks must go to the lovely folks at these churches and many others besides for the encouragement, opportunity and friendliness shown to me.

   Chris Thompson.

   Posted 3 years ago #

2. christopherthompson
   Member

   My first concert of 2009 was in January at St Mary's Church in Hemel Hempstead playing the beautiful 3 manual Walker pipe organ. The church has monthly lunchtime concerts with a variety of musicians playing for these attracting audiences numbering between 20 and 40.

   Unknowingly to me someone was taking notes of my concert for a review and after the drive home back to Manchester (hitting the M6 around Birmingham during the rush hour!!!) imagine my delight after being sent an email by Philip Worth asking "was I happy with the following he had wrote about me":

   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   St. Mary’s, Hemel Hempstead Lunchtime Concert

   Tuesday 13th January 2009

   Over the years worshippers and visitors to St. Mary’s have been accustomed to the majestic sounds of sacred music emerging serenely from the organ loft, both as solo and as accompaniment to the choir, helping to sustain the devotional tone of the church service. What a contrast, then, for the audience at the lunchtime concert to hear the jolly notes of ‘let’s call the whole thing off’ and ‘when I’m sixty-four’ singing out from our revered instrument – rather suggestive, perhaps, of the Bishop of York enjoying an incognito weekend break on the front at Blackpool. And why not? The undeniable fact is that the light music played by organist Christopher Thompson sounded not the least bit out of place – it was almost as though our organ was saying to us ‘thanks for this opportunity to let off steam – and don’t worry; I won’t go over the top.’ This makes a valid point: Chris is as dedicated to his work as a church organist in Manchester as to his ‘gigs’ throughout the country as a theatre organist. He stresses that technically there is little difference between a church organ and a theatre or cinema organ, so perhaps, in parallel, one should not distinguish too rigidly between sacred and secular music. A feature of Anglican church ritual is its glorious music; should we therefore be surprised if it can sing Stanford and the Beatles equally happily?

   Chris Thompson’s programme was definitely of the theatre, just the sort of mix one might have experienced at the Dome, Brighton, the Odeon Leicester Square, the Gaumont Kilburn and many other like venues on any day of the week in a previous generation. And what a medley of Golden Oldies he entertained us with! We heard Paul McCartney’s poignant ‘Yesterday’, ‘Blue Moon’, ‘When I Grow Too Old To Dream’, Cliff Richard’s ‘Summer Holiday’, Gershwin’s ‘They Can’t Take That Away From Me’ – and others; they couldn’t half write memorable tunes in those days! Those of us of a certain age might have heard again the happy music of Sandy McPherson and Reginald Foort coming to us over the radio waves, and down the arches of the years.
   As a graceful gesture Chris rounded off his recital with ‘The Bells Of St. Mary’s’ as popularised in the film of that name by Bing Crosby of happy memory, and dedicated to our church.

   At the end this gifted musician was kind enough to sing the praises of St. Mary’s organ. Let’s hope this will act as an incentive for a return visit soon.

   Philip Worth

   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   What a wonderful start to 2009 and how very touching - to think I was once told by a so called "expert" in the theatre organ world that I was no organist and never would be!!!!!!

   However, my reason for displaying this review is not to show off but to give a taster of how much churches of all denominations have supported me and my organ playing over the last few years.

   I make no secret of the fact that before 2006, I was very under confident and had little faith in my organ playing. The church changed all this!

   Should any of the churches who have had me playing be reading this - a great big thank you to you all!

   Chris Thompson.

   Posted 3 years ago #

3. christopherthompson
   Member

   Another event literally just come on:

   Looks like an overnight stay in the West Midlands for on Saturday 14th November I am giving a recital on the Willis organ at Emmanuel Church in Bentley near Walsall. Details are:

   SATURDAY 14TH NOVEMBER
   EMMANUEL CHURCH, BENTLEY, WALSALL, WEST MIDLANDS
   2.00PM
   A return visit to this lovely friendly and welcoming church to play a Saturday afternoon recital to raise funds for the organ here.

   Next day I am at St Augustine's in Dudley - see above for details of this.

   Chris Thompson.

   Posted 3 years ago #

4. Anonymous
   

   Hello Chris,
   All of the venues you mention in your article are too far for me to travel to,but they sound very exciting?
   I do hope that when your church initially got wind they didn`t take it from the bellows of your instrument??
   We have some half descent church organs down here in darkest East Anglia!

   Jennifer Kersey

   Posted 2 years ago #

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