Summer Organ Festival 2010: John Scott
20 July 2010 at 7:00 pm
John Scott
Organist and Director of Music, Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, New York
Fagiani Veni Creator Spiritus
Sweelinck Est –ce Mars?
J S Bach Prelude and Fugue in C minor BWV 546
Schumann Canon in A minor Op 56 no 2
Howells Psalm-Prelude Set 2 no 2
Harvey Toccata for organ and tape
Jongen Chant de Mai
Alain Trois Danses
‘ … a player of unassuming virtuosity, gifted with a stunning technique allied to a fastidious musicianship.’ BBC Music Magazine
John Scott was born in 1956 in Wakefield, Yorkshire, where he became a Cathedral chorister. While still at school he gained the diplomas of the Royal College of Organists and won the major prizes. In 1974 he became Organ Scholar of St. John’s College, Cambridge, where he acted as assistant to Dr George Guest. His organ studies were with Jonathan Bielby, Ralph Downes, and Dame Gillian Weir. He made his debut in the 1977 Promenade Concerts in the Royal Albert Hall; he was the youngest organist to appear in the Proms.
On leaving Cambridge, he was appointed Assistant Organist at London’s two Anglican Cathedrals, St. Paul’s and Southwark. In 1985 he became Sub-Organist of St. Paul’s Cathedral. In 1990 he succeeded Dr Christopher Dearnley as Organist and Director of Music. His work at St Paul’s involved the training and direction of the choir, and the overseeing and development of the Cathedral’s busy music program. He was responsible for the music at a number of high-profile events, including the National Service of Thanksgiving for the Millennium, the services to mark the 100th birthday of HM The Queen Mother and the Golden Jubilee of HM The Queen (for which he was asked to compose an anthem) and the service held on 14 September 2001 following the terrorist atrocities in the USA.
As an organist, John Scott has performed in five continents, premiered many new works written for him, and worked with various specialist ensembles. He is a first-prize winner from the Manchester International Organ Competition (1978) and the Leipzig J S Bach Competition (1984). In 1998 he was nominated International Performer of the Year by the New York Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. He is a Past President of the Incorporated Association of Organists. He has been a member of a number of international competition juries, including those in Manchester, Dublin, Chartres, Dallas, St Albans, and Erfurt. Recent highlights of his career have included recitals in Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Notre Dame in Paris, the Aarhus Organ Festival in Denmark, Cologne Cathedral, Disney Hall in Los Angeles, and London’s Royal Albert Hall. In recent years he has performed the complete organ works of Buxtehude and Messaien at St Thomas, to commemorate the composers’ anniversaries. In addition to his work as a conductor and organist, John Scott has published a number of choral compositions and arrangements and he has jointly edited two compilations of liturgical music for the Church’s year, published by Oxford University Press.
In 2004, after twenty-six years at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, John Scott moved to take up the post of Organist and Director of Music at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, New York, where he directs the renowned Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys. He was awarded the LVO in the New Year’s Honours List in 2004, and in 2007 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Nashotah House Seminary in Wisconsin.
Tickets
Single tickets £10 (concessions £7)
Season tickets £40 (concessions £28)
Book online at www.westminster-abbey.org/shop
Tickets are also available from Westminster Abbey Shop and on the door
General information
Entry is through the Great West Door from 6.15 pm.
Concerts last approximately 65 minutes with no interval.
All seats are unreserved.
Booking conditions
Concessions apply to children, full-time students, disabled and senior citizens, and members of the Royal College of Organists (on presentation of membership card).
Tickets cannot be exchanged or refunded.