A warm welcome to our Association

Whether you love listening to this fabulous instrument or enjoy playing it, we welcome you to join us, the Suffolk Organists' Association. Each year we publish a Journal. We offer opportunities to visit churches throughout the county and further afield, recitals and lectures.

We offer bursaries and advice to those of any age who would like to advance their abilities with the instrument. Please note that the deadline has been extended for this year from 30 April so we will welcome applications from you for funds that would aid you in advancing your expertise.



Our Association reached its 90th Anniversary on 10 February 2025 this year.

This is a milestone of which all members past and present can be most proud.


Saturday 15 June 2025 Castle Hill URC Christie Theatre Organ Visit

Our new President, Stephen Hogger, welcomed us into the church. Stephen was last President in 2000. He spoke about the Christie Theatre organ and its appearance in this church from the Esoldo Cinema. It is an 11 rank theatre organ with all the bells and whistles and is maintained and owned by the Ipswich Theatre Organ Club. They are hoping to further enlarge the organ with further ranks including a clarinet rank. Stephen invited us to look more closely at the pipework and some members ascended a steep ladder into a lofty gallery above the stage to see the mechanism at close quarters. Some members present played and others sat and listened. They were Nicholas Jardine, Miriam Ellis, William Baldry, Tony Dunn, Juliette Adams, Freddie Richer, Barry Palmer, Hugh Singleton and Andrew Garfath-Cox. Nicholas commented that the experience had rather changed his opinion that theatre organ could be enjoyed! It was a splendid afternoon with much light music each player putting the organ through its paces as we coped with the unfamiliarity of choosing suitable registrations so our pieces.

This was the first time that our new 17 year old member, Freddie, has attended an event and it opened his eyes to other genres of music that can be played on an organ, the range of different sounds that can be imitated and 'second touch' on the Accompanment manual.

A particular delight of the afternoon was observing Juliette Adams climb up on to the organ stool and then with a professional touch and excellent choice of registration her feet rattled across the pedal board pouring out from memory two typical theatre organ pieces with great aplomb.

Our thanks to Stephen for a most enjoyable afternoon.

    Here is what we played:

    Tony Dunn

  • Mexican Hat Dance
  • House of the Rising Sun
  • Sound of Music
  • Light Cavalry
  • The Floral Dance
  • Andrew Garfath-Cox

  • More - N Oliviero & R Ortoani
  • Vegetable Tunnel - Andrew Garfath-Cox
  • Stand By Me - Ben E King/ Jerry Lieber/ Mike Stoller
  • Twilight Magic - Klaus Wunderlich
  • Hugh Singleton

  • Meditation (from Three pieces for Organ) - Nicholas Choveaux (1909 - 1995)
  • March (from Three pieces for Organ)- Nicholas Choveaux
  • Barry Palmer

  • East Anglian March - Richard E Webb
  • Schottische -
  • Juliette Adams

  • The Ocean Grove March
  • California Here we come!
  • Andrew Garfath-Cox

  • Marigold - Billy Mayerl
  • Moon River - Henry Mancini
  • "Oh! I do like to be beside the seaside" -
  • Stephen Hogger

  • By a Waterfall -
  • Andrew Garfath-Cox

  • Shenandoah - traditional
  • Yesterday - John Lennon and Paul McCartney
  • Oblivion - Astor Piazzolla
  • Blaze Away - Abe Hoffman

Ipswich Minster Organ recitals Summer Series 2025

The Minster has a full programme of events during this summer but here are the organ recitals. The SOA is sponsoring Nicholas Freestone's programme. All recitals are held on a Tuesday lunchtime at 1.10pm and end before 2pm with a retiring collection.

  • 27 May 2025 Joshua Simões
  • 3 June 2025 James Davy
  • 29 July 2025 Mark Blatchly
  • 5 August 2025 Brass Quintet and William Baldry
  • 12 August 2025 Nicholas Freestone
  • 16 September 2025 Claudia Grinnell
  • 30 September Colin Walsh

A travelogue of a trip to the USA by our member Barry Palmer Easter 2024.

At the SOA Annual lunch at The Fox in Newbourne, I sat next to Barry Palmer and he had told me about an amazing trip that he had taken with his wife to America. I was fascinated by the extent of his travels and his experiences whilst he was there. I asked him if he would be willing to share it with other members of the Association and the result was that he sent me this email and I hope you will enjoy learning about his excursion to the USA as much as I did. Read about it in News of Members


Andrew Garfath-Cox Hon. Web Administrator and a Past President