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

NEWS..news...

MASTERCLASS... MASTERCLASS...

Coming up on the 19th October 2024 will be another Masterclass given by Peter Crompton on the Grand Organ of Royal Hospital School. This follows on in the tradition of the last two years, the first at St. Mary the Elms with Colin Walsh, Organist Emeritus of Lincoln Cathedral, and last year at St. Matthew's Church, Ipswich with Daniel Moult. All of these well renowned organists have a passion for inspiring future generations of players with their tremendous enthusiasm for and talented performance on the instrument. This is a marvellous opportunity to learn more whether you have come to the earlier masterclasses or would like to join in for your first time. Please click target="_blank" >MASTERCLASS for further details.

Journal 122 published

We are most grateful to James Crowe for his production of this Journal which should now be in your hands. It records the life of the Association in the year 2016 when Andrew Garfath-Cox handed the baton on to Ann Little on 21 May 2016. You will enjoy reading this most comprehensive and well researched volume!

Journal 126 published

We are most grateful to Nicholas Jardine, President of SOA for producing this Journal which records this rather problematic period where all the events of 2020/2021 in his year of office had to be cancelled but fortunately Nicholas revived many of his planned activities and organised still more in his second year of tenure. We are most grateful to him for this valuable record.

Journal 127 published

Another excellent resumé of the last year's events has been prepared by immediate Past-President William Baldry. We thank him and his contributors for news of the vibrant life of the Association.

Journal 128 published

Immediate Past President Alan Loader has created a most interesting and informative summary of the many excellent events he organised during last year's events. We thank him and his contributors very much for these valuable insights into the activities of our Association.