Former Festival Director returns to play the organ in Edington Priory Church

FORMER director of the Edington Music Festival from 2010-12, Ashley Grote, who tirelessly led the fundraising appeal for a new organ for the Priory Church, will return to the village for a special organ performance.

His return to Edington will be on Saturday 16th April at 7.30pm to perform on the organ for the first time since it was installed in 2014. This is the first concert of the Edington Arts 2016 season.

Ashley is one of the country’s leading organists, and has performed throughout the UK, USA and Europe, with recent concerts in Italy, Germany and Sweden. He is much in demand as a recitalist, as well as being a composer and arranger of choral and organ works.

He has chosen a wonderfully varied programme, including pieces by Mozart (Fantasia), Bach (Toccata Adagio and Fugue in C), Elgar (Chanson de Matin), William Walton (Crown Imperial) and two pieces by Louis Vierne, whose organ symphonies he has recorded.  It is a programme which will amply demonstrate the wonderful qualities of both the organ and the organist.

Ashley was a chorister at King’s College Cambridge, then organ scholar there before becoming assistant organist at Westminster Cathedral, then assistant director of music at Gloucester Cathedral.

Since September 2012 he has been Master of the Music at Norwich Cathedral, where he is responsible for the day to day running of the Cathedral Music Department, directing the boys’ and girls’ choirs in their busy programme of choral services, concerts, broadcasts and recordings.

Tickets for this concert are £20/15/10; if you buy on the door please add £2.  There is a 10% discount for Edington Angels, and 18 and under come FREE. Please either ring 01380 831256 or 871549, or buy through the Edington Arts website, which has the full programme, www.edingtonarts.org