ANNA LAPWOOD - Music Productions
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ANNA LAPWOOD
Anna Lapwood is an organist, conductor, and broadcaster, and holds the position of Director of Music at Pembroke College, Cambridge. While studying at Oxford University, Anna was the first female in Magdalen College’s 560-year history to be awarded the Organ Scholarship. Now performing multiple recitals each season, Anna released her debut solo album in September 2021 on Signum Records. The album, “Images”, features her transcription of Britten’s ‘Four Sea Interludes’ from “Peter Grimes”. Performances have taken her across Europe on recital tours and in 2019 Anna opened the BAFTA TV awards on the organ of the Royal Festival Hall. Recent concerts include an organ recital from St David's Hall, Cardiff (broadcast on BBC Radio 3); a live audio stream from Leeds Town Hall and a webcast performance of Poulenc’s ‘Organ Concerto’ with the London Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Chloé van Soeterstède from St. John’s, Smith Square (London). In September 2021 she made her BBC Proms debut at as soloist in Saint-Saëns ‘Organ Symphony’ with the Hallé Orchestra conducted by Sir Mark Elder, repeating the Saint-Saëns later that month with conductor Kazuki Yamada and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Anna made her TV presenting debut in 2020/21 hosting coverage of BBC Young Musician, followed by presenting a televised Prom in September 2021. As a radio broadcaster she is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4, and until July 2020 she hosted a live, weekly classical music show on Radio Cambridgeshire. She has also been featured on Classic FM and presented for Scala Radio. Appointed Director of Music at Pembroke College at Cambridge University in 2016 aged just 21, Anna conducts the Chapel Choir and Girls' Choir. Their debut recording – “All Things are Quite Silent” - was released in 2020 to widespread critical acclaim, praised for their clarity, blend and beauty of sound. Anna’s passion to support girls and women is evident in almost every aspect of her work, especially at Pembroke. In 2018 she established the Pembroke College Girls’ Choir for girls aged 11 to 18 to inspire them to explore the world of choral music. They appeared as guest artists on “To Shiver the Sky” by American composer, Christopher Tin, for Decca US, recording at Abbey Road Studios. Anna also runs the Cambridge Organ Experience for Girls and was appointed a Bye-Fellow of Pembroke College in January 2020. Increasingly in demand as a guest conductor, she has also directed the BBC Singers as part of the Proms Inspire programme and has led choral workshops around the world. A strong advocate for music education at home and abroad, she specialises in bringing music to children from impoverished backgrounds. As a Trustee of the Muze Trust, a charity committed to making music accessible to children and young adults in Zambia, Anna works in Zambia regularly and leads the Muze-Pembroke Music Exchange Programme. When the Covid-19 Pandemic put a stop to much of Anna's work in this area overseas she focussed her efforts closer to home, founding and conducting the NHS Chorus-19, made up of over 1000 NHS staff from across the UK. Having spent some years being encouraged to “play like a man” and with a dedication to her art and mission that belied her years, Anna is now humbled to find that she is an inspiration to many young women and proud that they have adopted her hashtag, #playlikeagirl.
IN THE PRESS BBC Music Magazine “Her life is full of awesome statistics.” The Sunday Telegraph ”It’s untrue to say young people no longer love classical music" Radio Times "Meet the face of BBC Young Musician." Classic FM "This rising star in classical music is fighting for more women to play an instrument which has long been considered a male occupation: the organ." Classical Music "'I was told to play more like a man': the British organist on why she's bringing together 22 female organists for a 24-hour Bach-a-thon." Gramophone Magazine podcast "...whilst listening to it ['All Things Are Quite Silent'] I felt rather emotional as it captures so well very much the spiritual beauty of choral music which I love so much but we've been denied for so long..." BBC Music Magazine ‘Music to my Ears’ podcast Anna talks about her role at Pembroke College as director music, her first recording with the choir there and her musical loves that ranges from Richard Strauss and Tchaikovsky to the choral music of Caroline Shaw.
RECORDINGS
All Things are Quite Silent
Release Date: 25th September 2020
Album Trailer
It's so exciting to share “All Things Are Quite Silent”, the debut album from The Choirs of Pembroke College,
Cambridge, and for me as a conductor. We recorded it just a year after the Pembroke Girls’ Choir was founded
and it’s a testament to their musicianship and hard work in that short period; they joined the hugely talented
Chapel Choir from Pembroke College for this recording project. We chose the repertoire collectively to
showcase some excellent but lesser-known and previously unrecorded repertoire alongside some more well-
known, much-loved music. It was also really exciting, if a little nerve-wracking, to record one of my own
compositions for the first time! A high proportion of the tracks are written by female composers and it’s a
collection of some of our favourite music. Our hope is that it will be heard and enjoyed by many, and performed
by more and more choirs across the world.
Anna Lapwood, 2020
Track Listing
REVIEWS
1. All Things are Quite Silent, Trad. arr. Kerry Andrew
2. Jesus Christ the Apple Tree, Elizabeth Poston
'Anna Lapwood draws from her youthful forces well-judged readings that are characterised by evenness of tone
3. O Nata Lux, Anna Lapwood
and genuine beauty of sound.'
4. In the Stillness, Sally Beamish
Philip Reed - Choir & Organ *****
5. Into Thy Hands, Jonathan Dove
6. Media Vita, Kerensa Briggs
''…there's real control evident in the blend (built upwards from some impressive low basses) and tuning… it
7. And the Swallow, Caroline Shaw
showcases the choir brilliantly and smuggles a lot of contemporary music on to a recording with real mainstream
8. The Water of Tyne, Elizabeth Poston
appeal.'
9. Iustorum Animae, Matthew Martin
Alexandra Coghlan - Gramophone
10. Peace I Leave with You, Amy Beach
11. Grandmother Moon, Eleanor Daley
'[the] choir is as up-to-date as any first-rate modern ensemble… the singing is excellent throughout… intonation,
12. Ave Maria, Rebecca Clarke
ensemble technique, and balances, especially bass/soprano in the mixed choir, are a joy to experience.'
13. Upon Your Heart, Eleanor Daley
David Vernier - Classics Today
14. Agnus Dei, Imogen Holst
15. Mother of God, John Tavener
'the singing is fresh and clear, the aural equivalent of pure water… The choral sound is fresh, light and clear.'
16. Abendlied, Josef Rheinberger
John Quinn - MusicWeb International
17. Sing to the Moon, Laura Mvula
RECORDINGS Images Release date: 3rd September 2021 Le Tombeau de Couperin, Maurice Ravel arr. Erwin Wiersinga. 1. i. Prelude 2. iii. Forlane 3. iv. Rigaudon 4. An Occasional Trumpet Voluntary, Patrick Gowers 5. Andantino, doucement expressif (String Quartet in G minor, L. 85) Claude Debussy, trans. Alexandre Guilmant 6. Light in Darkness, Kerensa Briggs 7. iii. Improvisation from Trois Pièces pour Orgue, Nadia Boulanger 8. Images, Owain Park Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, Benjamin Britten, trans. Anna Lapwood 9. Dawn 10. Sunday Morning 11. Moonlight 12. Storm 13. Vocalise- Étude, Olivier Messiaen, trans. Anna Lapwood 14. Taking your Leave, Cheryl Frances-Hoad
VIDEOS: Interviews and Presenting BBC Young Musician 2021 Classic FM’s 30 under 30 interview with Julian Lloyd-Webber Classic FM: Anna Lapwood: ‘Young Girls Can be Organists Too’ Britain's Christmas Story - Gareth Malone, Anna Lapwood & the Choirs of Pembroke College, Cambridge In Conversation with John Rutter In Conversation with Caroline Shaw The Organ Show at Freemasons' Hall - Royal College of Organists An A-Z of the Organ (Royal College of Organists)
VIDEOS: Performances Laura Mvula - Sing to the Moon with Pembroke College Choir Classic FM Sessions: Nicolaus Bruhns’ Praeludium in E minor ‘Big’ Stars – Erik Esenvalds – performed by Pembroke College choir, Cambridge Patrick Gowers Toccata as part of a recital given for Radio 3 on the organ of St David's Hall, Cardiff Caroline Shaw And the Swallow with Pembroke College Choir Bach Trio Sonata no. 2 in C minor NHS Chorus 19 – Over the Rainbow Benjamin Britten: Moonlight from the Four Sea Interludes - Organ
RADIO LINKS Classical Cambridgeshire Weekly Show BBC Radio 3: Inside Music Scala Radio Young Artist of the Week Anna wins silver at the Gillard Awards BBC Radio 4: Front Row April 2022 BBC Radio 3: Record Review BBC Radio 4: Women’s Hour BBC Radio 4: You and Yours January 2021 BBC Radio 3: Music Matters (from 38’22”)
LINKS Facebook: @annalapwoodmusic Twitter: @annalapwood Instagram: @annalapwoodorgan YouTube: Anna Lapwood TikTok: annalapwoodorgan Apple Music: Anna Lapwood Spotify: Anna Lapwood DOWNLOADS Biography High-resolution Images
CONTACT
General Management
Music Productions Ltd
www.musicprods.co.uk
+44 (0) 1753 783 739
Claire Long
claire@musicprods.co.uk
Meg Davies
meg@musicprods.co.uk
www.annalapwood.co.uk
Photo credits:
Tom Arber: P1, P2, P6, P7, P9
Robert Piwko: P8
Martin Stevens: P10
Andrew Forbes: P3
Nick White: P5You can also read
