How a Master Organist is Making the Archaic Instrument Cool Again
On TikTok, organist Anna Lapwood illustrates to young generations the instrument’s timeless allure.
By Jack Meyer
August 2, 2022
8 minute read
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The organ often shocks by the strength of its scale alone. Few other instruments, after all, can be so large as to necessitate being woven into the very architecture of the building that holds them. While its grandeur might be intimidating, conductor and organist Anna Lapwood is looking to change that. Taking up the organ at the age of 15, she quickly mastered the instrument, becoming the first woman to receive one of the prestigious Organ Scholarships from Oxford’s Magdalen College in its 560-year history and, shortly thereafter, at age 21, becoming director of music for Pembroke College, Cambridge, the youngest ever to hold such a position within an Oxbridge college.