Wellington City Organ

Wellington City Organist

2008 Recital Series

History

Douglas Mews - Wellington City Organist

Most organists will have played at a wedding at some time or other, but few can boast of playing at a wedding with Elton John as best man, or the wedding of a black labrador and a fox terrier...

Our City Organist, Douglas Mews has had that honour, along with other memorable experiences such as reaching the climax of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor in a packed Nelson Cathedral when a power cut silenced the organ and plunged the building into darkness just before the final chord.

Other qualifications for the post include a Masters degree from Auckland University and post-graduate certificate from the Hague Conservatory, plus working with the NZSO, many early music groups and a Celtic band.

While the Wellington Town Hall organ is 102 years old this year, it's young when compared with the 500 year-old organs in Europe. What interests Douglas in old instruments  is their ability to bring old music to life, to be enjoyed as if for the first time.

2008 Wellington Town Hall Organ Recital Series - Sundays 3pm

8 June 2008 - Guest Organist: Hayko Siemens (Germany) 
Hayko is making his third recital tour of NZ (he came in 1987 and 1988). He is presently organist and musical director at St Matthäus, the principal Lutheran church in Munich, and conductor of the Munich Motet Choir. He has made numerous CD recordings and will be performing works by Bach, Reger and Mendelssohn.

10 August 2008 - Guest Organist: Robert Costin (UK)
The English organist Robert Costin is familiar to Wellington audiences, having been Assistant Director of Music at St Paul's Cathedral from 1993 - 1996. He is now Director of Music at Ardingly College, West Sussex. Robert's recital venues in recent years have included King's College, Cambridge, Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral and Nairobi Cathedral.

24 August 2008 - From Tchaikovsky to China
A mix of popular classics, arranged and original, including Ketelby's In a Chinese Temple Garden, Mendelssohn's 6th Sonata and Tchaikovsky's Fantasy Overture Romeo and Juliet, played by City Organist, Douglas Mews.

19 October 2008 - It's Blowtime!
The great organ / brass blow-off! Blows exchanged between the Hutt City Brass Band (directed by Mark Carter) and the Town Hall Organ (played by Douglas Mews) will include the finale of Saint-Saëns' Organ Symphony and Jeremiah Clarke's Trumpet Voluntary.

9 November 2008 - A Maxwell Fernie Celebration
Massed choir, soloists and organ pay tribute to Maxwell Fernie, Wellington City Organist from 1972 - 1999. Musical items will include Handel's Zadok the Priest and Malvina Major will address the audience on behalf of the Maxwell Fernie Trust. Donations to the Trust will be gratefully received.

History of the Wellington City Organ

After the opening of the Wellington Town Hall in 1904 music lovers eagerly awaited the promised Grand Organ, and on its installation claimed that Wellington had a concert venue at last.

Critics had repeatedly reported in the newspapers that the acoustics of the Wellington Town Hall were near to perfect, and the organ manufacturers, Norman Beard of world renown, would surely guarantee musical superiority.

No one was disappointed. The opening concerts attracted large and enthusiastic crowds and the acoustic qualities are undiminished to this day.

The Wellington Town Hall is rated amongst the top ten in the world for acoustics, and this was a significant argument in the 1970-80s when the demolition of the Town Hall became a possibility.