Free organ recital by Simon Bell on the Dobson Organ in Merton College Chapel.
Simon Bell is playing the Merton College Chapel on Thursday 29 October, with the recital starting at 13:15. He'll be on the Dobson Organ, the chapel's main instrument, and admission is free, so it's a low-stakes way to spend a lunchtime in the city.
Bell is a well-established name in the choral and organ world. He's the Director of Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum and has been Director of Choral Music at Dean Close School in Cheltenham since 2012. He studied at the University of Leeds and the Royal College of Music, and his early career was marked by a few notable prizes: he won twice at the St Albans International Organ Competition, took the Limpus prize in the FRCO diploma examination, and held the WT Best Memorial Organ Scholarship from the Worshipful Company of Musicians.
His training spans a fair bit of ground. He was taught by Graham Barber and Margaret Phillips, and he spent time in the Netherlands studying with Ben van Oosten. Between 2015 and 2018 he served as Festival Organist at the Edington Festival of Music, and since 2020 he's been the Musical Director of Stroud Choral Society. Under his direction, the Schola Cantorum has recorded for Regent Records and broadcast Evensong on BBC Radio 3, so he's as comfortable leading a choir as he is sitting at the console.
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It's a lunchtime slot, so you can pop in and out without committing your whole afternoon. The chapel is on Merton Street, OX1 4JD, and since admission is free, you don't need to book anything in advance. The recital starts at 13:15.
