Simone Young

Chief Conductor

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The Times calls her ‘a star on a mission – and a breath of fresh air for classical music.’

In her Australian debut recital, Lapwood takes the keys to the Sydney Opera House Grand Organ, one of the largest and most majestic instruments in the world. And when Lapwood plays it, the Concert Hall becomes a portal into new realms.

In this one-night-only recital, Lapwood explores the organ’s full expressive range for a program that spans centuries and sound worlds. From iconic moments from film soundtracks by Hans Zimmer and John Williams to the meditative stillness of Philip Glass and Gounod/Bach, you will be immersed in an extraordinary ocean of sound.

Program

Hans ZIMMER

The Da Vinci Code: Chevaliers de Sangreal

Philip GLASS

Mad Rush

BACH/GOUNOD

Ave Maria

Hans ZIMMER

Interstellar: Cornfield Chase

BRITTEN

Four Sea Interludes: Dawn & Sunday Morning

Alan MENKEN

The Hunchback of Notre Dame: The Bells of Notre Dame

John WILLIAMS

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace – Duel of the Fates

Rachel PORTMAN

Flight

Olivia BELLI

Limina Luminis

Hans ZIMMER

Pirates of the Caribbean: Suite

Artists

Anna Lapwood

Organ

Anna Lapwood MBE is an organist, conductor and broadcaster. She is the official Organist of the Royal Albert Hall and is Artist in Association with the BBC Singers. In Spring 2025, Anna was included in the annual Sunday Times Young Power List, celebrating the 30 most powerful people under 30 in the UK. Anna completes her transformational decade as Director of Music at Pembroke College, Cambridge in August 2025 with an all-night BBC Prom at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

Anna made her debut at the BBC Proms in 2021 with The Hallé and Sir Mark Elder, as soloist in Saint-Saëns’ ‘Organ Symphony’, and gave her Proms recital debut two years later. She returned to the Proms in August 2025 to host a special all-night program, From Dark Till Dawn, featuring performances from Barokksolistene, Hayato Sumino and many more. A concerto soloist with leading orchestras and conductors, including the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Antonio Pappano, Anna will serve as Artist in Residence with The Hallé throughout the 2025-26 season. Recent and forthcoming concerts include performances at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, the Sydney Opera House, Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles) and Boardwalk Hall (Atlantic City).

Deeply committed to the creation of new work for organ and choir, Anna’s recent commissions include compositions by Kristina Arakelyan, Olivia Belli, Max Richter and Lucy Walker. Her desire to explore fresh creative pathways is likewise reflected in pioneering partnerships with, among others, Aurora, Florence and the Machine, Raye, Jules Buckley, Alison Balsom, Bonobo and Benedict Cumberbatch. She attracted capacity audiences in 2024 to her first UK tour promoted by AEG Presents and is set to headline a second nationwide tour for AEG during the Christmas season in 2025.

Anna’s debut solo organ album, Images, released on Signum Records in 2021, features her transcription for organ of the Four Sea Interludes from Britten’s Peter Grimes. Three albums with the Choirs of Pembroke College have also been released on Signum to great acclaim. Her exclusive relationship with SONY Classical was launched with an EP, Midnight Sessions at the Royal Albert Hall, followed in September 2023 by her debut album, LUNA, which rose to No.1 in the UK’s classical chart and became the year’s fastest selling classical album. Her latest album, Firedove, is scheduled for release in May 2025.

Anna is an ardent champion of the organ. A gifted communicator, hailed by Gramophone as ‘the dream ambassador for classical music’, she reaches a vast audience through her performances and via social media, attracting over two million followers across all platforms. Her online posts have already amassed tens of millions of views. Anna’s passion for the organ is matched by her mission to support girls and women in music. She became the first female in the 560-year history of Magdalen College, Oxford to be awarded an Organ Scholarship; since her appointment as Pembroke’s youngest ever Director of Music in 2016, she has run regular workshops for young organists around the UK, hosted the Cambridge Organ Experience for Girls and held an annual 24-hour ‘Bachathon’ to raise money to support musicians in Zambia.

After making her TV presenting debut as host of BBC Young Musician, Anna subsequently presented and guested on televised Proms for the BBC from the Royal Albert Hall. As a radio broadcaster, she is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and independent stations and has appeared in many international television and radio programmes and podcasts. Her six-part series for BBC Radio 3, A View From the Organ Loft, was broadcast in 2024 followed by a three-part series, The Royal Albert Hall of Fame, for Classic FM in 2025.

A persuasive advocate for music education, Anna is determined to bring music to children of all backgrounds. Her commitment to equality and diversity is evident throughout her life and work, not least in the new music that she has commissioned and programmes in her recitals across Europe and North America. Gregoriana, an anthology of twelve new organ pieces by female composers, which she curated and edited for Stainer & Bell, was awarded Presto Music’s Publication of the Year in 2022. Her own compositions are published by Boosey & Hawkes.

Having spent some years being encouraged to “play like a man”, Anna is proud and humbled to see so many adopt her hashtag #playlikeagirl.

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