The gift of an important, redundant concert organ was a major development in the heritage of the 12th century, Orford Church. One of Benjamin Britten’s favoured performance spaces prior to the building of his beloved concert hall at Snape Maltings, St Bartholomew’s enjoys a longstanding and prestigious musical heritage, nationally and internationally, with artists and audiences alike. A concert organ more appropriate to the space had been long desired, and with this gift, could hopefully become a reality for the community.

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The sadly late, Cathy Ennis, President of Royal College of Organists, professor at the Royal College of Music, the force behind new organs in four central London churches, and a patron of the Orford Organ, recorded the first live and recorded BBC3 broadcast concert on the organ, which was an absolute triumph for the project and filled the church.

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The Brief

I was approached to run a six month campaign to raise £120,000, to meet the scheduled dedication of the organ, on Easter Sunday 2019. This was ambitious to say the least as many organ fundraising campaigns run to several years, and often, decades. The cost of restoration and installation ran to six figures and the demands placed on the small community and its volunteers, were high. Despite all of the hurdles encountered, The organ was successfully installed on time and dedicated by the Bishop on Easter Sunday, 2019, only 6 months after the fundraising had been officially begun.