Leading performers will be appearing at St John’s College Organ Festival to mark the launch of the Chapel’s new Harrison & Harrison instrument, built with historic pipework by pioneering Victorian organ builder ‘Father’ Henry Willis.
The festival, which is taking place in the Chapel from Wednesday to Friday 6-10 May 2026, includes Olivier Latry, Titular Organist of Notre-Dame de Paris, acclaimed concert organist Wayne Marshall, and Organ Scholars Tingshuo Yang and Pascal Bachmann, with The Choir of St John’s College. The BBC will be recording some of the events for broadcast.
Organ music has a rich history at St John’s – an organ has been owned by the College since it was founded in 1511, and the famous College Choir has been accompanied by the instrument throughout its 350-year history.
The new Harrison & Harrison organ, with the pipework constructed by Willis in 1889, has been relocated to St John’s College Chapel to replace the Mander instrument, which was installed in the early 1990s.
Christopher Gray, Director of Music at St John’s, said: “Our Organ Festival celebrates the completion of a project that has taken several years and involved significant creative vision, planning, craftsmanship, and technical skill.
“It has been a pleasure to work with the organ building firm Harrison & Harrison Ltd to bring the historically important pipework of ‘Father’ Willis to St John’s, expanding the original specification in a sympathetic way to create an instrument of exceptional quality and musical integrity, perfect for our needs.
Latry will give an inaugural recital on Friday 8 May at 8pm. A leading ambassador for the organ, he has appeared at the world’s most prestigious venues, worked with top orchestras and conductors, recorded with major labels, and premiered numerous new works. He performs a programme of French repertoire including Franck’s Troisième Choral, Alain’s Litanies, and Vierne’s Carillon de Westminster, in a recital that will be recorded for future broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
The Choir will be joined by acclaimed British organist, pianist, and conductor Wayne Marshall and baritone Tom Butler for a concert at 7.30pm on Saturday 9 May, which will also be recorded for BBC Radio 3. The programme will include Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs, and works by Holst, Marsh, and Daley. It will also feature the premiere of a new organ work, Swift Messengers, by Tim Watts, College Assistant Professor and Director of Studies in Music, and a Fellow of St John’s.
Former Director of Music at St John’s College, David Hill, returns to perform a recital immediately before Evensong on Sunday 10 May. The service includes the dedication and blessing of the new organ.
The Choir of St John’s College will sing Evensong at 3pm on Wednesday 6 May, broadcast live on BBC Radio 3. The service will include the premiere of The St John’s Service by Cecilia McDowall. A specially-devised service at 6.30pm on Thursday 7 May will be recorded for broadcast three days later as part of BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Worship series.
Gray, a Fellow of St John’s, added: “I’m delighted to be welcoming some of the organ world’s most renowned stars in the coming months, beginning with Olivier Latry on Friday 8 May. Along with our own remarkably gifted undergraduate Organ Scholars, they will showcase the new instrument which is a significant addition to the national organ landscape, as well as to the provision here in Cambridge.”
The organ project is the largest to take place at St John’s in a generation. Durham organ builders Harrison & Harrison carried out the highly specialised work restoring, enhancing, and installing the Willis pipework.
The historic casing, designed by John Oldrid Scott – son of George Gilbert Scott, who designed the Chapel – remains unchanged, and two iconic stops have been retained from the old instrument: the Cymbelstern and the famous Trompeta Real. The Mander organ will have a new home at the Church of St John the Divine in Kennington.
‘Father’ Willis was famous for numerous instruments, including those at St Paul’s Cathedral, Royal Festival Hall, Salisbury Cathedral and Truro Cathedral, the latter being the sister to the instrument now installed at St John’s. The instrument was initially housed in Hampstead Conservatoire, before being moved to St Peter’s Church, Brighton in 1910.
