Summer Organ Recital – York Minster

York Minster has unveiled its summer organ recital programme.

It will feature heavy metal, improvisation, and Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals.

Summer Organ Recitals, York Minster, 17 Jul – 21 Aug 2025

The series opens on 17 July by Wayne Marshall OBE, a world-renowned conductor and master of improvisation who will include some of his own compositions alongside classics and live improvisations.

He will be followed by Jan Liebermann, one of the most promising young artists in the organ world who is well-known for his ability to play complex pieces entirely from memory; Daniel Cook, a performer with a unique understanding of early-twentieth-century organs like York Minster’s having recorded the complete works of many classic British organ composers; and Carolyn Craig, an award-winning American organist who champions female composers as the co-founder of the platform Amplify Female Composers.

York Minster’s own acclaimed musicians – Robert Sharpe, Director of Music, and Benjamin Morris, Assistant Director of Music, who are both experienced soloists performing in the UK and abroad – complete the line-up for six nights of organ music every Thursday evenings from 17 July to 21 August, beginning at 7pm.

For younger listeners, York Minster will also be offering another family-sized exploration of the organ through Camille Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals on 28 May.

There’s the chance to get up-close to the organ to see how the instrument is played and there will be a narrator sharing fun facts about the wild animals that roam through Saint-Saëns’ creation and York Minster’s history.

The Summer Organ Recitals and family organ concert will follow the upcoming Organic Metal showcase featuring David Pipe, former Assistant Director of Music at York Minster, performing Black Sabbath and Deep Purple on York Minster’s Grand Organ. His set will be followed by Plague of Angels, an electro-symphonic-metal powerhouse who will present their own heavy metal music enhanced by the power and grandeur of the organ.

Tickets for this sold out within one week.

Robert Sharpe, Director of Music at York Minster, said:

“Organ music has played a central role in worship at York Minster for nearly 1,000 years. We have carefully crafted a programme of concerts and recitals that reflects this long and important history, but that also displays the incredible diversity of the organ and those who play and listen to it.

“We have a fantastic line-up of guest soloists set to perform at our Summer Organ Recitals, all of whom will showcase our Grand Organ in a different way. I am looking forward to hearing them perform at this fourth series of concerts since the organ’s expert refurbishment by Harrison & Harrison.

“The heavy metal concert and performance of The Carnival of the Animals complete our 2025 organ concert offering, which we hope will encourage people to engage with the instrument in new and exciting ways’

Tickets for the recitals are available at £15, with a combined season ticket price of £75 for all six recitals. A concessionary price of £7.50 for those aged 27 and under is also available, with a combined season ticket price of £38. All tickets include a free souvenir programme.

Tickets can be booked here or by calling the cathedral’s Box Office on 01904 557200.