Thursday Lunchtime Concert – Alastair Stone – Organ
Alastair Stone is the Assistant Organist here at Ripon Cathedral, a post he started in September last year after graduating from Oxford University in the summer. He started learning the organ under Kerry Beaumont, former organist and chorister at Ripon, when he himself was a chorister at Coventry Cathedral. He was organ scholar at Coventry for a year before going to university, and at Oxford studied music at Pembroke College alongside organ scholarships at Pembroke, and later Harris Manchester College as well. Whilst at Oxford he performed recitals at eight different colleges, including the established organ series at both Exeter and Merton, and worked as an accompanist with the Oxford Opera Society and individual soloists.
As well as organ playing, Alastair is an experienced singer, conductor and pianist. During sixth form he attended the Royal Birmingham Junior Conservatoire to study piano and composition, where he was awarded the Beryl Chempin Prize for his grade 8 piano result and achieved a DipABRSM in piano performance. In his final year at school he conducted a chamber choir and was musical director for a run of the show ‘We Will Rock You’, and at Oxford he was again musical director for a sellout run of ‘Guys and Dolls’ at Pembroke College.
Alastair will perform music by J. S. Bach, Franck, Brahms & Guilmant.
The concert will take place 1 – 1.50pm in the stunning setting of the medieval quire with drinks and biscuits served from 12.30pm
Free admission with a retiring collection.