Edinburgh Society of Organists

15/04/2026

15/04/2026

Saturday 18 April at 2.30pm, Palmerston Place Church

Simon Leach, Organist of Canongate Kirk (and a one-time pupil of Naji Hakim) will present a lecture-recital on the organ music of Hakim, considering his composition, his improvisation and his teaching.

10/03/2026

We would like to make you aware of the following event.

RSCM Scottish Voices will sing a special Choral Evensong at St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Edinburgh at 4pm on Saturday 14 March.

Former members of the choir are returning for the day to sing and pay tribute to co-founder and director, Frikki Walker who is stepping down from the role after 18 years.

The service will feature Scottish Voices' second performance of "O Sing Joyfully", an anthem based on Psalm 81, written for and dedicated to the choir by Frikki Walker. The service also features Bairstow, Rose and Walmisley. The organist is Steven McIntyre who has recently taken up the position of Director of Music at Dunblane Cathedral. The voluntaries are by Pamela Decker and JS Bach.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1241023008137969

Choral Evensong at St Mary's
This Saturday at 4 PM

01/03/2026

This is a reminder of our next ESO event which will take place on Saturday 7th March 2026 at 2.30pm at St Joseph's RC Church, Kilmarnock where we will join members of the Glasgow Society of Organists . We will hear John Kitchen play the beautifully restored Harrison organ there and he will be joined by a small group of string players from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Please do attend if you can - if you require a lift please get in touch as there are a few people taking cars who can offer lifts.

07/02/2026

This year's ESO Annual Dinner takes place on the evening of Friday 20 February, starting at 6.30pm at St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, Palmerston Place with a recital by Jeremiah Stephenson, Assistant Director of Music, All Saints' Margaret Street, London, followed by dinner in the nearby Scottish Arts Club (Rutland Square). There are still a few places left so please do register if you would like to come. To register, please pay and then email the ESO Treasurer, Caroline Cradock. Do just get in touch if you need the bank details, email address, or require any other details.

20/01/2026

President's Meeting, 2.30 pm, 24th January, Reid Memorial Church, West Savile Terrace, Edinburgh.

ESO President Martyn Strachan explains what the event is about: The title is Music for Innocent Ears. In the late 1970s and early 1980s there was an occasional programme on BBC Radio 3 entitled The Innocent Ear. It was hosted by the late Robert Simpson, at the time a significant British composer and the premise was that Simpson would introduce a sequence of pieces which he regarded as worthwhile. They might be newly composed, but equally they could be repertoire which he considered unjustly neglected.

From today’s perspective it is interesting to recall that one of the composers that Simpson included was Carl Neilson, who at the time was regarded as decidedly obscure. The reason that the listeners were ‘innocent’ was because Simpson only disclosed the title and the identity of the composer after the performance. This allowed the audience to listen without any preconceptions. I have adapted this idea for my meeting and I intend to play a group of pieces, the titles and identities of the composers which will be disclosed at the end of the recital. Another way of thinking of it is a musical mystery tour. Please allow your curiosity to be piqued.

We hope to see many of you there.

05/12/2025

ESO PRESENTATION ON REHOMING ORGANS

The Edinburgh Society of Organists are holding a fully illustrated Zoom presentation on rehoming organs, given by John Brennan, and to which all SFO and CSO members are welcome to join. This is on Saturday, 6th December 2025 at 3pm and lasting approximately an hour.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://interaxsglobal.zoom.us/j/88131057786?pwd=AlQM0AAyYvmxta0IT3UsjTh6tafZHn.1

Meeting ID: 881 3105 7786
Passcode: 456983

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09/11/2025

This coming Tuesday (11th November) at 7.30pm Jack Oades (Organist and Master of Music at St Giles' Cathedral) will be in conversation with John Kitchen. The event takes place at The Mary Erskine School, 95 Ravelston D***s Road, Edinburgh and there will be refreshments! Please do come along to what promises to be a very interesting and entertaining event. Details of how to get there will appear in the comments...

08/10/2025

This week we have two events with Gerard Brooks celebrating the life and works of Eugène Gigout whose centenary is this year. The recital also includes works by Enrico Bossi whose centenary is also this year.

Thursday 9 October, 7.30 pm, Palmerston Place Church - Gigout 100 - an illustrated lecture on the life and organ music of Eugène Gigout by Gerard Brooks.

Friday 10 October, 7.30pm, St Giles’ Cathedral - A centenary celebration recital of works by Enrico Bossi and Eugène Gigout by Gerard Brooks.

Please do come along and feel free to bring others with you!

12/09/2025

Saturday 13th September 2025 at Morningside Parish Church at 2.30pm - Young organists' recital. We have 6 talented organists who will be playing on this fine "Father" Willis Organ. The works to be performed will include Bach, Widor, Guilmant and Boellmann. This will be an excellent opportunity not only to hear and support these talented young organists but for you to bring along your friends and family too. Coffee/tea will be available afterwards. We look forward to seeing many of you there tomorrow!

12/05/2025

Just a quick reminder that our AGM is tomorrow night, Tuesday 13th May 2025, Greyfriars Kirk at 7.00pm. Access will be from 6.30pm. There will be a recital at around 7.30pm for approximately one hour given by Chris Nickol (details https://www.edinburghorganists.org/recital-diary/). Please do attend if you are able!

This is the personal home page of David Turner from Edinburgh, .

04/04/2025

Saturday 5 April at 2pm, Palmerston Place Church

Composition Masterclass with William Whitehead.

William Whitehead is the curator of The Orgelbüchlein Project, which aims to 'complete' Bach's unfinished manuscript collection (https://orgelbuechlein.co.uk/). Composers have submitted their own chorale preludes which will then be workshopped in Palmerston Place Church. We hope to see many of you there!

Home The Orgelbüchlein Project A major international composition project which completes J S Bach’s Orgelbüchlein (Little Organ Book). The manuscript of the Orgelbüchlein has 118 missing pieces, ghostly gaps with only the title penned by Bach. Each of these gaps is now filled by a new compositi...