Young Artist of the Week: Anna Lapwood
Anna Lapwood is an organist, conductor and broadcaster
Last updated 18th Oct 2020
Conductor, organist, and broadcaster Anna Lapwood was Scala Radio's Young Artist of the Week and spoke to Angellica Bell on Saturday 17 October 2020. Listen back to Angellica's show using the player at the bottom of this page.
It’s often said that social media has a tendency to amplify our core personality. In the case of conductor, organist and broadcaster Anna Lapwood, it’s certainly the case. Amongst the classical music world, hers is a positive, empowering, enthused and enthusiastic voice stirring the hearts of young and aspiring musicians.
In 2016 Lapwood was appointed Director of Music at Pembroke College, Cambridge at the age of twenty-one. Before that she graduated with a first class honours degree from Magdalen College, Oxford where she had been awarded an organ scholarship. Her infectious enthusiasm for her work, music and inspiring the next generation of organists makes her an obvious choice for presenting about classical music. No surprises then that she’s co-presented a programme about classical music on a local radio station, and this year provided commentary for the BBC Young Musician competition.
Anna’s first recording on the Signum Classics label was released a few weeks ago and was Scala Radio’s Album of the Weekend. Speaking to Angellica about the album's reception, Anna said,
"Historically, choral music hasn’t done quite so well as a solo album. I just think this music is so fantastic. It's not the stereotypical choral music. There are slightly different things in there like Laura Mvuala in there and the first track, All Things are Quite Silent, things that stretch the boundaries. I just can't believe it's got half a million streams."
"When did you start playing the organ?" asked Angellica.
“I was lucky in that my dad was a priest so I grew up in the church. But I didn’t take up the organ until I was 14 or 15. So very very late.”
"We know you can play the organ amazing well," said Angellica, "But you’re also quite good at playing blindfolded and in your slippers."
“You can tell I got bored in lockdown! It's part of this thing of making people realise that the organ is such a fun instrument. The toilet roll on the head was the real highlight of lockdown I think. I was learning all of Bach’s Trio sonatas as a little project. One of the things I was working on was trying to avoiding extraneous movement. I worked out that balancing something on your head was a good way to do that because you can’t move. And with the whole thing about toilet roll shortage ... Some people got really offended by that because they were saying ‘This is appalling. This makes a mockery of Bach’s music.' I thought it was quite funny.
"The classic thing about classical music is trying to make it slightly less stuffy. There are so many organists out there trying to do the same thing. Organists have a fantastic sense of humour and trying to showcase that just a little bit. Social media is just such a brilliant way to do that."
The majority of the tracks on the album are written by women – not by design but instead a reflection of those enjoyed most by the members of the combined choirs who feature on the album, the Pembroke College Girls Choir established by Anna in 2018.
If you’ve not already heard it, be sure to check out Caroline Shaw’s ‘And the Swallow’, and Kerensa Briggs ‘Media Vita’, both balm for the soul. And if you’ve only time for one track, a ravishing arrangement of Laura Mvula’s ‘Sing to the Moon’ – a fitting musical full-stop to a trying day.
It’s difficult to make predictions in present days given the circumstances. But Anna Lapwood is someone you are certain to hear more of in the years to come.