Heavy metal, improvisation, and wild animals: York Minster’s 2025 organ programme

Acclaimed musicians from across the musical world are ready to pull out all the stops in a diverse programme of organ concerts at York Minster.

The cathedral’s popular Summer Organ Recitals will return with celebrated soloists joining York Minster’s own accomplished organists. The series will be opened 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 in his dazzling style. 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 spectacular organ music. The recitals will take place on Thursday evenings from 17 July to 21 August, beginning at 7pm. Tickets are now available via the York Minster website, starting from just £7.50.
 
Following sold out performances of The Nutcracker and Peter and the Wolf, York Minster will also be offering another family-sized exploration of the organ. Young listeners will be guided through Camille Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals with the chance to get up-close to the organ to see how the instrument is played. The familiar and accessible composition will be accompanied by a narrator sharing fun facts about the wild animals that roam through Saint-Saëns’ creation and York Minster’s history. The short performance, given by Benjamin Morris, will take place on Wednesday 28 May.
 
The Summer Organ Recitals and family organ concert will follow the upcoming Organic Metal showcase which will see David Pipe, former Assistant Director of Music at York Minster, performing classics from Black Sabbath and Deep Purple on York Minster’s Grand Organ alongside classical organ pieces. Plague of Angels, an electro-symphonic-metal powerhouse, will present their own heavy metal music enhanced by the power and grandeur of the organ. Tickets for Organic Metal sold out in less than a week, with more than 10% of attendees benefitting from a discounted ticket for those aged 27 and under.
 
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 Animalscomplete our 2025 organ concert offering, which we hope will encourage people to engage with the instrument in new and exciting ways.
 
“I am very proud that we are once again able to offer discounted tickets for students and those aged 27 and under to allow as many people as possible to attend the concerts.
 
“Do join us for what promises to be another great year of organ music at York Minster.”

Tickets and event information:  

Organic Metal: presented by Plague of Angels
Friday 25 April, 7.30pm
Tickets for this event have sold out.

The Carnival of the Animals
Wednesday 28 May, 7pm
Tickets priced at £7 children, £10 for adults, and £30 for families will be available via www.yorkminster.org in April.

Summer Organ Recitals 
Thursdays 17 July – 21 August, 7pm
Tickets for the recitals are available now via www.yorkminster.org priced 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, as well as a combined season ticket price of £38.