Music celebration

their parents. They asked if they could come in and listen and then if they, too, could have a turn.

“I said yes because, really, what harm could they do? It might have been a different story had they been dripping ice-cream all over the place, but they were fine,” he says.

“When I was 11, I asked the organist at Truro Cathedral in Cornwall if I could have a go and he looked at me and just snapped, ‘no!’ which could have put me off something I love and I don’t ever want to be responsible for that happening to someone.”

Smith has 21 pupils, more girls than boys, learning the organ and says the demand for lessons is growing.

“When people ask why we might have spent money on replacing an instrument for ‘old men’, I have only to point to the demand from young people for classes,” he says. “It’s the highest number of pupils that I’ve ever had and it’s fantastic.”

He and Stoddart believe the resurgent popularity may have something to do with the uniqueness of the instrument and the intriguing and varied sounds it can produce. The Very Reverend Anne Mills, Dean of Auckland, says it’s now time for the organ to have its say.

Celebrations are on this weekend with a grand opening recital on Saturday evening and, on Sunday, a choral Eucharist at 10am, gala concert at 2pm and choral evensong at 5pm.

HCathedral Organ Festival Weekend Saturday & Sunday