Dame Gillian Weir

Organ, Distinguished Visiting Artist

Through her unique career as an internationally acclaimed concert organist performing worldwide at the major festivals and with leading orchestras and conductors, Gillian Weir has become established as a distinguished musician known for her virtuosity and integrity, her reputation extending well beyond the world of the organ. Her renown as a performer, which has stimulated numerous young players to follow her, is backed by her scholarly reputation; she is in demand as an adjudicator for the leading international competitions and as lecturer, broadcaster, teacher and writer, while her television appearances have reached vast new audiences.

Her repertoire is exceptional in its breadth and variety, stretching from the Renaissance to the many contemporary works she has premiered. She has performed the complete works of Bach as well as others including Messiaen, and her pre-eminent position as Messiaen interpreter has been underlined with her recording of his complete organ works, as well as her contribution to Faber's The Messiaen Companion and other publications. The CD set was received universally with such plaudits as that from Le Monde, "This intégrale is a worthy successor to that by Messiaen himself," and continues to be hailed as the finest available.

Gillian Weir has received many prizes, awards and honors, and in the 1996 New Year's Honors List was created Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of her services to music, having been made CBE in 1989. Her achievements have been marked by the reissue on CD of her famed series of Argo recordings, and by her nomination by Classic CD magazine as one of the 100 greatest Keyboard Players of the 20th Century as well as by the Sunday Times as one of the 1000 Music Makers of the Millennium. In December 2000, ITV's South Bank Show chronicled her worldwide activities as a performer, teacher and recording artist in a highly acclaimed documentary. She is the Prince Consort Professor of Organ at the Royal College of Music, London, and Distinguished Visiting Artist at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, Baltimore, and is sought after for her masterclasses and as Artist-in-Residence.

Gillian Weir's much praised Organ Master Series for Priory Records has continued with double-CD sets of Bach, including the Leipzig Chorales on the new Bach organ at the composer's own church of St Thomas, Leipzig. This was followed by the first in a series of concert-hall recordings, the first celebrating the Royal Albert Hall's refurbished organ. The second documented the organ of the Royal Festival Hall just before it was removed for restoration, and was awarded both Editor's choice and Critic's Choice in the Gramophone. The latest release in the series comes from Symphony Hall, Birmingham. The re-release of her legendary Messiaen recordings (containing the three posthumously published works and thus one of only two complete sets available) have received further acclaim, being hailed by Gramophone as "one of the finest organ recordings ever made".

Gillian Weir's career as recitalist and concerto soloist continues to encompass the globe. Recent highlights have included performances at the spectacular Disney Hall in Los Angeles and the new Esplanade Hall in Singapore, as well as the first full-scale recital for several decades at the Royal Albert Hall, to an audience of over 2000. She spent a large part of 2007 in the United States where she has given recitals in Florida and elsewhere, as well as the opening concert of the famous organ at the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, after its recent major refurbishment. As well as her commitment to the Peabody Conservatory she gave further classes at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and was Distinguished Visiting Professor at East Carolina University. Recent recitals have included Durham Cathedral, Glasgow's Kelvingrove Galleries to open the Incorporated Association of Organists' Organ Week, and her appearance in the Grand Organ Festival at Westminster Cathedral London, before performing as concerto soloist in the final concert of the 2007 Edinburgh Festival with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. September saw Gillian Weir as chairman of the Jury for the prestigious Brno International Performers Competition in the Czech Republic, and after further concerts in London she opened a new organ in Oslo in December. She is looking forward to concerts on the great Cavaillé-Coll at Royaumont Abbey near Paris, Philadelphia's Verizon Hall, the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., the Stadthalle in Wuppertal, Germany and the opening concert of the Westminster Abbey Organ Festival in London, which will launch the South Bank Centre's Messiaen Centenary Celebrations. She returns to the USA and Canada in autumn 2008 for concerts in Grand Rapids MI, Denton TX, and a guest artist residency at Yale University. She will also chair the jury for the Canadian International Organ Competition to be held in Montreal.

For further information on Gillian Weir's forthcoming appearances and recordings please see her website gillianweir.com