Music Director For Queen Elizabeth's Funeral To Perform In Greenwich

GREENWICH, CT — James O'Donnell, the director of music at Westminster Abbey, will perform at Christ Church Greenwich next month to celebrate the church's new Harrison & Harrison organ.

O’Donnell has overseen the music for royal ceremonies including the recent State funeral for the Queen of England, wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2011, the funeral of the Queen Mother, and the 2021 service of thanksgiving for the life of Prince Phillip, the Queen’s husband.

O’Donnell will be playing the new four-manual Harrison & Harrison organ recently installed at Christ Church Greenwich on Saturday, Oct. 22, at 5 p.m. Tickets are $40, and $125 for patron seating. Student with ID can get in for $20.

Tickets can be purchased here.

This landmark instrument is the culmination of a nine-year process of discernment, design, production and installation. Containing a total of 4,639 pipes, it was built in Durham, England, and represents the largest organ made by Harrison & Harrison in the USA.

The range of sound available to the player is vast, affording the possibility of sensitive accompaniment of choirs and congregations, as well as a dynamic variety that makes repertoire from across the ages come to life.

The organ is unique in that it contains orchestral colors, such as a tuba, French horn, clarinet, orchestral oboe, cor anglais and orchestral strings, as well as a percussion section that features a harp, chimes,and two sets of bells, one cast by the Whitechapel Foundry in London, England.

For this celebration concert, O'Donnell will present a program including works by Bach, Vierne, Stanford, Wammes, and Duruflé. This program has been specifically chosen to showcase the vast array of tonal colors available on the new organ.

As an organ recitalist, O’Donnell has performed in some of the most prestigious concert halls, cathedrals, and churches in the world, including Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles, Calif.), the Meyerson Center (Dallas, Texas), Davies Hall (San Francisco, Calif.), the Royal Festival Hall, and the Royal Albert Hall (for the BBC Proms), and has appeared as soloist with many orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, Tokyo Philharmonic, and BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

As Director of Music for 23 years, with over 50 organ and choral recordings to his name, O’Donnell is currently the organist at Westminster Abbey. He also leads its celebrated choir. He will be retiring from Westminster this year and joining Yale School of Music and the Institute of Sacred Music.

O'Donnell is past president of the Royal College of Organists, a fellow of the Royal College of Music and the Royal School of Church Music, and an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music.

In 2011, he was elected an honorary fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge.

The celebration weekend for the organ will continue on Oct. 23, with a 10 a.m. celebration service, sung by the Christ Church Singers. There will also be a 5 p.m. service of Choral Evensong with the Diocesan Bishop of CT, Jeffrey Mello, dedicating the instrument.

The service will be sung by the Choir of Men & Boys with the St. Cecilia Choir of Girls. The new organ will feature prominently in works at both services.