| 15/07/2009 | Aylesbury Methodist Church 7.30 Gordon plays the 24th Celebrity Concert which is part of the re-opening celebrations following completion of major re-building work to the anciliary premises of the church[ More ] |
| 18/07/2009 | Clifton Cathedral Gordon plays the Rieger organ of Clifton Cathedral in a programme including music from Buxtehude to Lionel Rogg. Note the change of date.[ More ] |
| 03/08/2009 | IAO Congress in the North West Gordon is guest speaker at the final dinner of the IAO Congress 2009[ More ] |
welcome
Gordon Stewart is one of the UK’s most popular and adaptable organists; he has played Celebrity Concerts in such places as St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral, the Laurenskerk, Alkmaar and at Symphony Hall in Birmingham, Leeds Town Hall, Melbourne Town Hall, Pietermaritzburg City Hall, Johannesburg Cathedral and the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, but is equally happy playing concerts in small churches and chapels. His large repertoire means he can design concerts suitable for most organs and audiences. Playing regularly on the 1860 Father Willis organ at Huddersfield Town Hall, where he has been resident organist at for over 18 years, he has built a large and enthusiastic following.
Gordon tours abroad most years, and 2008 found him twice in South Africa, and for four weeks in October, in Australia. Return tours to both countries are already in place for 2010.
2008 also found him recording, and CDs of the organs of Huddersfield Town Hall, Pietermaritzburg City Hall, Johannesburg Cathedral, Providence Chapel New Mills and Pontefract Parish Church are available from this site. Recording plans for 2009 include Variations from Huddersfield Town Hall and a popular programme from the Caird Hall, Dundee.
Gordon was born in Dundee, Scotland, and studied in Manchester and Geneva. His teachers included Eric Chadwick, Gillian Weir and Lionel Rogg. He was awarded a Performer’s Diploma with distinction in Manchester and a Premier Prix de Virtuosité in Geneva. For fifteen years he was a cathedral organist, first in Manchester then in Blackburn. In recent years he has been awarded honorary fellowships by both the Royal College of Organists and the Royal School of Church Music, and an honorary doctorate by the University of Huddersfield.
Gordon is also well-known as a teacher, having been on the staff of both the Royal Northern College of Music and Chetham’s School for many years, and former students have held positions at St Paul’s Cathedral London, Westminster Abbey, Wells Cathedral, St Mary’s Cathedral Edinburgh and Coventry Cathedral. He has led master-classes for colleges and universities throughout the UK and in the USA, South Africa and the Netherlands.
“Gordon Stewart is a marvellously engaging performer. He almost literally runs onto the stage, and before he plays a note transmits a sense of energy, fun and anticipation. This touch of showbiz and the scattering about of funny stories prepares you to fully enjoy yourself. Gordon’s ‘show’ is very visual, but nothing of this style of delivery detracts from the seriously good musicianship of his performance. On the contrary, it energises and places in the mainstream an instrument which, certainly in the eyes of the young and the unchurched, can seem stuffy and dull……Gordon Stewart is a vibrant and accomplished player, at one with his instrument and his audience, whom he delighted from beginning to end.” Organ Australian December 2008