Why this popular British organist plays in the key of joy
Anna Lapwood鈥檚 rehearsals start at midnight.聽
Several times a month, the 20-something millennial locks herself inside London鈥檚 Royal Albert Hall after audiences have gone home. Then she practices playing the venue鈥檚 mammoth pipe organ until dawn. It鈥檚 her opportunity to play loudly without disturbing anyone.聽
Occasionally, a cleaner whistles along to her melodies. But at 1 a.m. on May 21, someone yelled out a request, Toccata and Fugue in D minor. She obliged by performing Bach. The heckler was a band member for the electronic musician known as Bonobo, who鈥檇 played the hall earlier that evening. One thing led to another and, the following night, Bonobo鈥檚 next concert at the venue climaxed with the surprise entrance of Ms. Lapwood鈥檚 organ. The audience roared in delight. In the following days, her cellphone video of the moment was viewed over 2.7 million times on TikTok.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onBritish musician Anna Lapwood has a classical r茅sum茅 and a growing pop culture fan base, thanks in part to viral videos that stoke viewers鈥� delight, and her own.
鈥淚 still am getting people coming to my concerts who say that they鈥檝e never been to a classical concert before ... but they saw that video of Bonobo,鈥� marvels Ms. Lapwood in a Zoom interview. 鈥淎nd I just love that.鈥�
Ms. Lapwood is one of classical music鈥檚 biggest breakout stars in years. She鈥檚 familiar to British television viewers as the host of the BBC Young Musician competition. But she first made her mark by being appointed director of music at Cambridge University鈥檚 Pembroke College at age 21. Since then she鈥檚 established the Pembroke College Girls鈥� Choir, which just released a Christmas album. A star on TikTok and Instagram, Ms. Lapwood challenges perceptions of the pipe organ as a fusty, old-fashioned instrument through her viral videos. The keys to her success? Talent, an exacting work ethic, and radiant enthusiasm.
鈥淪he brings enormous joy to her job,鈥� says Amanda Holloway, a freelance journalist who writes for publications like BBC Music Magazine, in a Zoom call. 鈥淪he shows that music doesn鈥檛 have to be dull or serious or difficult.鈥�
When Ms. Lapwood was a teenager, she played harp in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. She was also skilled at piano and violin. But when she first tried the pipe organ, it didn鈥檛 come naturally to her.聽
鈥淭he emotional side of it is nowhere near as immediate,鈥� says the musician. 鈥淚f you play harder, it doesn鈥檛 get louder, right? It鈥檚 all about gradation of touch and articulation and the illusion of emotion and how you achieve that. ... I found it really hard. But because I didn鈥檛 like it, and because I found it hard, I was determined to tackle it.鈥澛�
During Ms. Lapwood鈥檚 final year of an organ scholarship at Oxford University, judges at a competition admonished her to 鈥減lay more like a man.鈥�
鈥淚 have no problem with someone telling you that you need power and authority,鈥� she reflects. 鈥淚 have a real issue with that being equated to gender.鈥澛�
In an effort to encourage young women to try their hand at the instrument, Ms. Lapwood founded the Cambridge Organ Experience for Girls. She also adopted a 鈥渢ongue-in-cheek鈥� hashtag on social media: #playlikeagirl. In one such TikTok video, she performs something akin to advanced yoga by lifting her foot onto the organ console to pull out the stops while her hands are busy. Ms. Lapwood鈥檚 videos exhibit her innate exuberance. When you 鈥渄o the thing that you really, really, really love,鈥� she says, 鈥測ou kind of owe it to the world to be happy.鈥澛�
The musician adds, 鈥淚f I鈥檓 having a bad day, I try to focus on brightening someone else鈥檚 day, and it almost always turns that around and makes my day better, too.鈥澛�
Ms. Lapwood also cultivates joy via annual visits to Zambia to teach in low-income communities. 鈥淚 work with these phenomenal singers who learned from watching聽YouTube videos of Pavarotti,鈥� she says. 鈥淸It鈥檚] an exchange of ideas. I come back having learned so much about the importance of movement to how we sing.鈥� 聽
Some of those ideas feed into her approach to conducting the Pembroke College Girls鈥� Choir. It鈥檚 a 24-voice group, ages 11 to 18, whose new release, 鈥淎 Pembroke Christmas,鈥� eschews commonplace singalongs like 鈥淛ingle Bells.鈥� Indeed, the album, which also includes the Chapel Choir of Pembroke College, opens with an unconventional a cappella piece, 鈥淭he Nine Orders of the Angels: II. Archangelus鈥� by contemporary composer Patricia Van Ness.
鈥淭he singer we鈥檝e got, Elsa, this incredible soprano, has such an expressive voice,鈥� the conductor enthuses. 鈥淛ust her singing solo chant is, for me, such an atmospheric thing and sets up a completely different world and prepares you for the experience for the album.鈥�
The organist is similarly committed to diversifying the repertoire for organ. Her 2021 debut solo album, 鈥淚mages,鈥� features Debussy and Ravel but also modern composers such as Kerensa Briggs and Cheryl Frances-Hoad.聽
鈥淪he鈥檚 not ashamed of playing big pieces that were written with the organ in mind, but are definitely not church music or big Bach pieces,鈥� says Ms. Holloway, the classical music writer. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how she gets to younger people.鈥�
TikTok is another form of outreach. Ms. Lapwood鈥檚 videos include renditions of 鈥淭he Simpsons鈥� theme and a riff from AC/DC鈥檚 鈥淭hunderstruck.鈥� Those two in particular showcase the Royal Albert Hall organ鈥檚 9,999 pipes, towering above her like a golden suspension bridge.
鈥淚t has the expressive capabilities of an entire orchestra, but manned by one person,鈥� muses the organist. 鈥淚t鈥檚 often used to mark the big moments in life: baptisms, weddings, funerals. ... But I think there鈥檚 also something to be said for trying to remind people that it doesn鈥檛 just live in a sacred context.鈥�
As one of the venue鈥檚 associate artists, Ms. Lapwood seeks out opportunities to network with performers. That鈥檚 how she met Benedict Cumberbatch.聽
In October, the 鈥淪herlock鈥� and 鈥淒octor Strange鈥� actor was performing as part of 鈥淟etters Live,鈥� where historic pieces of correspondence are read. She offered him a tour of the organ; he performed a Bach fugue in C major. The actor asked her to close his next show with a Hans Zimmer composition from the movie 鈥淚nterstellar.鈥� 鈥淲hen Benedict Cumberbatch cried when I was playing, I found that really moving and humbling,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t was like, 鈥榊es! This instrument can make people feel emotions.鈥欌�澛�
The musician relishes a full calendar, which, on April 1, 2023, includes a performance with the Pacific Symphony in Costa Mesa, California. 聽
鈥淚 tend to have a day about once a month where I will just sleep all day,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut I would prefer to make the most of the time I鈥檝e got to make things a little bit more positive, even if it鈥檚 only in my little bubble.鈥�
