Programme
Dieterich Buxtehude (c.1637–1707)
Praeludium in C (BuxWV 137)
Thomas Weelkes (1576–1623)
Two Voluntaries
Herbert Howells (1892–1983)
Siciliano for a High Ceremony
Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847)
Organ Sonata No. 2 in C minor
I. Grave
II. Adagio
III. Allegro maestoso e vivace
IV. Fugue: Allegro moderato
Robert Schumann (1810–1856)
Canon in B major (Op. 56, No. 6)
Charles-Marie Widor (1844–1937)
Marcia from Symphonie III
Musician Biographies
Ben Bloor is the Organist of the London Oratory Church where he accompanies the professional adult choir for weekly Mass and Vespers and oversees the famous Downes/Walker organ. He combines this with a busy freelance recital career and the post of School Organist at Westminster School, where he teaches organ and plays for services in Westminster Abbey.
Previously, he held organ scholarships at Derby Cathedral, St George’s Chapel Windsor Castle, New College Oxford and Westminster Cathedral, and was the Assistant Sub-Organist at Rochester Cathedral. Ben was the winner of the 2012 Northern Ireland International Organ Competition, and a semi-finalist in the inaugural Wadden Sea International Organ Competition held in Denmark in January 2017. He was awarded second prizes in the Boston Bach International Organ Competition 2018 and also the Canadian International Organ Competition in 2021. In 2023, he won the Douglas May Award at the St Albans International Organ Competition.
Ben holds a First-Class Honours degree in Music from the University of Oxford and the Limpus prize for highest marks in the 2013 FRCO examinations. He is a recipient of the Worshipful Company of Musicians’ Silver Medal for his contribution to organ-playing and held the Junior Fellowship at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Ben’s debut solo organ CD, L’Orgue Grégorien, was released in May 2024.
Donations
Chichester Cathedral's Lunchtime Concert series is self-supporting, and thrives through the generosity of its audiences. While there is no charge for admission, we suggest a minimum donation of £3 per person, with Gift Aid applied if possible. Donations can be made in the retiring collection, in the Cathedral, at our Visitor’s Desk or at various donation points, using cash, card and contactless or using the button below.
Can't make it this time?
Lunchtime Concerts take place every Tuesday at 1.10pm during term-time, our talented performers come from across the UK and occasionally overseas, to delight our audiences with music from Beethoven to Chopin, Elgar to Mozart and more.