[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” admin_label=”BANNER SECTION” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-10em||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_fullwidth_header title=”About” text_orientation=”center” background_overlay_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.3)” disabled_on=”on|on|off” admin_label=”DESKTOP BANNER” _builder_version=”4.25.2″ _module_preset=”default” title_font=”|||on|||||” title_text_align=”center” title_text_color=”#c1a97d” title_font_size=”5em” title_letter_spacing=”4px” background_enable_color=”off” background_image=”https:\/\/annalapwood.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/HOME-scaled.jpeg” parallax=”on” parallax_method=”on” height=”80vh” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”3em||||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”3em||||false|false” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” custom_css_title=”margin-top:5em;” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_fullwidth_header][et_pb_fullwidth_header title=”About” text_orientation=”center” background_overlay_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.3)” disabled_on=”off|off|on” admin_label=”MOBILE BANNER” _builder_version=”4.25.2″ _module_preset=”default” title_font=”|||on|||||” title_text_align=”center” title_text_color=”#c1a97d” title_font_size=”5em” title_letter_spacing=”4px” background_enable_color=”off” background_image=”https:\/\/annalapwood.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/ABOUT-MOBILE.jpg” background_position=”top_center” height=”80vh” custom_margin=”4em||||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”3em||||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”3em||||false|false” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” custom_css_title=”margin-top:4.5em;” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_css_title_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_css_title_tablet=”margin-top:4.5em;” custom_css_title_phone=”margin-top:4.5em;”][\/et_pb_fullwidth_header][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”BIO SECTION” module_class=”bio-block” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#0e1a45″ custom_margin=”||-6em||false|false” custom_padding=”||6em||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row admin_label=”BIO ROW” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”BIO” _builder_version=”4.25.2″ _module_preset=”default” text_orientation=”justified” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
Anna Lapwood is one of the UK\u2019s most dynamic ambassadors for classical music. As the official organist of the Royal Albert Hall, she has broken down genre boundaries and introduced a huge new audience to the organ. She has reached millions via her devoted social media following and helped revitalise repertoire for the instrument through the dedicated commissioning and performing of new works. She is also an established conductor and broadcaster, and a fierce advocate for the advancement of female voices within her industry. The scope of her influence is demonstrated by her appointment as MBE in 2024\u2019s New Year\u2019s Honours list and her inclusion in the 2025 Sunday Times Young Power List, alongside the likes of Lando Norris, Bella Maclean and Molly-Mae Hague.<\/p>\n
Anna is a graduate of Oxford University, where she was the first female Organ Scholar in Magdalen College\u2019s 560-year history. In 2016 she also became the Director of Music at Pembroke College, Cambridge \u2013 the youngest ever person to be appointed in that role at an Oxbridge college. She remained in the role until August 2025. Her time at Pembroke saw her found a much-lauded girls\u2019 choir, commission works from leading choral composers, and spearhead the release of five records, including 2020\u2019s All Things Are Quite Silent<\/em>. Her tenure was rounded off with a performance at the BBC Proms, conducting the College Chapel Choir as part of an all-night concert that also featured cellist Anastasia Kobekina and pianist Hayato Sumino among other artists.<\/p>\n As a recitalist, Anna has carved out a niche combining performances of more traditional organ repertoire with film and orchestral music, often in her own arrangements. Her recent touring programmes have placed the music of Durufl\u00e9, Gigout and Britten alongside large-scale transcriptions of music from Pirates of the Caribbean<\/em> and The Lord of the Rings<\/em>. Recent recital venues include Hamburg\u2019s Elbphilharmonie, the Sydney Opera House, Los Angeles\u2019 Walt Disney Concert Hall and Atlantic City\u2019s Boardwalk Hall. A successful collaboration with AEG Presents has resulted to two sold-out UK tours with a third scheduled for June 2026 featuring her new bespoke touring instrument from Content Organs. In 2025 she also opens for Ludovico Einaudi \u2013 whose \u2018Experience\u2019 she recorded for the 2023 album LUNA<\/em> \u2013 at London\u2019s O2 Arena. Aside from recitals, her recent concert highlights include performances of Jongen\u2019s Symphonie concertante<\/em> with the Hall\u00e9, Poulenc\u2019s Organ Concerto with both the Hall\u00e9 and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Saint-Sa\u00ebns\u2019 \u2018Organ\u2019 Symphony with the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Antonio Pappano.<\/p>\n Among the works written for Anna are Max Richter\u2019s Cosmology<\/em> for organ, chorus and orchestra, Kristina Arakelyan\u2019s Toccata<\/em> for organ and orchestra and Olivia Belli\u2019s Limina Luminis<\/em> for solo organ. The last of these was featured on Firedove<\/em>, her latest solo record, which was released in 2025 on Sony Classical and reached No. 1 on the Official Classical Artist Albums Chart. A composer and arranger in her own right, Anna is signed to Boosey & Hawkes and has published several choral compositions as well as numerous transcriptions of orchestral music for organ, many of which are top sellers on ArrangeMe. Her debut solo album, 2021\u2019s Images<\/em>, features her arrangement of Britten\u2019s Four Sea Interludes from \u2018Peter Grimes\u2019<\/em>, while 2023\u2019s LUNA<\/em> \u2013 her first release for Sony Classical \u2013 includes her transcriptions of music by film composers Dario Marianelli, James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer. She has also curated and edited Gregoriana<\/em>, an anthology of organ works based on Gregorian chant, all by contemporary women composers, which was Presto Music\u2019s 2022 Publication of the Year.<\/p>\n A keen collaborator, Anna is an Artist in Association with the BBC Singers and Featured Artist with the Hall\u00e9. Her relationship Royal Albert Hall has resulted in some of her most memorable pop collaborations. There she has accompanied artists including AURORA, Bonobo, Florence + the Machine, and Raye, as well as actor Benedict Cumberbatch for Letters Live<\/em>. Her close relationship with the Hall has also led to the launch of a new annual Organ Scholar Programme, which offers an emerging musician the chance to hone their craft on the Hall\u2019s famous Henry Willis organ, as well as to shadow and perform with Anna in concert.<\/p>\n The scholarship is one of several initiatives demonstrating Anna\u2019s commitment to musical outreach and the fostering of young talent. She also leads regular workshops for young organists around the UK, has hosted BBC Young Musician for BBC Four, and established an annual Cambridge Organ Experience for girls aged 11 to 18. Her relentless encouragement of and support for female organists in particular has made her a role model within that community, neatly captured in the hashtag #playlikeagirl, which she first adopted after being told to \u2018play like a man\u2019 during an organ competition. Now with a three-million-strong social media following, she has helped bring the organ, and contemporary ideas of a what an organist can be, to a whole new audience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_testimonial author=”Gramophone” quote_icon=”off” admin_label=”GRAMOPHONE QUOTE” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” body_font=”||on||||||” body_text_align=”center” body_font_size=”24px” author_text_align=”center” author_font_size=”28px” background_enable_color=”off” use_background_color=”off” custom_css_testimonial_author=”margin-top:0;” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n “Imaginative, open-minded and a brilliant musician, the organist and conductor Anna Lapwood is the dream ambassador for classical music.\u201d<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_testimonial author=”The Sunday Times” quote_icon=”off” admin_label=”SUNDAY TIMES QUOTE” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” body_font=”||on||||||” body_text_align=”center” body_font_size=”24px” author_text_align=”center” author_font_size=”28px” background_enable_color=”off” use_background_color=”off” custom_css_testimonial_author=”margin-top:0;” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n “She is much more than a gifted organist, choral conductor and social media sensation\u2026 she\u2019s a star on a mission\u201d<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_testimonial author=”New York Times” quote_icon=”off” admin_label=”NEW YORK TIMES QUOTE” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” body_font=”||on||||||” body_text_align=”center” body_font_size=”24px” author_text_align=”center” author_font_size=”28px” background_enable_color=”off” use_background_color=”off” custom_css_testimonial_author=”margin-top:0;” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n “She had rightly become \u201cthe world\u2019s most visible organist”\u201d<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_testimonial][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Anna Lapwood is one of the UK\u2019s most dynamic ambassadors for classical music. As the official organist of the Royal Albert Hall, she has broken down genre boundaries and introduced a huge new audience to the organ. She has reached millions via her devoted social media following and helped revitalise repertoire for the instrument through […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-19","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n