Marking an exciting new chapter in her career, organ sensation Anna Lapwood, stands on the cusp of something special as she announces her eagerly anticipated new album Luna – out September 29th on Sony Classical.
The album follows a flurry of exciting activity this year. She picked up the prestigious RPS Gamechanger Award at The Royal Philharmonic Society Awards, celebrated the release of her stunning 5 track EP Midnight Sessions At The Royal Albert Hall, and is about to perform a solo recital as part of this year’s BBC Proms season.
An album that represents a rounded reflection of her highly impressive career to date, ‘Luna’ is a fifteen-track collection of traditional classical repertoire alongside contemporary composers and new film music transcriptions. The album predominantly features Anna as an organist, but the other side of her life is showcased too, conducting the Pembroke College Chapel Choir for two of the tracks.
Anna explains:
“One of the highlights of my year is the time I spend teaching music in Zambia. I love it for the people, the music & the laughter, but I also always look forward to the first time I see the Zambian night sky again. You look up and it’s just completely full of stars. Bright stars, dull stars; some twinkling, some static; some glowing orbs and others dots smaller than pinpricks. With this album, I’m imagining we’re standing there, gazing at the sky, overwhelmed by the magnitude of what we can see. I’m imagining that as we stare upwards, our minds can almost take us there, travelling through the night sky and exploring individual stars with their unique personalities and characteristics.”
Originally written by Max Richter, the album’s new offering ‘On the Nature of Daylight’, is a thought-provoking re-imagining that gives the piece an other-worldly dimension. Listen here.
“This was a piece I’ve been wanting to try on the organ for such a long time,” comments Anna. “When I started running through ideas with our producer, Jonathan Allen, he suggested adding a choir, and the moment we tried it the piece seemed to take on new life. It feels very special to be releasing this as the first single from the album as it brings together the two sides of who I am as a musician: playing the organ but also working with the amazing choirs at Pembroke.”
The 27-year-old from a small Oxfordshire village has been making waves with her exciting approach to organ playing, awakening the senses of young and old alike, opening the gateways to classical music and shining a light on an often under-appreciated instrument.
In 2022, only 8% of organ recitals in the UK were given by women. To try and encourage more women to try the organ, Anna initiated the #playlikeagirl social media hashtag, not to divide but to unite and remind women to own themselves, be themselves and find themselves through music.
Anna has spent 7 years as Director of Music at Cambridge University’s Pembroke College, running the choirs and teaching academic music. After work and as night falls, her role as Associate Artist of the Royal Albert Hall sees her granted special access to the majestic instrument while most of us are fast asleep. This has led to some spectacular spontaneous collaborations, the most famous being with electronic musician Bonobo – one late-night practice session was interrupted by a request shouted up from the stage, which turned out to come from a couple of members of Bonobo’s band. 18 hours later, she was helping them close their show to an unsuspecting audience of 5,000.
Anna continues to relive the magic of that event through her videos to her 550,000+ TikTok followers – a tool she is using with exciting results having now passed 1 million social media followers across all platforms. The power of social media gives the ability to demystify the outdated baggage the organ once carried along with it, throwing open the doors to new music, new possibilities, and new audiences. Follow
Anna Lapwood can be found on TikTok here.
