BLOOMSBURY CENTRAL BAPTIST CHURCH
235 Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2 8EP
SATURDAY,
25th July at 4:00pm
JOHN SCOTT
(St Thomas's Church, Fifth Avenue, New York)
S. PROKOFIEV (1891-1953)
March, from ‘The Love of Three Oranges’
(arr. Jean Guillou b. 1930)
J.S. BACH (1685-1750)
Prelude and Fugue in G major (BWV 541)
C. FRANCK (1822-1890)
Choral no 2 in B minor
M.E. BOSSI (1861-1925)
Scherzo
L. VIERNE (1870-1937)
Meditation (trans. M Durufle' (1903-1986)
E.H. LEMARE (1865-1934)
Concert Fantasia
P. RACINE FRICKER (1920-1990)
Pastorale
S. PROKOFIEV (1891-1953)
Toccata (arr. Jean Guillou b. 1930)
John Scott was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, where he became a Cathedral chorister. While
still at school he gained the diplomas of the Royal College of Organists winning the major
prizes. In 1974 he became Organ Scholar of St. John’s College, Cambridge, where for four
years he acted as assistant to Dr. George Guest and held the University John Stewart of
Rannoch Scholarship in Sacred Music. His organ studies were with Jonathan Bielby, Ralph
Downes, and Dame Gillian Weir. He made his debut in the 1977 Promenade Concerts in the
Royal Albert Hall, playing Reubke’s Sonata on the 94 Psalm. He was the youngest organist
to appear as a soloist in the Proms.
th
On leaving Cambridge, he was appointed Assistant Organist at London’s two Anglican
Cathedrals, St Paul’s and Southwark. During this time he won first prizes from the
Manchester and Leipzig J. S. Bach International Organ Competitions in 1978 and 1984
respectively.
In 1985 he became Sub-Organist of St Paul’s Cathedral, becoming Organist and Director of
Music there in 1990 until 2004.
As an organist, John Scott has performed in five continents, premiered many new works
written for him, and worked with various specialist ensembles. In November 1989 he
inaugurated the new Rieger organ in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and in 1990,
he was one of five international Cathedral organists invited to play in Washington
National Cathedral to celebrate the completion of the Cathedral.
In recent years, recital engagements have included venues in the USA, UK, Germany,
Holland, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy, South Africa, Slovakia, Australia and New Zealand.
Highlights have included recitals in the Thomaskirche, Leipzig, Symphony Hall,
Birmingham, Notre Dame in Paris, St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, the Aarhus Organ
Festival in Denmark, Cologne Cathedral, Disney Hall in Los Angeles, London’s Royal Albert
Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral, St Paul’s Cathedral
and King’s College, Cambridge.
At St Paul’s he played a complete cycle of the organ works of J.S. Bach in 2000 and followed
this in subsequent years with the organ symphonies of Vierne and Widor, as well as the
complete organ works of Franck and Buxtehude. At St Thomas, Fifth Avenue, New York, he
has performed complete cycles of the organ works of Buxtehude in 2007, Messiaen in 2008
and the six organ symphonies of Louis Vierne in 2009. In 2014, he was one of the featured
organists in the re-opening Gala and subsequently gave the first solo recital on the restored
organ in London’s Royal Festival Hall and gave the opening recital of the organ in the new
Musikkens Hus in Aalborg, Denmark. In June, he gave the premiere of Nico
Muhly’s ‘Patterns’ for the American Guild of Organists National Convention in Boston.
In addition to his work as a conductor and organist, John Scott has published a number of
choral compositions and arrangements and he has jointly edited two compilations of liturgical
music for the Church’s year, published by Oxford University Press.
John Scott’s many recordings include the organ sonatas of Elgar, organ music by William
Mathias, Duruflé and Mendelssohn, as well as two discs of music by Dupré. He has also
recorded the solo organ part in Janacek’s Glagolitic Mass with the London Symphony
Orchestra, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas. He recently made a recording at the organ
of Washington’s National Cathedral for the JAV label.
In 1998 he was nominated International Performer of the Year by the New York Chapter of
the American Guild of Organists. He is a Past President of the Incorporated Association of
Organists and he has been a member of a number of international competition juries,
including those in Manchester, Dublin, Chartres, Dallas, St. Albans, Erfurt and the Bach/Liszt
Competition in Weimar.
In the summer of 2004, after a 26 year association with St Paul’s Cathedral, he took up the
post of Organist and Director of Music at St Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue, New York,
where he directs the renowned choir of men and boys. He was awarded the LVO in the New
Years Honours List of 2004, a personal gift from HM Queen Elizabeth II, in recognition of
his work at St Paul’s Cathedral. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from Nashotah House
Seminary in Wisconsin in 2007.
johngscott.com
Free Admission - Collection - Buffet
Special August Organ Concert
Sunday, 16th August at 6:00pm
GERT van HOEF
(Netherlands)
Details of the organ on the NPOR at:
www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi?Fn=Rsearch&rec_index=P00257
www.bloomsbury.org.uk