John Keys (organist)

John Keys
John Keys in front of the Marcussen & Søn organ at St Mary's Church, Nottingham
Background information
Born (1956-12-03) 3 December 1956 (age 68)
Chester, England
GenresChoral music
Occupation(s)Organist, choirmaster
InstrumentPipe organ
Websitewww.john-keys.co

John Keys MA (Oxon), LRAM, ARCM, Hon FGCM (born 3 December 1956) is a British and international organist.

Career

Born in Chester, John Keys was a pupil of Malcolm Boyle and later assistant organist at Chester Cathedral. Afterwards he was organ scholar to Edward Higginbottom at New College, Oxford and then studied in Geneva with Lionel Rogg[1] where he won the 1re Prix de Virtuosité from the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève. On his return from Geneva he was appointed Director of Music at St. Mary's Church, Nottingham, in 1984. That year, he won first prize at the 4th Manchester International Organ Competition.[2][3] He is also the University of Nottingham's organist and keyboard tutor.[4]

Shortly after his appointment in Nottingham, St Mary's Church underwent a substantial programme of restoration. To accompany this John formed the 'Orchestra of the Restoration' with local musicians in 1988.[5]

In 2014, Keys completed recordings of the music of all 941 hymns in the new "Ancient & Modern" hymn book.[6] Also in 2014, an extract of Keys' recording of "Abide With Me" was used in a BBC Radio Berkshire programme on "How the Church Responded to War", as part of the BBC "World War I at Home" series. In 2015, some of Keys' recordings were used in a short service at the end of a trip down the Thames by the ship Havengore, as part of the 50th anniversary commemorations of the death of Winston Churchill.[7]

Keys is an Honorary Fellow of the Guild of Church Musicians.[8] In 2012, he was nominated for vice chair of the board of trustees for the Binns organ in the Albert Hall, Nottingham.[9] In 2016, Keys was appointed Nottingham City Organist.[10]

References

  1. ^ "Organist's Return". Cheshire Observer. England. 24 September 1982. Retrieved 20 August 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. ^ "It's the key to success for John". Nottingham Evening Post. England. 25 September 1984. Retrieved 20 August 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ "Luther College to host organ scholar John Keys Sept. 13". Luther.edu. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  4. ^ "Keyboard and percussion tutors". University of Nottingham Humanities Department. University of Nottingham. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  5. ^ "Stylish debutants". Nottingham Evening Post. England. 3 October 1988. Retrieved 20 August 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ Baldry, Helen (2 July 2022). "Attleborough hymn marathon raises music funds". Network South Norfolk. Network Norwich. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  7. ^ "Order of Service" (PDF). Havengore.com. 30 January 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  8. ^ "Guild of Church Musicians". Churchtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  9. ^ "The Binns Organ Trust". Binns.info. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  10. ^ "John Keys Appointed Nottingham City Organist". Stmaryschoirnottingham.com. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2018.