Manasota Theatre Organ Society Presents
Richard Hills
March 13 § Grace Church
The leading British theatre organist Richard Hills will create a multi-textured tapestry of sound on the historic 1927 Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ at Grace Church.
(Sarasota, FL) Manasota Theatre Organ Society (MTOS) brings world-class organists to perform on the historic Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ it owns and maintains in Grace Church. Its next concert features the acclaimed British organist Richard Hills on March 13. With a maturity and sense of style far beyond his years in both popular music and classical repertoires, Hills has been dazzling audiences for 15 years. His program in Sarasota will include a wide-range of popular music. Tickets for his March 13 performance are $15 in advance and $18 at the door. The performance is at Grace Church, 8000 Bee Ridge Road, Sarasota, at 2:30 p.m.; doors open at 1:45 p.m. For more information and to purchase tickets, call 941-776-3668.
London-based Richard Hills has numerous prizes and awards to his credit, including being named Organist of the Year in 2010 by the American Theatre Organ Society. He has appeared many times as a soloist on national and international TV and radio programs and his many recording credits include, most recently, a disc of British music made on the magnificent dual-purpose Compton organ of Southampton’s Guildhall, which earned a five-star review in Choir and Organ magazine. Hills is a strong supporter of the work of the UK’s Cinema Organ Society, for which he serves as musical adviser and a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists.
Hills is also widely acknowledged as one of the few musicians to have bridged and mastered the divide between the classical and theatre organ worlds. After studying with William Whitehead at Rochester Cathedral, he accepted organ scholarships of Exeter College Oxford, Portsmouth Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. Hills now combines a freelance solo career with continuo, choir training and teaching work and is the organist of St Mary’s, Bourne Street, a central London church noted for its Anglo-Catholic liturgy and fine musical tradition.
“We’re delighted to bring Richard to Sarasota all the way from London,” says John Fischer, president of MTOS. “Richard is one of the most vibrant, young contemporary theater organists working today. He’s known for his dynamic performances and top-level technical abilities and, while we’re glad he earns part of his income performing classical music, we are glad his first love is the theatre organ!”
About Manasota Theater Organ Society
Manasota Theatre Organ Society (MTOS), a chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society, was founded in November 1991. Its first project was the renovation of the 1926 Aeolian Duo Art pipe organ in the Charles Ringling Mansion, which is now part of New College of the University of South Florida. MTOS strives to promote the awareness of America’s theatre pipe organ heritage and continues to present concerts featuring the 4/32 Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ located at Grace Church in Sarasota.
