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Anna Lapwood

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Anna Lapwood is an organist, conductor and broadcaster, and Director of Music at Pembroke College, Cambridge.[1] She was the youngest person to hold the director of music position at an Oxbridge college, taking up the position at the age of 21.[2] As a broadcaster, Lapwood hosts her own live weekly classical music show, on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire,[3] and is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 3, having appeared on Record Review with Andrew McGregor.[4]

Education

After completing her A-levels at Oxford High School, Lapwood gained a first-class degree from Magdalen College, Oxford, and was the first woman in the college's 560-year history to be awarded an organ scholarship.[5]

Pembroke College, Cambridge

As Director of Music, Lapwood conducts the Chapel Choir at Pembroke College, Cambridge.[6] In January 2020, she was appointed Bye-Fellow of the college, the youngest ever in the college's history.[7]

In 2018, Lapwood founded the Pembroke College Girls’ Choir, which consists of girls aged 11–18 from local schools and performs evensong weekly during term time.[8][9] She also runs the Cambridge Organ Experience for Girls every year.[10] Lapwood has been running the Pembroke College Bach-a-thon each year since 2017, initially to raise funds for Pembroke College Choir's tour to Zambia. In 2018, all of the organists taking part in the Bach-a-thon were female.[11] In 2019, Lapwood established another choir at Pembroke college, designed to teach sight-reading skills to singers.[12]

On 15 December 2019, Lapwood and the choirs of Pembroke College appeared on BBC One's show Britain's Christmas Story, presented by Gareth Malone and Karen Gibson.[13]

Music career

Lapwood studied piano, violin, viola and composition at the Junior Royal Academy of Music and was the principal harpist for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and the Junior Academy Symphony Orchestra. As an organist, Lapwood has performed in the Royal Albert Hall, the Royal Festival Hall and St Thomas Church, New York. In 2019, Lapwood opened the BAFTA TV awards on the organ at the Royal Festival Hall, and she frequently travels the UK and Europe on tours.[14]

As a conductor, Lapwood directed the BBC Singers as part of the BBC Inspire Programme. She has led choral workshops in Thailand, Perth, Shenzen, Shanghai, and Lusaka, and regularly works in Zambia through her role as a trustee of The Muze Trust.[15]

As a singer, Lapwood has released two albums as part of Gareth Malone's professional ensemble Voices. With the ensemble, she has performed at the Classical Brit Awards, Royal Variety Show, and the National Eisteddfod of Wales, among other TV performances.[16]

Lapwood was the main presenter of the televised highlights of the 2020 BBC Young Musician competition.[17]

References

  1. ^ "Trailblazing classical musician Anna Lapwood: 'At 19, I was told to play like a man'". Evening Standard. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  2. ^ "Musicians aiming to inspire women to play organ with 24-hour Bach recital". ITV News. 13 June 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Classical Cambridgeshire". BBC Radio Cambridgeshire. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Andrew McGregor with William Mival and Anna Lapwood". Record Review. 9 November 2019. BBC Radio 3. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Breaking through the glass ceiling". The Times.
  6. ^ "Who's Who". Pembroke.
  7. ^ "Fellows and Senior Members of the College". Pembroke. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  8. ^ "Our Members". SWO. Retrieved 16 September 2019. Anna has recently set up the Pembroke College Girls' Choir, providing a choral education for girls aged 11-18
  9. ^ "Pembroke College Girls' Choir". Pembroke. 5 October 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  10. ^ Shaw Roberts, Maddy. "Young Girls Can Be Organists Too". Classic FM.
  11. ^ Franks, Rebecca. "An Interview with Anna Lapwood". Classical-music.
  12. ^ "Anna Lapwood". Music Productions. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  13. ^ Britain's Christmas Story - Series 1: Episode 1, retrieved 16 December 2019
  14. ^ "The British Academy Film Awards". BBC.
  15. ^ "Pembroke College Chapel Choir Music Exchange with Zambia, 2017". themuzetrust.org. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  16. ^ "Gareth Malone's Voices choir line-up revealed". Classic FM. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  17. ^ "BBC Young Musician 2020 celebrates young musical talent at the time of lockdown" (Press release). BBC. 27 April 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
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