Musicians from the East London School of Music (ELSOM) will feature in a BBC Songs of Praise episode. The BBC crew were inspired by the documentary, Organ Stops – Saving The King ofInstruments, which aired on 24 December 2022 and includes the organ installed at the Clapton Seventh-day Adventist church in East London.
"I was surprised but absolutely thrilled and excited to have the BBC Songs of Praise producers contact me to visit our school," said Fiona Pacquette, ELSOM Manager. She continued: "They contacted our organ builder, Martin Renshaw, to ask if they could do a feature on pipe organs, including his work as a professional organ builder and include his charity called Pipe Up 4 Organs, which is in the business of saving organs due for destruction."
In the episode, which airs on Sunday, 24 September 2023, at 1:30 pm on BBC One, you can expect to see BBC Songs of Praise presenter Pam Rhodes interview Martin, Fiona and a couple of students with footage of the students performing in class as well as of Martin at work included.
"It's organ-focused, with special emphasis given to the role the pipe organ plays in churches across the country. Professional organist Anna Lapwood is also set to feature in the programme," Fiona told us.
