From Westminster Abbey to Vancouver

Danish organ virtuoso Tina Christiansen, whose international concert career has taken her to some of the most distinguished organs in the United Kingdom and continental Europe, including St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey in London, will perform at St James’ Anglican Church in Vancouver on Saturday, September 19 at 7:30 pm Tina Christiansen has built an extensive international career as a soloist, chamber musician, and accompanist, performing throughout Scandinavia and Europe and appearing at major historic and concert organs. Her solo performances have taken her to St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey in London, Riga Dom in Latvia, Kaliningrad Cathedral in Russia, and St Florian Stiftsbasilika in Austria, among many other distinguished venues. For her Vancouver recital, Tina presents a programme that brings together masterpieces of the organ repertoire with music by contemporary composers. Spanning centuries of musical expression, the programme showcases the extra-ordinary range, colour, and versatility of the organ. The evening opens with JS Bach’s Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major, one of the composer’s celebrated and virtuosic organ works. The programme continues with César Franck’s Deuxième Choral en si mineur, and Herbert Howells’ Rhapsody No. 1 in D-flat major, and culminates in Louis Vierne’s monumental Final from Symphony No. 5 in A minor. Alongside these landmarks of the organ repertoire, Tina will perform music by contemporary Danish composers Anthony Lledo, Peter Due, and Rasmus Zwicki, who collaborated on the soundtrack for the major 2020 television nature documentary series Wild and Wonderful Denmark, as well as UK composer David Loxley-Blount’s Eventide Étude. Written specifically for Tina, David Loxley-Blount’s Eventide Étude was premiered by her at Westminster Abbey in London in October 2023. Tina’s appearance at St James’ offers Vancouver audiences a rare opportunity to hear an organ virtuoso whose career has taken her from some of the world’s most distinguished historic organs to concert stages across Europe and beyond.