Evaluation Report St John Notting Hill Low Quality

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Evaluation Report
Organ Restoration at St John’s Notting Hill
March 2012 – May 2015
Project Ref: HG-10-03763
By Jamie Singleton
Activities Manager

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Please note: all links in the Table of Contents and all ‘see page 00’ references throughout the report can be clicked on – this
will take the reader to the relevant item. For ‘see page 00’ links, the page number should be clicked on.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary............................................................................................................................................. 5
What we wanted to happen ...........................................................................................................................................................5
Key Aims of the project...................................................................................................................................................................5
What I Wanted to Achieve..............................................................................................................................................................6
Delay in Organ Restoration.................................................................................................................................. 7
Viewing Gallery and Other Capital Works Notes................................................................................................... 8
Activity 1: Pre-restoration School Workshops .....................................................................................................10
Activity 2: School Visits.......................................................................................................................................12
School Visits Feedback...................................................................................................................................................................13
Activity 4: Post Restoration Workshops ..............................................................................................................16
Activity 3: Schools Workshops with Organ Model................................................................................................20
Schools Conclusion........................................................................................................................................................................29
Activity 5: Documenting the Restoration.............................................................................................................32
Activity 6: Adult Learning ...................................................................................................................................35
Three Lectures...............................................................................................................................................................................35
Tea Dance......................................................................................................................................................................................36
Learning course – An Organic Life.................................................................................................................................................38
Activity 7: Exhibitions.........................................................................................................................................41
Activity 8: Concerts and Recitals .........................................................................................................................49
1. Opening recital by internationally known organists .................................................................................................................50
2. Community choral concert, featuring local choirs of different genres, a community choir and a choir of schoolchildren......52
Sing West London..........................................................................................................................................................................................53
The Fulham and Hammersmith Choral Society .............................................................................................................................................54
The Kensington Singers .................................................................................................................................................................................55
The Duomo Singers .......................................................................................................................................................................................56
The Choral Scholars.......................................................................................................................................................................................57
Future Choir Concerts ...................................................................................................................................................................................58
Children’s Choir Concert ...............................................................................................................................................................................58
3. Lunchtime recitals by students of the Royal Academy of Music...............................................................................................59
4. Peace concert celebrating the theme of peace and liberation on World Peace Day................................................................59
Recording of If I Have Freedom.....................................................................................................................................................................61
5. Carnival concert, around the time of the Notting Hill Carnival and featuring the music of Notting Hill ..................................62
6. Winter recitals featuring an internationally renowned organist ..............................................................................................67
Silent Film Nights...........................................................................................................................................................................................68
Recital Series May – July 2014.......................................................................................................................................................................74
Recital Series 2015 ........................................................................................................................................................................................77
Further Concerts and Events items not included in Activities Plan...............................................................................................79
The Hermes Experiment................................................................................................................................................................................79
Kate Whitley – Organ Concerto.....................................................................................................................................................................81
Project R November 2014 .............................................................................................................................................................................81
Georgian Cultural Evening April 2014 ...........................................................................................................................................................82
Resonance FM visit March 2014 ...................................................................................................................................................................82

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Bach to Baby January 2015 ...........................................................................................................................................................................84
Sangerstevne Festival May 2015...................................................................................................................................................................84
BBC Scotland Recording May 2014 ...............................................................................................................................................................85
The jtunes December 2014 ...........................................................................................................................................................................85
Concerts and Recitals Conclusion..................................................................................................................................................86
Activity 9: Visits and Open Days..........................................................................................................................87
1. Organised visits by special interest groups such as the Organ Club, NADFAS, local music & history societies, etc. ................87
The Organ Club..............................................................................................................................................................................................88
The British Institute of Organ Studies (BIOS).................................................................................................................................................88
The Surrey Organ Association, The Central London and Eastern Society of Organists, and The Bromley and Croydon Organ Association.89
The Royal College of Organists (RCO)............................................................................................................................................................89
The Open Age Men’s Group in February 2015 and The Open Age History Group in March 2015 ................................................................90
The Ealing National Trust Association ...........................................................................................................................................................93
Exploring London and Beyond.......................................................................................................................................................................93
Further visits..................................................................................................................................................................................................94
2. Informal tourist visits ................................................................................................................................................................94
3. Two Open Days per year to include demonstrations, workshops, lectures and other activities..............................................94
Open House London Day...............................................................................................................................................................................94
The Highest and Lowest Notes of an Organ ..................................................................................................................................................96
Visits and Open Days Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................98
Note on Talented Young Musicians - Scholars .....................................................................................................99
Website – www.stjohnsorganproject.com ........................................................................................................100
Home Screen...............................................................................................................................................................................100
The organ, including restoration details .....................................................................................................................................100
Events listings..............................................................................................................................................................................102
Exhibitions...................................................................................................................................................................................103
School visits.................................................................................................................................................................................103
The Video College Film................................................................................................................................................................104
If I have Freedom recording........................................................................................................................................................104
Thank you....................................................................................................................................................................................105
Photo gallery ...............................................................................................................................................................................105
Website numbers........................................................................................................................................................................105
Volunteers.......................................................................................................................................................106
Community Payback....................................................................................................................................................................106
University of Nottingham Work Experience Module ..................................................................................................................107
Erasmus Student .........................................................................................................................................................................107
History Exhibition Volunteers .....................................................................................................................................................107
Tea Dance Organisers..................................................................................................................................................................107
School workshops .......................................................................................................................................................................107
The Video College........................................................................................................................................................................107
Adult Learning Course.................................................................................................................................................................108
Concerts, events, visits and open days .......................................................................................................................................108
Music Librarian............................................................................................................................................................................108
Accountant..................................................................................................................................................................................109
Left out........................................................................................................................................................................................109
Volunteer Numbers.....................................................................................................................................................................109
Volunteer appreciation events....................................................................................................................................................110

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Numbers of People...........................................................................................................................................111
Numbers of those who visited the organ to take part in activities.............................................................................................111
Estimated Tourist Visits...............................................................................................................................................................111
Verified online figures.................................................................................................................................................................111
Printed brochure and flier circulations .......................................................................................................................................112
Printed media circulations ..........................................................................................................................................................112
Further inclusion on online/radio/TV with only rough numbers known ....................................................................................113
Numbers of People Summary .....................................................................................................................................................113
Review.............................................................................................................................................................114
Key Aims of the project...............................................................................................................................................................114
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................................................115
The Organ Project in the Media – Press Cuttings ...............................................................................................119
In Print.........................................................................................................................................................................................119
Organists’ Review........................................................................................................................................................................................119
Choir & Organ Magazine – two articles.......................................................................................................................................................123
Notting Hill and Holland Park Magazine......................................................................................................................................................126
Kensington and Chelsea Today....................................................................................................................................................................128
Diocese of London Annual Report...............................................................................................................................................................128
Church Building and Heritage Review Magazine.........................................................................................................................................129
The Kensington Magazine ...........................................................................................................................................................................132
The London Organ Concerts Guide .............................................................................................................................................................133
Online media (selected examples) ..............................................................................................................................................134
The Royal School of Church Music ..............................................................................................................................................................134
Notting Hill Post ..........................................................................................................................................................................................135
The Guide to Notting Hill.............................................................................................................................................................................136
Diocese of London Website.........................................................................................................................................................................138
City Living Local Life ....................................................................................................................................................................................139
Open House London website ......................................................................................................................................................................140
The Sampler ................................................................................................................................................................................................141
London Calling.............................................................................................................................................................................................142
Time out ......................................................................................................................................................................................................143
All in London................................................................................................................................................................................................143
Organrecitals.com .......................................................................................................................................................................................144
Twitter.........................................................................................................................................................................................................145
Facebook:....................................................................................................................................................................................................158

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Executive Summary
What we wanted to happen
The church had a unique heritage item in its possession which had fallen into disrepair. The restoration of the organ was a key
part of the church’s musical and community plans. The Parochial Church Council (PCC) had for a long time desired a strong
Anglican music tradition. This involves singing and organ playing to a high standard during services, led by professional
musicians. This could not be achieved with the organ in its pre-restored condition. The PCC was also keen (and remains so) that
St John’s Notting Hill continued to play a central role as a hub of the local community, with many activities taking place in the
church.
The cost of restoring the organ was prohibitively expensive. After initial research, it was known that the organ would be of
interest to the HLF due to its significant heritage, and also due to the church’s strong integration in the community. There was
ample opportunity for an activities programme to be put together around the organ’s restoration. This was desirable to the
church because organ would be restored and community activity would be increased, with new audiences reached. The church
is very keen to play a part in supporting the local Notting Hill community. The organ restoration would allow the church to
develop a programme of activities which would include school participation, learning and events for older people, a music and
events programme, and opportunities to volunteer, all on offer to the Notting Hill and wider community. This would help with
community cohesion by providing affordable/free opportunities in a variety of activities, improving the wellbeing of a diverse
community.
On page 16 of the Activities Plan submitted to the HLF during the bid process (also included with the final Competition Report),
the following Key Aims of the project are listed:
Key Aims of the project
This project meets both national and local strategies (see Appendix 3) to create more opportunities for people of all ages to learn
and participate in a heritage project that delivers genuine benefits.
Its overarching aim is to conserve an extremely rare musical instrument of quality and by doing so, use it as the focal point of a
programme of activities which will teach, encourage and entertain a broad cross-section of society.
This programme will focus not only on the organ as a musical instrument but also on its historical connections, going back as far
as its origins in Clapham and its links to the Clapham Sect, through to the growth and development of Notting Hill over the period
of its service at St John’s.
The rare Barker lever action will be a feature of the programme and in particular used to demonstrate the science that is integral
to an organ’s performance as well as emphasise the ingenuity of the Victorian era.
This will be achieved in the following ways:
1. By providing learning opportunities for young people that are focussed on the heritage of the historic organ, its history
and its music.
2. By focussing on core curriculum subjects through the history and structure of the historic organ (such subjects including
literacy, numeracy, science, music, history, religious education and the arts)
3. Providing talented young people with an opportunity to develop their musical skills
4. Providing young adults with opportunities to participate as volunteers
5. Providing families with opportunities to participate in community events
6. Providing older people with opportunities to participate in learning through an appreciation of the organ, its history and
its music
7. Providing older people with opportunities to enjoy music in a safe and welcoming environment
8. Providing older people with opportunities to participate as trained volunteers and thereby give them a sense of
achievement and purpose

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9. Preserving an extremely rare historic organ for future generations to enjoy and presenting it in an innovative and
accessible way
10. Strengthening the relationship between the church of St John’s Notting Hill and the communities around it
I will conduct this evaluation report by looking at each of the main elements of the project as outlined on pages 39 - 46 in our
submitted Activities Plan (included under each heading in this report). When doing this, I will keep in mind this list taken from
the HLF’s evaluation guidance document (page 29):
a) Project management:
 The report should include management issues such as planning, staffing or the timetable.
b) The difference made by your project:
 The difference made to heritage;
 The difference made for people. Include data on activities, visitors, volunteers, trainees – but also the results of any
survey work you do and qualitative feedback that you collect; and
 The difference made for communities.
In doing this, it will be clear how we have fulfilled the ‘Key Aims of the project’ outlined above.
Before I begin this, I will discuss what I wanted to achieve, the delay in the organ’s restoration (which had an effect on most of
the activities), and the change to the Viewing Gallery plans.
What I Wanted to Achieve
Before becoming Activities Manager for this project, I was not an expert on organs. I probably knew more than the average
person due to being a music graduate, regularly attending musical concerts (including with organ), and daily being close to an
organ having worked in a church for several years. I had even arranged concerts with the organ during this time. However, I felt
like I was approaching the organ almost as an outsider. This was for two reasons.
Firstly, I feel that the organ was never readily available to me in my life. I think that, particularly for people who do not go to
church (and even those who do – many of the St John’s Notting Hill congregation have commented to me that they knew
nothing about organs before this project), organs can be inaccessible. Perhaps this is because they are expensive to maintain,
not portable, and there are not many of them to go round.
I might also have thought, before starting this project, that the ‘organ world’ (consisting of organists, music directors and
academics) could be snobbish, stuffy, and closed-off. This is totally wrong. Those working with organs are very keen to bring
audiences to the instrument, an instrument which many people feel passionate about.
This leads on to my second reason. I felt like an outsider because I hadn’t, up until this point, had the sense to be inquisitive
about organs, and to challenge and pre-conceptions. I now know that there is plenty of opportunity to see organs in this
country, many times for free. Maybe organs have an image-problem, because (anecdotally) this seems to be a common
complaint that I have encountered amongst the public during the course of this project.
I now have a far bigger appreciation for the instrument and what it can offer. There is naturally a great deal of interest in what is
a large piece of engineering, a historical item, and a musical instrument (the King of Instruments) all in one - capable of both
bombast and delicacy. I can see why people become passionate about them.
However, I do believe that they can be difficult to access for the public. As a school child, I have no recollection of ever
experiencing an organ. This is something that was reflected in this project, whereby many teachers (including in feedback in this
report) told me that their children had never seen an organ before – one child, during a school workshop, memorably asked us
“is this the only one?” – meaning in existence.
I therefore felt that one of the main aims of this project should be to open the organ up to new audiences, and have people
experience it who may not have done so before. I wanted people to change their minds about organs, as I had done. There is a
focus on this in this report, as well as on an increase in appreciation for heritage and community.

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Delay in Organ Restoration
The organ was taken away for restoration in April 2012, and was due back for Easter 2013 (the end of March). The restoration
was not completed by this time. The church was then informed by both the Organ Builder and Organ Adviser in April 2013 that
the organ would be ready for the inaugural recital with Thomas Trotter on 11th
May 2013. The Video College had been ready on
this day to record the final concert. In the event the organ was not ready, and this recital (along with other recitals) had to be
cancelled. The church’s Director of Music managed to play a piece of music on the organ which was suitable for the level of
restoration reached, as part of an evening of entertainment that was arranged within 24 hours.
In the end, the organ restoration was not completed (signed off) until January 2014, 10 months later than the original date of
March 2013. This created many problems with the planned activities, with many having to be rescheduled for when the organ
was ready. It also led on to a 10 month extension to the project’s completion date, from July 2014 to May 2015. This meant that
most activities did not happen in accordance with the submitted schedule; however, all were completed by the end of the
project.
Costs were also incurred because of the delay. Chief amongst these were increased production costs for the Video College – an
example being the cancelled shoot for Thomas Trotter, where much preparation had taken place with related expenditure.
Thomas Trotter’s fee was also paid to him without a concert taking place (necessary because the concert was cancelled with
only 24 hours’ notice), and we had to pay independent organ advisers and builders to come in and assess the organ restoration,
also at additional cost. All of these costs were deducted from the organ builder’s final invoice, which is explained in the budget
documents that I have submitted. The final added cost was for paying the Activities Manager to continue to managing the
project after the original deadline. There was money in the unused inflation budget for this, which was agreed with the HLF.
The second problem with the original Activities Plan, partly related to the organ’s delayed restoration, was that many activities
were planned to take place in the church during the time that the organ was being restored in Devon. This was a bad idea, as all
target groups did not want to take part in an activity based around an organ unless there was actually an organ to be seen and
heard. This was particularly true of schools. For example, the Black History Month visits were planned for when the organ was
being restored. However, most schools responded that they were not interested in bringing their children to the church whilst
the organ was not there, and would prefer to wait for it to be returned. The knock on effect of this was that there was less time
in which to carry out school workshops before the end of the project. This eventually led the most local schools growing
reluctant about attending, considering that many of their children had already visited 6 months previously – there should have
been a longer gap between the different school activities. The positive result of this was that schools from further afield were
contacted, and many more schools attended than planned. In the end, all planned workshops with schools were carried out.
It should be noted that the organ builders have been very helpful after the delay in restoration. An example of this would be
when the London Gypsy Orchestra performed with the organ and steel pan (see page 62). This concert occurred during a heat
wave, with temperatures going over 30 C. The organ’s tuning sharpens in heat, the steel pan’s tuning flattens. This led to the
two instruments, the main components of the concert, being a whole tone out of tune with each other, which sounded awful.
The organ builder and I subsequently spent 2 to 3 days before the concert retuning all of the ranks of reeds in the organ, making
them flatter – it is possible to tune reed pipes in this way. We then spent 2 to 3 days after the concert tuning the reeds back to
how they should be. The organ builder did this for no payment. Members of the team, led by Andrew Fearn, have also
volunteered at several days, and have tuned the organ before every concert in the recital series 2015, all without charge. It was
also the organ builder’s idea to put the organ model on the back of the case and glass panels on the side (see the next report
heading), and it was a member of the team who created the eagle sculpture on the case – these items have all been remarked
upon as big successes in the project. They are a friendly and knowledgeable team, very good at faithfully restoring heritage
organs, and the consensus is that the restored organ now sounds (and looks) fantastic – it got there in the end.

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Viewing Gallery and Other Capital Works Notes
After careful consideration, it was decided that the proposed viewing gallery would not be satisfactory. This was deduced after
preliminary architect and building works were carried out to the stairwell which leads up to where the proposed viewing gallery
was to be installed. The reason would be that, for the high cost, the actual view afforded by the gallery would show very little of
interest. This drawing was submitted by the church’s Organ Adviser, John Norman, at the time:
Essentially, the view would be the side of the swellbox – which looks much like the side of any other large wooden box, and is
not a particularly enlightening thing to see.
It was therefore decided that the viewing gallery should be scrapped, which was agreed with the HLF at the time. In its place,
glass panels were installed on the side of the organ, LED lights were installed inside (operable by stop-shaped switched on the
organ case), and a model was installed on the back. This achieved the intended effect of showing the mechanisms and pipes
inside the organ. In fact, this was achieved in a much improved way, with many components of the organ – including the
historically significant Barker Lever Action, many pipes, the bellows, stop action, sound boards, tremulant, pedal open and pedal
action – now very easy to view.
Glass panels on side of organ with LEDs inside illuminate

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Stop-shaped switches to operate LEDs, and organ model affixed to back of organ
There was a reduction in cost in the capital works related to the scrapping of the viewing gallery, which enabled the church to
fund a new eagle sculpture to adorn the organ case (agreed by the HLF), which is much admired by visitors.
Eagle Sculpture, designed and built by Ali Henham
It also enabled the church to purchase a more powerful organ blower. It had transpired, once the organ restoration was
complete, that the original organ blower did not have enough power to supply wind to the fully restored organ, so a
replacement was needed.
All of these changes had a large effect on the breakdown of the Capital Works budget for the project. Some budget headings
became redundant, whilst other budget headings decreased in cost as others increased. This is all explained in my Capital Works
budget notes, submitted with this completion report.
I will now look at each activity of the project.

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Activity 1: Pre-restoration School Workshops
The following is taken from page 39 of our Activities Plan:
The church had planned a series of 6 pre-restoration school workshops. We were only able to deliver 4 workshops, with 3
groups attending from the St Peter’s Notting Hill pre-school, and one from Sion Manning Secondary School. The total number of
children was 65. The reason that numbers were down was that it proved difficult to get the schools in before the organ was
taken to Devon for restoration – the grant was awarded in March 2012, and the organ was removed in early May 2012. Many
schools required a much longer lead time than this. Also, the role of Activities Manager was not filled until May 2012, which
meant that the project was not being properly managed until this time. A longer time should have been introduced between
grant being awarded and organ being taken away for restoration. As a result, it was decided that more workshops would be put
on after the restoration was completed.
The children who attended learnt about why this organ needed restoration. The church’s Director of Music at this time,
Matthew Fletcher, was present to show them how the different parts were not working properly. This increased their
knowledge of their local area’s heritage. It also showed the children that the history of their community was being preserved,
and therefore valued.
SC
School children from Sion Manning School
The children also had a chance to play the organ. This was recorded by the Video College as the first part of their video showing
the organ’s restoration (see page 32).
Unfortunately, due to the delay in the organ’s restoration (finished eventually in January 2014), these children had left school
before they had the opportunity to return.
Activity
Detailed
Description
Audience (s)
Benefits for
People
Resources
Costs in
Project
Budget
Timetable
Targets &
measures of
success
Methods of
Evaluation
Meeting HLF
aims
Pre-restoration
workshops
Over 5 days,
different groups
of school children
will visit St John’s
and see the organ
in its current
position and
condition,
understand why it
needs to be
restored and
removed.
Its history, and in
particular its links
to the anti-slavery
movement will
be explained.
Each workshop
will end with a
short quiz
designed to test
the students
knowledge
School children
from 6 different
schools from all
Key Stages 1 to 4
Approximately 30
students per visit
Estimated number
of visitors :
180
As part of
overall
project, fulfils
national
curriculum in
different areas.
Exposes pupils
to the history
of the organ
and gives a
context to the
importance of
restoration.
Provides a
starting point
for future
workshop
activities.
Director of
Music to act as
Animateur
Teachers,
classroom
assistants &
parents
Volunteers to
assist with
management of
workshop
Worksheets
Prizes
6 workshops
@ £150 per
workshop =
£900
Volunteer
travel - £200
Worksheets :
£150
March – April
2012
(dependant on
organ-builders
scheduled
removal of the
organ)
Positive
feedback.
Quiz results
Feedback sheets
for pupils and
staff.
Learning &
Participation

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An ongoing problem throughout the project came in engaging with secondary schools. It was often hard to simply have the
school pick up the phone, let alone have any meaningful interaction take place. This seemed to me to be because of the heavy
workloads that teachers have, along with secondary schools needing complicated consent procedures in place and long lead
times. The secondary schools also had limited time available in which to bring the students – they would often only be available
to visit, for example, for two hours on a Thursday afternoon, 1pm – 3pm, in accordance with whenever a double-lesson was
planned. Teachers were often reluctant in the first instance to lose this education time. In the second instance, the very specific
nature of when they were available did not always align with when the church was free; the church was very accommodating,
but there are certain instances when other events or services are taken place that simply cannot be changed, and if these
clashed with the very specific times that secondary schools were available, it meant they could not happen. This problem was
still present with primary schools but less pronounced, who were more flexible with time and required shorter lead times. It was
therefore decided, with HLF agreement, that future school workshops would focus on primary schools, as relying on the local
secondary schools was resulting in numbers not being fulfilled and much wasted time.
We had one volunteer who was primarily involved at this stage of the education workshops. Her name was Josephine Robinson,
and she helped to get the schools in, and assisted on the days. After these workshops, Josephine moved to Bristol, and was
unable to help any further. This highlighted the problem with having volunteers involved in strategic, management areas – when
volunteers leaving these roles it was very disruptive to the project. The same was true of the volunteer that was in place to
manage and galvanise other volunteers – this person left early on in the project, which created a lot of disruption. In future, we
focused on having volunteers carry out specific activities in the project, and left the Activities Manager to carry out these bigger
strategic roles.

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Activity 2: School Visits
“It was fantastic for them to experience an organ performance and the fact that this organ has historical significance linking to
Black History Month is particularly potent.” Emma Stiman, Teacher at Colville Primary school
The following is taken from Activities Plan, page 40:
The first thing to highlight here is the discrepancy shown above between ‘Estimated participants: 500’, and funding for ‘Director
of music 10 visits : £150 per visit: £1,500”. 10 visits, averaging 30 children per visit, totals 300 participants, not 500. This must
have been a mistake in the original submitted Activities Plan. I planned for 10 workshops in accordance with available funds in
the grant. The original idea was for the church’s Director of Music to deliver these workshops, discussing the history of the
organ with the children. These workshops were meant to occur whilst the organ was in Devon being restored.
Several changes were made to this plan. Firstly, it was decided that the organ should be returned to the church before the
workshops took place. This was because most teachers were not interested in visiting the church to learn about the organ when
there was no organ there.
Secondly, the Director of Music was not involved. The church had a new Director of Music by the time the organ had been
restored called Ben Atkinson. He was much less available during school hours, as he had a full time job in the week conducting
musical theatre, whereas the previous Director of Music (Matthew Fletcher) was a freelance musician and thus could be
available with adequate notice.
In agreement with the HLF, I developed a new plan, utilising Now Press Play, and the church’s Children’s Music Co-ordinator and
Organ Scholar.
Now Press Play is an award winning educational organisation. They deliver interactive learning experiences utilising wireless
headphones. Children put on the headphones, and move about the space following the instructions they hear spoken by a
narrator of an interactive story. I asked them to deliver their ‘slave’ experience, where children experienced what it was like to
have been a slave during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The experience is as follows:
 live the life story of Olaudah Equiano
 travel on a slave ship from Africa to America
 work the cotton fields of South Caroline, America
 escape to freedom with Harriet Tubman
 meet William Wilberforce and help him abolish slavery
Olaudah Equiano was a famous slave whose prominent memoir influenced the abolition of the slave trade in the UK.
The children took part in these workshops, which were followed by a discussion about slavery and the themes involved. After
this, the group went over to the organ, where the Children’s Music Co-ordinator, Laurel Neighbour, led them through singing
‘Let My People Go’, a prominent slave song. She explained that they would be ‘singing with the organ as William Wilberforce
had done 200 years ago’. The organ was originally located at Holy Trinity Clapham, at the same time when William Wilberforce
worshipped there whilst he was formulating the British government’s plans to abolish slavery with the ‘Clapham Sect’.
The organ was played by the church’s Organ Scholar, Daniel Marx, who also answered any questions and developed the themes
prior to the workshops commencing. He performed this role as a volunteer. The majority of these workshops were held in
Activity
Detailed
Description
Audience (s)
Benefits for
People
Resources
Costs in
Project
Budget
Timetable
Targets &
measures of
success
Methods of
Evaluation
Meeting HLF
aims
School visits
Shorter visits,
approximately 45
minutes in
length, with a
focus on both the
music of the
organ and its links
to international
history (anti-
slavery
movement) and
local history
School children at
Key Stage 2 and 3
Approximately 30
students per visit.
Estimated
participants :
500
Ties in with
non-music
curriculum
subjects, such
as history,
religious
education and
sociology
Director of
Music
Teachers,
classroom
assistant and
parents
Activities
Manager
Volunteer
presenters
Educational
packs
Director of
music
10 visits @
£150 per visit :
£1500
Volunteer
expenses :
£200
September
2012 to July
2014
Enhancing
curriculum
teaching
Positive
feedback
Feedback sheets
from pupils and
staff
Schools wish to
participate for a
second year
Learning

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October 2013, which is Black History Month. This falls into the stated Activities Plan schedule of occurring between September
2012 and July 2014.
Children from St Paul’s School, Hammersmith
In the end, 11 groups visited, totalling 320 children, from Fox, Colville and St Paul’s Hammersmith primary schools. The length of
each workshops was double that which was stipulated in the Activities Plan, from 45 minutes to 90 minutes, and the workshops
contained two distinct elements, which meant that the children effectively took part in two separate workshops. I designed it in
this way so that we could meet the 500 participants target in the Activities Plan (despite not having enough funding) – we had
320 children attending on these days, but they effectively engaged in twice as much activity as originally stipulated, in two
different workshops, which brings that number to 640.
It was great success, and I felt that the new plan of involving Now Press Play was far superior than that which was submitted to
the HLF in the Activities Plan. Now Press Play have maintained links with several of the schools, and were ‘Big Venture
Challenge’ winners in 2014 – they continue to go from strength to strength.
Teachers were very enthusiastic for the children to learn about this subject matter in this way (with the headphones), and it was
relatively easy to get schools to participate because of this. The children went away with a good understanding of the history of
slavery, and an understanding of how it connected to the organ. Fox and Colville primary schools are within short walking
distance of the church, and both schools visited the church again after these workshops. Strong links have been developed with
these schools, increasing community cohesion.
School Visits Feedback
I have included feedback from teachers below (received via email, which I have included in a separate attachment with the
Completion Report). I have highlighted in yellow where new learning has taken place, and in blue to show community spirit.
From Shelley Lawrence, teacher with St Paul’s Hammersmith Primary School:
1. Do you think the workshop was worthwhile for your students, and would you bring them to visit again?
I thought the workshop was very worthwhile and I would defiantly bring them back.
2. Did the topics tie in with the curriculum sufficiently well?
The topic fitted really well with our Black History Month celebration
3. Do you think the technical terms/language used were suitable for the children?
I brought my Year 6 class and I thought the language was suitable for the children. I also think it the pace of the talk was really
good as it allowed the children to really understand and digest what was happening.
4. Did the link between the slavery workshops and the organ segment make sense?
Yes, my class find it really difficult to focus on a single subject matter for a long period of time so it was really nice for them to do
both.
5. What do you regard as the best parts for your children?
I thought the best part was the children listening to and having to respond to the story about slavery. Every single child was
engaged and focused.

14
6. Can you suggest any changes/additions to the workshops to improve them?
Perhaps something for the children to watch beforehand to set the scene of where they were.
7. Any other comments
Thank you so much for allowing us to come along to the workshop the children were really engaged and enthused by what they
saw and heard.
From Hannah Rickman, teacher with Fox Primary School:
Thought the both the now press play and the organ workshop were very worthwhile. The children were extremely engaged and
learnt a lot from the experience.
Excellent link to black history week.
3. Do you think the technical terms/language used were suitable for the children?
All new language was introduced and explained very clearly.
4. Did the link between the slavery workshops and the organ segment make sense?
It was a slightly tenuous link but I don’t think that mattered.
They loved the interactivity of the headsets and really got involved in acting out the part of a slave. They were also fascinated by
the organ.
6. Can you suggest any changes/additions to the workshops to improve them?
Do more! We would love to come and visit again we just need to work out some curriculum links. We do study the Windrush
and immigration to Britain (especially London) after WWII which could link with Notting Hill Carnival and the local area.
Otherwise I’m sure our music coordinator would love to bring classes to learn more about the technical side of the organ and
have a chance to play and sing along with it.
I thought both the ladies running the workshops were excellent and were very skilled at managing large groups of children as
well as teaching them new information.
From Emma Stiman, Teacher at Colville School
Yes, they really enjoyed it. I liked the way it used drama to actively get them involved. It helped them to absorb information
through allowing them to have empathy with the situation.
It was fantastic for them to experience an organ performance and the fact that this organ has historical significance linking to
Black History Month is particularly potent.
We don't actually study a unit of Black History although it is tied in to the curriculum in a more broad way. However, I like the
integration of music and drama.
3. Do you think the technical terms/language used was suitable for the children?
Yes, perfect level of language for their age group.
I think it was all good
4. Can you suggest and changes/additions to the workshops to improve them?
Yes - I think I would enjoy seeing the songs integrated in some way in to the interactive headphone workshop thus directly

15
combining singing with the drama. Sounds ambitious I know, but it would be fab! Also when singing a song like 'Go down
Moses', it would be useful for children to know the context of the song (something that I chipped in) and why they sang these
sorts of songs - they were workers songs which helped to boost their morale when working on plantations, etc...
Thank you for inviting us. We really enjoyed it (me too)
As you can see from the above, the workshops were positively received by the teachers involved.

16
Activity 4: Post Restoration Workshops
I have evaluated Activity 4 before Activity 3, because the school workshops detailed in Activity 4 occurred chronologically earlier
in the project than those in Activity 3.
“[These workshops were] really good at teaching the children about their local cultural heritage.“ Ellie Hardisty, Teacher at Fox
Primary School
This is taken from page 41 of our Activities Plan:
Following on from the 6 pre-restoration workshops, 6 post-restoration workshops should have taken place (see table above),
when the children who had experienced that organ in its poor condition could see and hear it again once it was restored.
However, due to the delay in completing the organ restoration, most of the children who had previously participated had
moved on from their schools. A new plan was therefore devised. The children would visit to learn about how the organ emulates
the instruments of the orchestra. We would achieve this by having an orchestra present for the children to listen to, with
comparisons between the instruments and the stops of the organ. The children would also rehearse a choral piece of music, to
sing with the orchestra and organ, which their parents would come and listen to at the end of the day. This enabled us to fulfil
the ‘Children’s Choir’ requirement in the bid (see page 58). The piece of music was called ‘Wishes’, composed by Kate Whitley, a
talented young composer and recent university graduate.
7 groups of children visited, with 200 children, on two separate days. 50 adults attended the concerts at the end of both days.
This was more than the 180 number stipulated in our submitted Activities Plan. It would have totalled 30 more had another
group not dropped out on the day of the event. Children visited from Thomas Jones, St Francis of Assisi, Colville, Avondale, and
Fox primary schools.
Children from St Francis of Assisi, Thomas Jones and Avondale Primary Schools.
Activity
Detailed
Description
Audience
(s)
Benefits for
People
Resources
Costs in
Project
Budget
Timetable
Targets &
measures of
success
Methods of
Evaluation
Meeting
HLF aims
Post Restoration
Workshops
With the organ
restored and
returned to St
Johns, these
workshops give
students the chance
to see the organ
within in its new
case, the exhibition
and view the film.
Workshops will
conclude with
public performance
School
children from
6 different
schools from
all Key Stages
1 to 4
Estimated
number :
180
Completes the
educational
experience for
the students
Director of
Music to act as
Animateur
Activities
Manager
Teachers,
classroom
assistants &
parents
Volunteers to
assist with
management of
workshop
Prizes
Director of
Music:
6 workshops
@ £150 per
workshop =
£900
Volunteers
expenses: £200
June & July
2013
Public
performances
Audience
reactions
Student
satisfaction
Feedback forms
for pupils and
staff
Audience
reaction at
public
performances
Learning &
Participation

17
Children from Fox and Colville schools sing with the orchestra and organ
We had three volunteers present at these workshops, acting as stewards and guiding the children to their places.
School feedback
I have included the feedback from teachers below, which was collected via email (See teacher feedback document with
Completion report).
I have highlighted in yellow where new learning has taken place, in green where children have discovered organs for the first
time, and in blue to show community spirit.
Feedback from Tommy Towers of Thomas Jones School:
Do you think your children's knowledge of organs has increased after taking part in these workshops?
Yes
How do you think they could be improved?
Get the children up to have a closer look at the organ
Beyond St John's, do you think your children have experienced an organ before?
Some may have done but the majority would not have
Do you feel that these events contribute to a stronger feeling of local community?
Definitely - the more there are the better, it's so good for the children to experience these things so close to where they live.
Did your children enjoy themselves?
Very much
Do you think this is a good use of Lottery money?
Anything that promotes music with children is a good use of money
Would you be interested in coming to future organ-related events at St John's?
Yes
From Ellie Hardisty of Fox Primary School:
Yes, they particularly enjoyed seeing the individual pipes in action. However, it might have been nice to have groups at a time
actually come up to the organ to have a look at the stops, pedals and keyboards.

18
We attend a lot of concerts and have a school orchestra, so although it was lovely to have the additional instrumentalists, you
could probably have just spend time focusing on the organ - as this is the instrument they know the least about.
Probably not.
Yes, it was lovely to go on a local trip that was walkable from school!
Yes - after a school day meant some found it hard to concentrate. Perhaps a workshop earlier in the day would make it easier?
Yes, really good at teaching the children about their local cultural heritage.
Definitely - as long as there was more organ!
From Jane Butterworth of St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School
Yep, they know how many pipes and different sounds now
Very good workshop - varied activities and well paced
Yes, a lot of children attend church weekly - we are a Catholic school
yes, nice to be at a concert with other local schools
yes
yes
yes please - would love something for younger children if possible
These workshops were sufficiently different in nature to the other school elements in the project, therefore schools were happy
to attend. Having the full orchestra worked as a great pull to bring in the teachers and school children, and really brought to life
how the organ sounded like the different instruments. However, finding a time slot that worked for the schools was hard, even
after a lot of attempted consulting with teachers – they did not often respond, as seemed to frequently be the case. In the end,
we held one group after school, and one within school hours, following the teachers’ advice. It eventually transpired that most
teachers would have preferred for the workshops to happen within school time, something that was noted for the rest of the
school workshops I arranged.
There were pros and cons for having the children in two groups of 100 on each day, which are highlighted in the feedback from
teachers:
Main pros:
 It was possible to have a full orchestra present – it would be too expensive to have an orchestra at many workshops for
individual classes.
 The children were able to sing in a bigger choir at the end.
 The children met other school children from nearby schools, which added to a sense of community.

19
Main cons:
 All of the children did not have the opportunity for questions and for fully scrutinising the organ. A few teachers
commented in their feedback that it would be good if they could have spent more time with the organ.
 The orchestra was expensive.
I felt both of these cons were mitigated for the following reasons:
 The presence of a full orchestra was a big draw for schools. For every round of school workshops we put on, it was
necessary to come up with a prospect that excited the teachers, otherwise it would be difficult to get the schools to
attend.
 All these children would have the opportunity, should the teachers wish, to attend the workshops for much smaller
groups (described under the next heading in this report, page 20), which involved a great deal of organ interaction –
many teachers did indeed take up this opportunity, and these orchestra workshops therefore added as a great ‘lead-in’
to the next workshops. This helped because it enabled us to fulfil the school attendance numbers shown in the
Activities Plan.
 The full orchestra added a great deal to the children’s understanding in how the organ emulates the sounds of the
instrument, and the cost was all within budget.
 Singing with the orchestra and organ was a unique experience for many children
All three teachers also state in their feedback that they would be very happy to attend future workshops. This was positive,
however the reality reflected the difficulty in dealing with schools. Fox Primary school did attend more workshops. St Francis of
Assisi had a change of teacher, and therefore were not prepared to attend more workshops until they felt more settled with the
new teacher. Thomas Jones school had booked in a workshop in the next round, but cancelled a week before it was meant to
take place.

20
Activity 3: Schools Workshops with Organ Model
“Children firstly learned what an organ was- on the morning of the trip when we asked the children, only two of the class knew!”
Lee MacMannus, school teacher
This is taken from page 40 of our Activities Plan:
Activity
Detailed
Description
Audience (s)
Benefits for
People
Resources
Costs in
Project
Budget
Timetable
Targets &
measures of
success
Methods of
Evaluation
Meeting
HLF aims
Schools
Projects
A range of
educational
projects, tailored
for each Key
Stage, based
around the Build
an Organ
concept.
Second series of
workshops in
next academic
year (2013/14)
School children
from 6
different
schools from all
Key Stages 1 to
4
Approximately
30 students per
visit x 2 years
Estimated
number of
participants :
360
Meets national
curriculum in
different
areas.
Introduces
pupils to the
world of the
organ and
provides a
unique
opportunity
to learn about
the organ and
compose
music for the
organ with a
future
performance
in St John’s
Church
Workshop
leaders/Animateurs
Teachers, assistants
& parents
Activities Manager
Volunteers to assist
with management of
workshops
Educational Packs
Activity equipment
costs (hired)
Animateurs :
12 @ £300
per session
(including
travel, prep
time, etc) x 2
years : £7200
Educational
packs: Design
and Print
£3000
Equipment
hire:
£2500
Volunteer
expenses :
£200
Primary schools –
July 2012
Secondary schools –
September/October
2012 or January 2013
Repeat programme
September/October
2013
Positive
feedback.
Original
compositions
from each
group
All projects
completed
Feedback
sheets for
pupils and
staff.
Schools wish
to participate
for a second
year
Learning &
Participation
Using organ models, children would learn about the use of the organ and its constituent parts. Pre-visit education packs and
animations were created for the church and available to schools before they visited – I have included the education pack with
the Completion Report, and the animation is available on the website www.stjohnsorganproject.com/schools.
In the original submitted Activities Plan, equipment would be hired for these workshops, and used to show the children how
organ’s worked. We delivered 2 workshops in this way in July 2012, hiring the WOOFYT (Wooden One-octave Organ For Young
Technologists) and an education animateur to deliver the workshops. 4 school groups from St Thomas’ Primary School visited to
take part in these workshops, totalling 120 children.
After seeing how these worked, we decided that we would use the budgeted amount of £2,500 for hiring equipment to
commission a member of the organ builder team to build for us our own organ model, using similar materials and processes
used in restoring the organ. This allows the church to continue to put on these organ workshops into the future, without
needing to hire the equipment each time. I have recommended to the church that they should include as part of either the
Director of Music or the Organ Scholar’s duties the delivering of further school workshops each year. The option is certainly
available to them to be able to put on workshops indefinitely, now that they own this equipment.
Organ model – pump, bellows and pipes on a soundboard.

21
In January – May 2015, 12 school classes with approximately 30 children in each class, totalling 360 children, visited for
workshops using this organ model. Including the 120 children who had already visited for WOOFYT workshops, the total visiting
for these organ model workshops was therefore 480, which is more than the 360 stipulated in our Activities Plan.
These 12 classes (this should have been 13 - one group cancelled during the week beforehand) is half the number stipulated in
the Activities Plan. However, these classes were split into two groups for the majority of the 70-minute-long workshops: 15
children used the organ model, under the direction of the Activities Manager and a volunteer, whilst the other 15 children were
able to experience the organ up close with the Director of Music, Tom Primrose. The group would come together for 10 minutes
at the beginning and end of the workshops. Much like the Now Press Play workshops, this effectively allowed us to have 24
groups take part in these organ-model activities.
The structure of the workshops were as follows.
For the first 10 minutes, the children would sit in front of the organ, in order to gain a general impression about organs and how
they work. This was delivered by the Director of Music. Pipes made of different materials were handed out to the children, and
and it was explained how the organ produces different sounds for different moods. Lots of musical terminology was learned
during this time.
Children from Ashburnham School inspect different pipes at the beginning of the workshops, and learn about how they work
Children from Bassett House School and St Barnabas & St Philips at the beginning of the workshops

22
The children were then split into two groups, with 15 going off to use the organ model with the Activities Manager, and 15
remaining behind with the Director of Music for a closer look at the organ.
Those who were using the organ model were firstly asked to describe it. They learned how organs worked, and what powered
them. They learned about the three most important different components and what they did: the blower, the bellows, and the
pipes. This taught them how wind passed around the organ. They learned that it was produced by the pump, which they each
had a go at using. They were informed that all organs were powered by hand pumps when this organ was made, whereas today,
electricity is used to power a fan.
They learned that the bellows stored the wind at a constant pressure, and they saw for themselves how weight applied to the
bellows (in the form of sandbags) would increase the pressure of the wind in the pipes.
They learned about the pitch of the pipes, and how it is related to the size – the bigger the pipe, the lower pitch.
To put what they had learned into practise, they were given a pipe each from a full chromatic octave set (C to C1 going up in
semitones). The children stood in a line in size order, and each blew into the pipe one after the other. From this, they could hear
the pitch descending and ascending in semi-tones, showing them that the largest pipe produces the lowest pitch and the
smallest pipe produce the highest. They also understood for themselves how blowing into the pipe with too little or too much
pressure would distort the sound.
Children from Ashburnham School stand in line and blow into a set of pipes
They then had to perform this on the model organ: each child stood in front of one pipe, and the group played the pipes, going
up and down in pitch. This was more challenging that it sounds, and there was a real sense of achievement when the children
managed it.
Children from Ashburnham School use the organ model

23
~Chidlren use
Children from Ashburnham School use the organ model
The children could feel the wind in the organ by taking the pipes out of the organ model, and putting their hands over the
vacant valves. These organ models allowed some of the older children to learn about pitch and tuning - the pipes could each be
tuned using the stoppers on top.
At the end of these workshop, children could ask any questions they had. They would then move onto the main organ, and
applied the knowledge that had learned to the real instrument – or vice versa. They were able to see inside the organ via the
glass panels, with the inner parts illuminated by LEDs. These inner parts include the bellows and the pipes. They were able to sit
at the console, all the while asking the Director of Music questions.
Children from Ashburnham School (clockwise from top left): at the organ console; learning using the organ model at the back of
the organ; standing by the side of the organ and look into the glass; look at the organ stops.
At the end of the workshop, the two groups were reunited, and the Director of Music gave a recap. He discussed how the
different sounds of the pipes emulated the different instruments in the orchestra. He explained that to do this, the pipes were
constructed of different materials. He described how this contributed to different moods in pieces of music – some pipes are
softer, some are triumphant-sounding, and so on.

24
This was all followed by a performance of a piece of music, when the children would listen out for everything they had learned –
pitch, size of pipe, what the pipewas made of, whether it was a reed/diapason/flue, and what emotions they sensed in the piece
of muisc. The children were able to walk around the organ whilst the piece was played.
Children from St Barnabas & St Philips and Ashburnham schools at the end of the workshops
Children visited from 7 different primary schools: Fox, Hallfield, Ashburnham, St Barnabas & St Phillips, St Thomas, Norland Place
and Basset House. We had a volunteer at each workshop, assisting with the organ model element. This involved helping with the
pump, handing out the pipes, and leading the children in some of the activities using the model.
Throughout these workshops, the history of the organ was discussed with the children.
Organ Model School Workshops feedback:
I have included feedback from the schools below, which was taken via email and is shown in the attachment for feedback from
schools. I have highlighted where I think they show that learning has taken place.
I have highlighted in yellow where new learning has taken place, in green where children have discovered organs for the first
time, and in blue to show community spirit.
Feedback from Linda Illsley, Norland Place School:
Thank you all so much for the excellent organ workshops which you provided for our Year 2 pupils this term. The pupils
absolutely loved the workshops and I’m so pleased that two whole classes of children have been so thoroughly musically
inspired.
The workshops were very well planned and delivered. The Project Pack which you sent us beforehand was very useful and we
were able to use it to prepare so that the children could get the best out of the workshops once they were at the church. Both
you and Mr Primrose were really focused and engaging in speaking with the children using great questioning and age-
appropriate vocabulary. The activities which you had planned were perfect for the children. They loved being able to touch
individual pipes from the organ and to operate the model organ. The model organ upstairs and the mini organ at the back of the
pipe organ were really thoughtfully designed and using these helped the children to really grasp how the organ works, and it
was so great for the children to be able to play them so practically. As a Music teacher, I really appreciated how you used the
organ and its parts to help the children to understand changes between pitch, dynamics and timbre, connecting these with the
children’s learning about other instruments. It was fantastic that the children got to hear so much music and musical sounds in
the session, and they loved being surrounded by that amazing sound. The children also enjoyed learning about the historical
aspects of the organ and its place in local history, and your animation and Project Pack helped me to go through this with them
before the workshop. On top of all the excellent learning which the children gained in terms of musical elements and getting to
know the workings of the pipe organ, the workshop really got them excited about what’s possible with this majestic instrument,
and I think this sense of wonder and excitement about the organ will stay with them for a long time.

25
Alice Hyland, St Barnabas and St Phillips Primary School:
What do you think was good about them?
They were fascinated by the mechanics of the organ. It worked well splitting them into two smaller groups so that they could
get a closer look. Really great having hands on activities - hand pipes engaging activity. Good length of time to keep their focus.
What could be improved?
What new things do you think the children have learned?
I think the children are more aware of how different pitches are made on the organ. I think also they were not aware that the
different pipes sound like instruments.
Other comments.
Thank you very much for hosting us. The class teachers have been recommending it to other year groups so you may hear from
us shortly!
Alexandra Bagge, Fox Primary School:
In response to your questions:
The children really enjoyed learning about the history of the organ and were engaged throughout the workshop. It was great for
the children to see the mechanics of the organ working as it was being played. I thought the interactive activity was a great way
for the children to physically experience how an organ works. The children learnt about the history of the organ, how it works
and music appreciation. There could have been a bit more on the science behind it with regards to how sound travels. However,
this was touched upon when instruments vibrating was discussed.
Mark Lister, Basset House School:
Many thanks for inviting us to your workshop.
The workshop was very informative and clearly presented. The children were highly involved with discussions and enjoyed
hands on experience.
The pace was fine with positive interaction.
The children were able to learn how an organ is restored and how it works.
Lee MacMannus, St Thomas’ Primary School
What do you think was good about these workshops?
Children got to see various pipes up-close, hands on session with the model organ. The children really enjoyed listening to the
organ being played! The workshop staff were very knowledgeable on the subject, and there were good cross-curricular links to
science and materials.
What could be improved?
Was too technical on the vocabulary and knowledge side for KS1, but would have been appropriate for upper KS2. Could have
used simpler language and possibly use pictures of instruments if comparing sounds of various pipes to instruments.
What new things do you think the children have learned?
Children firstly learned what an organ was- on the morning of the trip when we asked the children, only two of the class knew!
They also learnt about the idea of an organ having various sounds (timbres) as opposed to just pitch and dynamics.
Other comments
A little more thought to transitions when working with younger students, this will help them keep focus. Teachers are usually
more than happy to help with this- but it can be difficult for us if we are not entirely sure on what is about to happen.

26
Feedback from Norland Place School Children
“My favourite thing about the pipes organ is that it can different sounds. I really enjoyed it when the organist played us a piece.
The organist was called Mr Primrose. I loved the school trip.”
Norland Place School sent us feedback from their children, which I have included as an attachment with the Completion Report.
The feedback included a sentence about their visit and a drawn picture of the organ. I have typed out the feedback below (I
have corrected some of the English, and left it blank when I cannot read it). You can see that it is very positive, and that lots of
learning has taken place:
I learned that there was a person who used pump up organ and it normally was a naughty choir boy or girl but that was only in
the past. I did not know that an organ has stop which when you press it will turn into a different instrument. My favourite thing
is you can make lots of sounds.
The organ in………. it could if you pulled the bottom stops it made all the keys that you get on one keyboard makes the same
keys on all the keyboards.
It was amazing I loved it when he pulled a stop and it made the keys work like magic. It was cool when he pressed a pedal and
some stops came out. I got to pump air in the bellow. We were very well behaved as he played us a piece. It was the best trip
ever.
My favourite part was when the organist played a song and we got to go around. I loved the model organ. In St John’s church
there are lots and lots of pipes on the organ.
We went to the pipe organ at St John’s Church. I loved the pipe organ. I learned that the bellows keep the air in.
I learnt that when the bellows fill up with air, it makes the sound. I really enjoyed it when Mr Primrose played a bit of Bach. On
an organ, there are stops, which change the sound. I loved the trip so much I could hug it.
My favourite thing about the organ is the pipes because like the sound they make. I found out that when you play the model at
the same time then it does not sound very nice.
I learned that there are ………….. air in the pipe. I really enjoyed when Mr Primrose. We found out that there was a model organ
on the back of the organ.
I really enjoyed when the organist played the organ. My favourite thing about the pipe organ is that the stop.
I really enjoyed it when we got to play with the model organ. I learned that the organ has more than a hundred pipes.
I learned that the organ was so big. I really enjoyed when he played …… we found out that it has so many pipes.
I learnt that the model of the organ behind the real organ when you pull the lever to make a sound when someone is playing
you can’t because it used the same air. My favourite thing was when you play the organ then the air comes out of the pipes and
it goes toot toot.
We found out that there are over a thousand pipes in the organ. My favourite thing is when the organist played the organ for us.
I learned that the feeder used to be a naught choir by.
My favourite thing was the …. Pipe organ. My pipe was the highest pipe. My second favourite thing was the model organ.
I learned that the organ has more than 1000 pipes. I really enjoyed it when the organist played the organ. My favourite thing
about the organ is the pipes. We found out that we were the first people to play the model organ properly.
I enjoyed playing with the model pipe organ. We saw the different parts of the pipe organ light up. I found out that organs had
weight on them. The naughty choir boy had to be a feeder. I love the pipe organ. The soundboard and the bellow moved.
I learned that in the olden days a ……. Person pushed the feeder. My favourite thing about the organ is the pipes. I really
enjoyed it when someone played the organ.
I loved my trip to St John’s Church! I learned that the bellows keep less of air so they go to the pipes and they have over 2000
pipes. I learned that the soundboard makes sure that everything goes to the right one.

27
I learned that in the olden days they worked the bellows by hand and now we use electricity today. My favourite thing in the trip
was the bellows.
I learned that the organ do not have to have bellows. I liked playing the pipes. I also learnt about the pedals which were low and
keys were high.
I really enjoyed it when we got to play with the model. I also found out that the organ had over 1000 pipes. The organ we saw
had 3 keyboards.
I learned that when the bellow fills up with air when the organist presses a note the bellows loses all the air. I really enjoyed it
when My Primrose played the organ. I liked it when we got to play the models of the pipes each.
My favourite thing about the pipes organ is that it can different sounds. I really enjoyed it when the organist played us a piece.
The organist was called Mr Primrose. I loved the school trip.
We went to St John’s organ it was fun. They told us that………uses a fan.
On our trip we had a lot of fun. I learnt a lot. One of the things I leaned was why the key all did it at one.
First we ……. About the organ then we went up stairs. We blew through pipes. Then we played a fake organ.
On the 12th
of May we went to see St John’s organ. In the gallery, there was a mini organ! It was a pipe organ. We saw the
bellow!! I loved the St John’s organ workshop trip! FANTASTIC!
First, we went to meet the organist. Then we had to answer some questions. After we had to go in to groups. In one of the
groups we had to play some pretend pipes. And the other group got to see the pipes.
We went to St John’s Church. We had learned what were the different parts of an organ such as pipes, pedals, bellows,
keyboard, feeder and soundboard. There were more than 2,015 pipes or something like that.
We went to St John’s trip …….organ….it was funny on the way… Sound echoed…………
My favourite part was when we got to play on model organ. I was really…… I really enjoyed hearing to some music from the
organ.
We saw an organist. We found out the organ has 26 pipes one ……..
Firstly we saw down on wood benches when we met some people. After that we were tested on some instruments. Then we
split up into groups and did some things about organs then we switched.
A few days ago we visited St John’s and saw a huge pipe organ which had 2,536 pipes.
Three days ago we went to an organ workshop and saw an organ and there were twenty three pipes on the front. After we did
go to the feeder the bellows and the pipes.
On Monday it went to a church on that trip we saw an organ. We do to see the bellows. We found out that you can press one
keyboard and press the pedals.
The rest of my class went to St John’s Church to see the organ. I have absolutely no idea what they did but they told me some
things and I will try to test them: they played mini organs, and got to check out the pipes. (It was fun?)
On our trip I learned that the pipe organ was very loud and it made a very ……. Sound. We saw how the pipe organ worked. I
loved the trip.
First we sat on some benches and we listened to some facts about the organ and it was huge. I felt a bit wriggly but soon we got
moving. We took turns to do different activities. I really enjoyed when the bellow went up and down.
We went to St John’s church to see an organ. We looked at the. We went upstairs to pretend to be an organ. the one in St John’s
has two thousand and thirty three pipes.
On my trip to St John’s organ I learned that the organ can make lots of different sounds. I really enjoyed it when we saw the
bellows blowing up and what happens when the organ is switched off.

28
We saw the ….. pipe-organ. I really enjoyed it and it was massive. There were more than 240 pipes.
First we went to see the organ. My favourite thing about the organ was the feeder. I really enjoyed when it played.
On my trip we went to a organ and we there was a man. That told us about the organ, Then we went upstairs where an organ.
After that we went back to school.
At St Johns Organ workshop we learned that there are buttons that you pull and they are called stops. I really enjoyed when he
pulled the stop and played it and the top one played on its own.
A selection of drawings:

29
Schools Conclusion
Over the course of the project, 14 schools visited:
 Sion Manning Secondary
 St Peter’s Notting Hill Nursery School
 Fox Primary
 Colville Primary
 Avondale Primary
 Thomas Jones Primary
 Ashburnahm Primary
 Hallfield Primary
 St Barnabas & St Phillips Primary
 St Thomas Primary
 St Francis of Assisi
 St Paul’s Hammsersmith
 Norland Place
 Bassett House
This represents 11 state-maintained schools, 2 fee-paying schools and 1 nursery. 11 out of the 14 schools are within a 15 minute
walking radius to the church, and 3 have subsequently visited again for non-organ related activities (hiring the church for school
events, and visiting to learn about Christianity in the local community). Strong links have been built with all schools, many of
which have indicated that they will visit again in future. The church is able to provide workshops into the future as it owns
workshops packs and organ models to facilitate this. I will advise the church that it should be part of the Organ Scholar’s duties
to deliver a series of workshops each year, in order for the workshops to continue.
The schools represent a broad range of social background. Here are examples taken from various school’s most recent Ofsted
reports:
Ashburnham
Information about this school
 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.
 The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for pupil premium funding is much higher than usual. This is additional
funding provided by the government to support pupils entitled to free school meals, pupils who are looked after by the
local authority and pupils with a parent or carer in the armed services.
 The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported at school action is higher
than the national average, as is the proportion of those pupils who are supported at school action plus or with a
statement of special educational needs.
 The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic groups and of those who speak English as an additional language are
higher than the national average.
 In 2012, the school did not meet the government’s floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’
attainment and progress.
 There has been significant disruption to school leadership since the previous inspection and the school is currently led
by an executive headteacher under a ‘soft’ federation with another local primary school. Under this arrangement, staff
from both school work together to share expertise and resources to improve the education for pupils.
Ashburnham happens to partner Fox primary school, a school that has regularly visited to take part in organ workshops here
(they took part in all workshops we offered), and they are considered to be a very successful, high-achieving school. This is taken
from their most recent Ofsted report:
Fox Primary
Information about the school
Fox Primary is a large school that has twice the national average of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and those for whom
English is not the home language. The proportion of pupils who have a statement for their special educational needs and/or
disabilities is above average, although the overall proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is below
average. These figures change markedly from year to year. The proportion of pupils who join or leave the school at times other
than in Reception or Year 6 is higher than the national average. The school has several awards for its curriculum including
Activemark, Artsmark, Healthy Schools and the Quality Mark.

30
Thomas Jones School
Description of the school
This average sized primary school serves a culturally and linguistically diverse community. Two thirds of pupils use English as an
additional language, and one third of these speak Arabic as their first language. Over half of the pupils are entitled to free school
meals. The proportion of pupils who experience learning difficulties and/or disabilities is slightly below the national average.
These include issues relating to social and emotional problems, and specific learning difficulties. Children start Nursery at the
age of three and a half. Most transfer into the adjoining Reception class after one year in the Nursery. It is believed that the
school is named after Thomas Jones, born in North Carolina in 1806. A passionate critic of slavery, Thomas Jones obtained a
rudimentary education, and used his skills to emancipate his own children.
Hallfield Primary School
 The school is much larger than the average-sized primary school. There are three classes in each year group from
Reception to Year 6, and 78 full-time places in Nursery.
 The school has unusually extensive landscaped grounds, including a vegetable garden.
 The overwhelming majority of pupils are from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. Pupils from Kurdish, Iraqi and mixed
heritage make up the largest groups in the school.
 The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is much higher than average. Most are at the very
early stages of learning English when they join the school.
 The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium (funding for pupils known to be eligible for free
school meals, from forces families and looked-after children) is significantly above average.
 The number of pupils who join or leave the school other than at the usual time is significantly higher than average and
is rapidly increasing.
 The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported through school action is slightly
above average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is
slightly below average.
 The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations
St Barnabas & St Philips:
Description of the school
St Barnabas and St Philip's CE Primary School is a Voluntary Aided Church of England school serving a socially and economically
diverse community in central London. The school is highly oversubscribed. Attainment on entry to the school is variable but is
broadly in line with national expectations. The proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is above the national average.
The percentage of pupils from minority ethnic heritages is very high. English is an additional language for 47 per cent of pupils,
which is a very high proportion. The school has identified 10 per cent of pupils as having learning difficulties and disabilities, a
figure well below the national average.
St Thomas
 St Thomas’ is an average-sized primary school. It is a voluntary-aided Church of England primary school. There is one
class in each year group from Nursery to Year 6. Children in the Nursery class attend full time.
 Three quarters of the pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds. This proportion is well above average. The main
groups are Black Caribbean, Black African, any other mixed background and any other ethnic group. The school has
identified a small, but significant, group of pupils from Moroccan backgrounds. Just under half of the pupils speak
English as an additional language.
 The proportion of disabled pupils or those who have special educational needs is slightly above average. In 2014, five
pupils had a statement of special educational needs.
 Disadvantaged pupils make up almost two thirds of those on roll. This proportion is well above the national average.
 The school meets the government’s current floor standard, which sets the minimum expectation for pupils’ attainment
and progress.

31
Avondale School
 Avondale Park is larger than the average primary school.
 Over two thirds of pupils are known to be eligible for support through Pupil Premium funding, and this proportion is
higher than usual.
 Most pupils come from a wide range of minority ethnic heritages, and around two out of three speak English as an
additional language.
 The proportion of pupils who are supported by school action plus or have a statement of special educational needs is
higher than usual. The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs that are supported by
school action is a little below average.
 More pupils leave or join the school part-way through their school career than is usual.
 The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’
attainment and progress.
This selection of school Ofsted reports broadly reflects all of the schools that visited, except for the two fee-paying schools. They
show the diversity found in schools in this area, where most schools have well above the national average for pupils who English
is not their first language, from diverse backgrounds, and pupils who require free school meals. Around a third of the state-
maintained schools are high achieving, whilst the other two thirds are average or below average. We were delighted to have all
these students from different back grounds visit the organ.
Total numbers visiting
In total, approximately 1,065 children visited, with a further 200 teachers/teaching assistants/parents accompanying the classes.
This has greatly improved the reputation of the church in all areas of community, where it grows in its capacity as a hub for
activity open to all.
We also had several volunteers helping with the workshops, including helping to organise them and contact schools before they
take place, to being there on the day and delivering certain elements of the organ model workshops.

32
Activity 5: Documenting the Restoration
“The organ is very unique and therefore priceless, which was why its repairal was so important and so fascinating” Simon Hunt,
Video College young film-maker
This is taken from page 42 of the Activities Plan:
Activity
Detailed
Description
Audience
(s)
Benefits for
People
Resources
Costs in Project
Budget
Timetable
Targets &
measures of
success
Methods of
Evaluation
Meeting
HLF aims
Documenting
the Restoration
A yearlong project
to document the
removal,
restoration and
reinstallation of the
organ in partnership
with the Video
College.
Engaging young
people not in
education with the
support of
professionals.
Creating the archive
photographic
material for
permanent
exhibition about the
organ
Between 10-
15 young
people not in
education
Visitors to St
John’s for
workshops,
concerts,
organised
visits and
informal
tourists.
A global
audience
through
posting on
internet.
It is
anticipated
that in excess
of 3000
people will
view the film
in church
over a 2-year
period.
Giving young
people an
opportunity to
learn all aspects
of documentary
film making
through direct
experience and
with guidance
from
professionals.
Producing a film
for viewing by
visitors to St
Johns and
internationally
via the internet
Professional
film crew
Tutors
Volunteer
film- makers in
training
Equipment,
studio hire,
post-
production
facilities
Travel and
subsistence
Volunteer
Mentor
TOTAL: £20,948
Professional staff as
Director/Crew/Editor
and Tutor = £11,850
Studio, equipment,
reproduction = £1705
Co-ordination, post-
production, shoot costs,
etc = £ 3193
Location shoot, 3 days
+ 1 race day, travel and
accommodation
expenses = £ 2832
Photographer = £400
Sundry costs = £968
March 2012
to May 2013
Completion
of project and
production of
film to
broadcast
quality.
Audience
feedback
Number of
hits on
youtube and
other new
media sites
Judgement of
professional
film-maker
Learning &
Participation
The Video College was commissioned to create a documentary of the restoration. They work with people who are both 12+ and
18+, and have the following statement on their website:
“It doesn’t matter if your education got cut short, or you’re unemployed, or you don’t have the money for further education. All
you need is a burning desire to learn about video and we’ll do all we can to help you achieve that.”
Despite delays in the organ’s restoration, the Video College coped admirably and produced their documentary of the
restoration. This included a trip to Devon to the organ builder’s workshop for the students, as well as several filming
opportunities in the church.
The Video College recording during an organ recital and for a school workshop

33
The final 7-minute film can be viewed at www.stjohnsorganproject.com/documenting-the-restoration and has been watched
279 between July 2014 and June 2015 (the film was posted since May 2014 but Google Analytics have only been running since
July 31st
2014). It was also shown at the opening organ recital, when 200 people were present, and was on loop at the Open
House London day, when 500 came to the church. It was enthusiastically received on both occasions. This is not quite the
number of 3000 hoped for in the Activities Plan, but the film will continue to be watched at certain events related to the organ,
and it will be on the website indefinitely.
18 young people of mixed backgrounds worked on the film. They are listed in the Video College’s monitoring data as follows
(this is just a segment taken from the monitoring data, which is included in its entirety with this Completion Report in a separate
attachment):
Date Hours Age Gender Cultural background Disability
SH 6 + 13, 20, 27
June
6 + 2 x 3
= 12 hrs
15 Male White British/Polish/German
CF 6, 7, 8 + 13, 20,
27 June
6 x 3 + 3 x 3
= 27 hrs
15 Male Indian
CJ-C 6, 7 June 6 x 2 =
12 hrs
13 Male Afro-Caribbean
NA 6, 7, 8 June 6 x 3 =
18 hrs
15 Male Black British
ME 6, 7, 8 + 20, 27
June
6 x 3 + 2 x 2 =
22 hrs
14 Female Black Eritrean
EA 6 June 6 Hrs 15 Male Black African
MH 6, 8 + 20, 27
June
6 x 2 + 2 x 2 =
16 hrs
24 Male White British Asperger’s
Syndrome
PP 6, 8 June 6 x 2 =
12 hrs
15 Male White British
A N-S 6, 7, 8 + 13, 27
June
6 x 3 + 2 x 3 =
24 hrs
14 Female White European
IM 6, 7, 8 + 13, 27
June
6 x 3 + 2 x 3 =
24 hrs
15 Female White British
TT 20, 27 June 2 x 2 =
4 hrs
15 Female Black African
TM 27 June 2 hrs 15 Female Mixed race – Afro-
Caribbean/White
KF 20th April 4 hrs 21 Female Antiguan, Irish, Native
American, Jamaican
JJ 13th April 4 hrs 12 Male Afro-Caribbean
AD 13th April 6 hrs 20 Male White British
TS 20th April 4 hrs 19 Female Latin/South Central American
MG 16 March 1 x 7 = 7 hrs 20 Female Iranian/Mexican
JS 16th, 22nd, 23rd,
29th May
3 + 6 + 4 + 5 =
18 hrs
24 Male White British
As can be seen, there is variety in age, gender, and cultural background.
This project has aided community cohesion in this area of London by providing young people with a local project to be involved
with. For example, the young people who were engaged with the Video College were able to meet students from Sion Manning
School when they visited the organ, during a recording shoot. They have learnt a lot about the heritage in their local area
through detailed engagement with the organ, and the training they have received in film-making techniques will give them
avenues into possible future careers.

34
Feedback From Video College Film Makers
I have included a series of feedback questionnaires taken from three young film makers of the Video College with this
Completion Report. These were taken after their trip to Devon to visit the organ builders at their workshop, and show that they
have learnt many video-production skills during this project (please refer to the full questionnaires including as a separate
attachment with this Completion Report). The final question on the questionnaire was:
This production was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund which encourages people of all ages to discover more about their
history and heritage. Please describe what you have learned from St John’s organ, its history and how it works.
The three answers from the feedback questionnaires are below:
Above taken from Simon Hunt’s feedback
Above taken from Monty Hackney’s feedback
They have learned about the importance of preserving heritage, and what is involved with doing this with the organ (choice of
materials used in the restoration).

35
Activity 6: Adult Learning
“The Tea dance was the first time at the Notting Hill St John’s Church. It showcased the ability to bring all communities together.
Present dancers who have social dancing experience were able to mix with Non- experience dancers who had come for the first
time. The lesson provided was a way of creating an instant bond for some less social people coming for the first time. We were
able to raise money and learn more about Organs.” Alan Quan and Kieran das Gupta, volunteer tea dance organisers.
Activity
Detailed
Description
Audience
(s)
Benefits for
People
Resources
Costs in
Project
Budget
Timetable
Targets &
measures of
success
Methods of
Evaluation
Meeting
HLF aims
Adult Learning
A series of lectures
and evening classes
focussing on
different themes
surrounding the
organ, its history,
its evolution and its
music.
Lectures will be
delivered by
acknowledged
specialists.
Adult students will
work together on
projects which
produce tangible
results. These may
include creative
writing, music
composition of art.
Results of projects
to be presented at
Mayfest 2013
Further evening
classes and lectures
in Autumn along
similar lines
Adult
learners and
in particular
older people
through the
University of
the Third Age
and other
networks for
adult learning
Estimated
number of
participants :
500
Giving adults
opportunities to
learn about a
range of subjects
connected to
the organ and
participate in
joint art and
composition
projects.
Specialist
lecturers, some
paid, some
volunteers.
Activities
Manager
Worksheets and
background
materials
Activity
equipment
Volunteers to
assist
Lecturers : 5
@ £400 =
£2000
Activity
equipment
costs (see
schools
projects as
workshops will
run at the same
time)
Volunteers
expenses :
£100
June/July 2012
September/October
2012
May 2013
October 2013
February 2014
Projects
completed
and presented
at Mayfest
2013
Peer review
Student
satisfaction
Demand for
future
activities
Student
feedback
forms
Learning &
Participation
Several adult learning events took place. There were three lectures, one large activity, and a 6-session learning course.
Three Lectures
The first lecture preceded the inaugural recital which did not take place. Due to the organ’s delayed restoration, we had an
opening recital with Thomas Trotter programmed in May 2013 which was cancelled at the last moment (see page 50). However,
the church still managed to organise something, with the Director of Music playing what he could on the instrument, and John
Norman giving a talk about the history of organs, with specific reference to the organ at St John’s Notting Hill. John Norman is
one of Britain’s preeminent Organ Advisers, including for this project. Over 130 people were in attendance for this. John
Norman delivered this lecture in a volunteer capacity.
The second lecture preceded the silent film night on 26th
October 2013, a showing of The Hunchback of Notre Dame with organ
accompaniment (see page 68). 100 people were present at this sell-out event to hear Donald MacKenzie, resident organist at
the Odeon Leicester Square and specialist silent film accompanist, give a talk on the history of organs accompanying films.
The third lecture took place before the London Gypsy Orchestra ‘Balkan Organ Carnival’ concert on Saturday 24th
August 2013
(see page 62). The talk (with Q&A) focused on the music making process of including an organ with 35-piece gypsy orchestra,
and writing gypsy music for it. There were 50 people in attendance (increasing to over 150 for the concert itself). I felt that this
was a good turnout for a talk, however much of the feedback (included below) commented that it was unfortunate that it was
‘under-attended’. I think people were comparing it to the 150 who turned up for the concert, or perhaps they were upset that
not more people were there to listen, because feedback for the talk was positive.

36
Lecture feedback
I asked attendees to fill in feedback forms for the silent film lecture event (which I have included under the Silent Film section in
this report, see page 71). These are responses taken from those feedback forms for two questions, relating to what they had
learned, and what their thoughts were before and after the event regarding organs:
Do you think you learned more about organs?
Yes, esp organ development in the UK, mainly cinemas.
I didn't realize how complex they were", therefore a very enlightening evening.
I didn’t know the music is so wonderful and could have such lovely effects from organs
Yes, very interesting, especially for silent movies how they were used.
Definitely – I had no idea there were so big and required such maintenance
Yes, some good questions were asked in the talk about how organs work and Donald explained everything well
Yes, I underestimated their versatility.
What were your views on the organs before and after this concert?
A very specialised instrument, and very pleased to see it used in such a cool way.
Before- used only for choir songs- after- can be used for everything
I Thought they were outmoded like harpsichords and that no one really played them anymore
Before: organs are generally instruments that ought to be seen and not heard and certainly never listened to. After: organs are
capable of extraordinary volume and depth of tone although it is rare to hear them performing at their true potential.
Before I thought it was only really used in church services but after I realised how apt it is at providing musical depth to film,
which was a nice surprise.
The following feedback is from the Balkan Organ Carnival lecture:
“The very informative pre-performance talk was poorly attended - a great shame, as it definitely enhanced the appreciation of
the whole experience as fed back to me via my own visitors. This particular organ had a very interesting history, which I greatly
enjoyed learning about, in particular the connection with William Wilberforce - a particular hero of mine!’ Suzanne Lancaster
“I would say that although the talk at the beginning was a very good idea to explain the music that would follow later, this
happened so early on in the evening, with a gap between the talk and the music that many people did not get a chance to hear
it” Left by ‘Kat’
I have left full feedback forms for this evening under the ‘Balkan Organ Carnival’ part of this report.
Tea Dance
A particularly successful event was the tea dance. Working with two volunteers, we were able to put on a tea dance with the
organ providing the music. The tea dance included ball room dancing – foxtrot, tango, waltz, bus stop etc – and also salsa. There
was tea, coffee and cakes on offer, with a raffle. There was also a dance instructor to take people through basic moves before
the dance began, and a talk about the history of organs accompanying dance music. Mid-way through the event there was a
short talk about the organ. This was a very interactive event, with over 100 people in attendance dancing with the organ. Once
again, the focus was on creating opportunities for new audiences to engage with the organ, and in particular older audiences. In
this case, many of the attendees were of retirement age – although there was a broad range to the ages of participants, from
children, up to over 90s. There was also a diverse demographic present, reflective of London’s social milieu. This is represented
by the two main volunteer organisers, Alan Quan (British Chinese) and Kieran Das Gupta (British Indian).
Alan Quan and Kieran das Gupta are a very enthusiastic dancers, attending 4-5 dances a week. They helped me to organise tea
dances at St John’s, spending about 100 hours on this. This time was divided up into coming up with the concept for the event,
helping to design the marketing materials (with my assistance), promoting the events at the dances they attended, and
organising practical things on the evening, such as raffle prizes, tea and cakes. They also arranged for 4 other volunteers to help
on the day, as stewards, drivers, ticket sellers, and helpers for getting the church turned into a dance venue (and back again).
We were successful in having many people engage with the organ who would otherwise not have done so, and it was very
successful at bringing the community together.

37
Tea dance feedback
Alan Quan and Kieran Das Gupta provided me with the following feedback:
Name : Alan Quan & Kieran S DasGupta
Age : 60 & 30.
Cultural heritage/ ethnic background:
British Chinese & British Asian.
What did you think was good about the tea dance event?
Ans: The Tea dance was the first time at the Notting Hill St John’s Church. It showcased the ability to bring all communities
together. Present dancers who have social dancing experience were able to mix with Non- experience dancers who had come
for the first time. The lesson provided was a way of creating an instant bond for some less social people coming for the first
time. We were able to raise money and learn more about Organs.
What do you think could be improved?
Ans: Having a Slightly longer lesson with more promotion of the event. It would have been Nicer, and if we could have a few
community organizations, like Open age, at our event to show. Not just only about Dancing, but a place where people can
connect to each other and learn about various things that can benefit them in their life.
What did you think about organs before and after the event?
Ans: We had very limited experience with Organs, However, knowing about them and the use for dancing.
We would say that after the event, we experience of the great creative, also it has a strong link between Churches and Organs.
What did you learn about organs?
Ans: We learnt a little bit of the history of Organs via the short talk was very informative, especially as we were using this organ
for the first time in this performance.
Any other comments?
Ans: Promoting for Organ Enthusiasts Would be Very Good idea for the Church.
Tea Dance at St John’s Notting Hill
Tickets for tea dance

38
Flier for St John’s Notting Hill
A further tea dance was organised in May 2015, and there are plans to arrange more tea dances in the future.
Tea Dance May 2015
Learning course – An Organic Life
A 6-session learning course was arranged during the first two months of 2015, focusing on horticulture, local history, arts &
crafts, and literature during the main dates in the organ’s history – between when it was built in 1793 and when it was restored
in modern times, and several dates in-between that were significant in its history.
Learning course at St John’s Notting Hill

39
This was the schedule for the learning course:
This course was put together in conjunction with Rootless Gardens, a charitable organisation that looks at using inside gardening
to combat loneliness in older people.
It was an excellent course but, very sadly, it was not well attended, despite many attempts to publicise it through several older-
person networks in London:
An Organic Life Flier
There were about 5 people at each session, when the hope had been to have 20 at each one, and therefore 120 people in total.
However, for those that did turn up, there was a very rewarding experience.

40
Learning course feedback
This is feedback from Jenny Taggart, one regular visitor:
1) I very much enjoyed the connecting of local historical events, artistic and literary references and music within the date periods
involved. This made the sessions particularly interesting which was complimented and focussed by finishing with a short organ
recital which pulled it all together. I learnt more about organ music and St John’s organ’s particular history and also about an
area which I thought I knew well.
2) I’m not sure the inclusion of plants was as successful as other aspects.
3) I would certainly like to take part in such an activity again.
In common with the aims of the project, the idea here was to open the organ up to other creative pursuits, including art and
painting of birdhouses:
Out of the 5 regular attendees, 3 were in their 80s, 1 was in their 70s, and the other was in his 50s. There were several other
people, all of post-retirement age, who had turned up for one or two of the sessions. A total of 15 different people attended
during the course of the workshops.
There was one volunteer who delivered the local history element of the workshops in a group format, allowing for participants
to add their own memories of the history of the area as they had lived it. Then we moved on to the various interactive elements,
led by the Rootless Garden team, which included one volunteer and two leaders. The church’s Organ Scholar was present to
finish each session of with a short organ recital and presentation, demonstrating the organ music from each time period.
It is difficult to know why this activity was not as popular as it might have been. A lot of energy was spent promoting it to
various organisations, and the quality was good. My feelings are that it is hard to start up a new activity from scratch without a
group of participants who are ready to attend. It might have been better to ask an organisation already with a reputation and
large following to arrange an activity at the church involving the organ. A similar problem was encountered with the community
choir project, which I will evaluate later. Those who did take part enjoyed themselves and had a rewarding experience.
Attendee at the learning course

41
Activity 7: Exhibitions
“I enjoyed the research on a type of object which I never had the opportunity to explore before. As a restorer it was very
interesting to learn about the different parts of the organ, the materials involved and their role within the instrument.” Marta
Harraez, Volunteer Exhibition Researcher
Activity
Detailed
Description
Audience (s)
Benefits for
People
Resources
Costs in
Project
Budget
Timetable
Targets &
measures of
success
Methods of
Evaluation
Meeting
HLF aims
Exhibitions
There will be two
exhibitions in the
North Transept.
One, on the rear of
the new organ case,
will focus on the
organ – its history,
mechanics,
deterioration and
restoration.
A specific section
will explain the
rare Barker lever
action.
A second specific
section will explain
the organ’s links to
the Anti-Slavery
movement.
The second
exhibition around
the walls of the
North Transept will
be a social history
of St John’s at the
heart of Notting
Hill, with a
particular reference
to the evolution of
the area’s
population
All visitors to
St John’s,
whether on
formal or
informal visits.
Both
exhibitions will
be a feature of
all post-
restoration
workshops.
The local
history
exhibition will
be in place
before the
organ is
returned.
Volunteers
with an
interest in local
history,
exhibition
design and
training as
guides and
explainers.
Estimate of
total visitors :
5000 over two
years
Visitors will
learn from the
information that
the exhibitions
will provide.
Volunteers
researchers will
both participate
in the
development of
the project and
learn from their
research and
work.
Volunteers to
research,
develop and
produce the
exhibitions.
History Talk
Activities
Manager
Photographs and
other historic
archive
materials
Display panels
Lighting
Television and
animation film
Archive
materials and
photographs
£500
Volunteer
training
£1000
Display boards
(printing, etc.)
£2000
Lighting
£2500
Production of
Animation
£1000
Television on
moveable stand
=
£500
Research and
development
of local history
exhibition
May to
September
2012
Local history
exhibition
installed
September
2012
Research and
development
of organ
exhibition
May 2012 to
May 2013
Installation :
May 2013
Quality of
exhibition
Inclusion of
new
information
Listings on
specialist and
tourist
information
sites
PIQAS
Accreditation
PIQAS
assessment
Visitor feedback
through Visitor
Book,
Questionnaires,
teacher feedback
Comments on
online Visitor
Book on church
website.
Learning &
Participation
Two panels from the exhibition – all panels are included as an attachment with this Completion Report

42
The two new permanent exhibition surrounding the organ have been very well-received, and I consider them to be one of the
highlights of the project. It is easier to refer to them as one exhibition, entitled “A History of Notting Hill and the Organ at St
John’s”. These panels were placed on the wall surrounding the organ, and on the side of the organ itself.
Exhibition panels surrounding organ
These panels detail the history of Notting Hill: from rural farm land, to health resort and estates for the wealthy, the
hippodrome, and then subsequent degradation with much poverty amongst pig farms and potteries, the influx of peoples from
the Caribbean in the 1950s, race riots and multi-occupancy tenancies under Rachman, through to celebrity, gentrification and
extreme wealth of contemporary times.
The exhibition got off to a difficult start when HistoryTalk, the organisation mentioned in our Activities Plan as a partner group
with detailed knowledge of this area, closed down due to lack of funds. This happened almost immediately upon the church
receiving the HLF grant. To compensate for this, budget changes were made to allow for a Curator (Caryl Mann) to be paid, and
we also paid a member of the HistoryTalk group (Tom Vague) with in depth knowledge of the area to advise on the exhibition. It
also led to one of the most successful volunteer involvements with the project, where the exhibition was researched by 20
volunteers under the guidance of the Curator. Having this many researchers would not have been necessary had we still used
HistoryTalk. The researchers were a good mix between: recent graduates who wanted to gain skills in this area of work, in order
to further their career prospects; local history enthusiasts; and people who simply wanted a volunteering opportunity.
The researchers were trained at first, with an exercise in how to research an exhibition given by an experienced trainer, and
with a training day at a local archive. Both the curator and the Activities Manager for the project were also trained during these
exercises.

43
Exercises from exhibition research training days
The volunteers were then divided into three teams, with those who wanted to look at local history, the history of the restored
organ, and the history of the church itself. They researched material for their subjects, which the curator then edited and
formed into the exhibition.
Feedback From Volunteer Exhibition Researchers
I will look at the feedback from 6 of the volunteers to give an impression of what happened: Paola Di Felice, Claire Evans, Stacey
Evans, Evgeinya Kondrashina, Lena Solodyankina, and Marta Harraez.
Before the project began, each person was asked ‘Have you had experience of organising or contributing to a history
exhibition?’, to which the all answered ‘No’ except for Paolo di Felice.
What follows are the 6 end-of-project feedback questionnaires from these exhibition volunteers.
I have highlighted in yellow where I feel new learning has taken place. In green I have highlighted where the volunteering has
helped the researchers to develop themselves in some respect. In blue I have highlighted how these activities bring together
communities.
They questions asked were:
What did you enjoy about the project?
What could have been better?
What did you gain from taking part?
Did you learn anything new?
Do you think that projects like this are worthwhile?
What did you think of St John's Notting Hill as an organisation?
Claire Evans (25, white British, female)
Historical research, chance to meet others with the same interests but different experiences.
There was talk of oral history and memory days that just didn’t happen because of the time restraints.

44
It reignited my interest in historical projects and as a result I joined Battersea Arts Centre to work on their HLF funded archiving
project.
A better understanding of oral history research projects in general and how much the community can open research avenues
that would otherwise have gone unexplored.
Definitely, they leave a legacy and offer a focal point and opportunity for people in the community to connect in a way they may
otherwise not have, through shared memories and experiences.
I think it’s interesting that as a church St John’s actively looks at ways to reach out to the wider community through inclusive
projects such as this and the May Fair.
Evgeniya Kondrashina (female, aged 28, White Eastern European)
I enjoyed three aspects: the research itself (reading the books in the British library and finding the relevant materials and
reworking them for the purpose of the research), the discussion following the research about the structure of the exhibition and
how the research was used and meeting the other volunteers during the induction and the group discussion phases.
It is hard for me to say, as I had no expectations about the project from the start as I had never done anything like this before. I
found it well-organised and well-run with clear deadlines and task assigned to everyone and I really appreciated the research
induction we were provided at the very beginning of the project.
I gained initial experience in a sector I knew nothing about but was interested in, a chance to then work on another project in
the arts (the Notting Hill mayfest) thanks to the people I got to know through the Organ project and ultimately, this was one of
the experiences within the music/arts world that led me to apply to my current MA course at Goldsmiths University.
Yes, all the factual information I researched was entirely new to me - on the organ and its history. The research methods were
not new, I have done research before many times.
Yes, definitely. I really enjoyed the results of the project - the final exhibition was fantastic, especially all the visuals relating to
the organ and the chance to look inside it.
I didn't come into contact much with St John's Notting Hill as an organisation, but I did come into contact with Jamie Singleton,
the manager, who I always found to be very friendly, responsive and available when needed. I also engaged with Jamie on
behalf of St. John's Notting Hill on another occasion - when organising a children's performance of "Peter and the Wolf' on
behalf of Making Music - and we were kindly provided with access to the church space for a very low fee and given support and
technical help on the day of the performance. Dealing with Jamie was always a pleasure.
Lena Solodyankina (aged 26, female, Russian)
It was an amazing opportunity to take part in a research project on a really interesting subject and learn a lot while contributing
to the making of an exhibition.
Everything was great. Maybe, the research part of the project could be extended after the exhibition, and some sort of a
publication could be produced - a lot of interesting information was not included in the exhibition for the lack of space, and due
to the usual limitations of an exhibition project.
I've got some experience in preparing exhibitions, working with archival materials, and met great people.

45
I've learnt a lot about the history, the making/restoring of organs and how they work, and a bit about the history of St John's
and Notting Hill.
Yes.
I only know it through the St Johns Organ project, but seemed a very welcoming and open organisation. I'm very grateful to it
for organising the project.
Marta Harraez (38, white Spanish, female)
I enjoyed the research on a type of object which I never had the opportunity to explore before. As a restorer it was very
interesting to learn about the different parts of the organ, the materials involved and their role within the instrument.
I took part as a volunteer, and I felt maybe the schedule was a bit ambitious.
The chance to work in a team is always invaluable.
Learnt about the Object, and I am much more familiar with the church activities.
For sure! In this case it brought together the community, which is much needed for the continuous running of the church.
The people I got involved with were very welcoming and hard working.
Paola Di Felice (38, white Italian, female)
I liked the fact I was involved in the project as part of the whole and when I was assigned my role it was according to my skills
and expectations.
Maybe just the meeting times sometimes but I understand it isn't easy to find a meeting time comfortable to everyone.
As a foreigner I had the chance to learn a lot about the local history of London and having the chance to visit the hidden rooms
of the Chelsea library was really interesting
Sure, a lot about the housing habits and history of the UK.
Absolutely. They are a precious means to keeping history and the heritage of the community alive and also very useful to involve
various different people around a project.
It was a great organisation. The volunteers have been treated with great appreciation for their time provided with induction and
also with great interest and care for their special needs. Honestly I didn't expect that my work would have been valued so much
and the community of Saint John on the hill still invites me to take art to their programmes.
Stacey Evans (age 27, white British, female)
It was really good to be able to work on a project where I got to research the local history of the area. I enjoyed researching and
getting to grips with the collections in local archives. It was also lovely to meet like-minded people from various backgrounds

46
and be able to visit an area that I did not usually go to.
More frequent meet ups and the memory days - towards the end of the project, a local named Alan joined our meetings and as
he lived locally in the area from when he was a young boy, his stories were fascinating and provided a lot of food for
thought. Being able to meet more people with a connection to the church would have been advantageous.
Using my research skills in a practical setting was wonderful. Also, I won an exhibitions internship at the V&A due to this
placement - one of the people interviewing lived locally and was very interested in this part of my CV! Superficially, I gained
a sense of pride that I contributed to the permanent exhibition.
Yes - I was unfamiliar with the area and so my research revealed lots to me. I also discovered that research like this is something
I enjoy undertaking.
Yes - as a result of how much I enjoyed this project, I am always on the look-out for more projects like this and it has inspired me
to try to create my own local exhibition.
Welcoming, friendly and all inclusive.
As you can see from the above, the feedback is very positive. It was a shame, as one volunteer pointed out, that we could not
use all the information that was researched yet not included in the final exhibition, but it was unfortunately something that we
did not have the time to get round to. It was also a shame, as several volunteers have pointed out, that we could not meet up
more frequently. This was down to time constraints, and we did rely on researchers being able to work well using their own
initiative. We met up many times through the volunteer appreciation events (as one volunteer points out), but perhaps not
enough as would have been nice during the research of the project.
It was good to see that Claire Evans used the experience to move onto another project at the Battersea Arts Centre, Stacey
Evans used it directly to gain an internship at the V&A, and Evgeniya Kondrashina to start a Masters at Goldsmith University –
Evgeniya in particular had been wanting to change careers from finance to arts management, so this was a very welcome result
of the project.
It is also good to read that many people thought of St John’s Notting Hill as an open, inclusive organisation – I have highlighted
these commends in grey. This falls into my aim of opening the organ up to a wider community and audience. The exhibition
brought many new people into the church who would not otherwise have engaged with the organ.
Special mention should be made to Caryl Mann here, who was an excellent Curator.
Feedback From Exhibition Visitors
I left out feedback forms for any visitors to the church to fill in, as well as for when groups visited. What follows are verbatim
quotes from forms given by visitors who did not belong to groups. Many of these would be tourists in the area. All of these
forms are included with the completion report. I have typed up their responses, and in some places I have marked with question
marks (???????) where I cannot read the hand writing.
What do you think was good about this exhibition?
Excellent and very informative
We could feel the atmosphere of the area
Excellent in every way, marvellous detail
Very informative
The organ model 

47
Most interesting – I live in Talbot Rol, next to St Stephen’s Church, I try to figure out where was Talbot Mews. So much poverty!
Thank you for your good work – A.A.T
Well presented, comprehensive and clear
All excellently done, thank you so much! So informative, comprehensive & encompassing in detailing so well the evolution &
various periods of time through the last 200+ years
Excellent, lots of information, easily set out + easy to follow. Very interesting
Exhibition usefully explaining(?) an informative in the look – also interesting(?) info re Wilberforce & Rachman. [on holiday and
following a walk in the book ‘Secret London’]
What a waste of money people are dying all around the world and this church has spent 373.500 on a organ you should all be
ashamed totally shocking [I’ll leave the Lottery to defend its position against these sorts of statements!]
What do you think could be better?
Not clear how it went through to Notting Dale to Notting Hill (is that because of Octavia-Hill)?
What new things have you learned?
Lots about Notting Hill especially the pigs!
Happy to now know how an organ fully works
The removal of the spire in WWII
I have lived in this area for 2 + years & devised for friends my own walk of the “potteries and piggeries of Notting Hill” after
research and collecting materials from publications and maps/leaflets however it is good to have read ?????????? – the period
around WWI which I didn’t know anything about.
Has anything about this exhibition led you to change the way you think or feel?
I ?????? feel thrilled & privileged to live around here with so much history which I love
We must strive to be tolerant and compassionate
Did you enjoy this exhibition?
Yes
Yes. Very glad I found it. J Standing W. Australia have ancestors connect here
A lot  Many thanks
Yes
Yes
Very much indeed – thank you!
I have not included the number rating bit of the feedback forms for the exhibition, because very few feedback leavers have
understood how this bit works.
In particular, it is nice to see people expressing that their knowledge of organs has improved with viewing the exhibition, and
also that people who have lived in the community for a long time are finding new histories to engage with. It is also good that
many people write that the exhibition is clear, informative and comprehensive.
Numbers of visitors to the exhibition are difficult to quantify due to the fact that the church is open for a great deal of the time
(every day, at least 10am – 5.30pm), and there is not always someone observing visitors to the exhibition. However, we did a
count during the busy summer month of July (when there are lots of tourists) and 20 – 30 people visited per day, a total of 178
people in one week (this counting was done by a Community Payback attendee). Many more people visit on Friday and Saturday

48
when Portobello Road Market is operating. These figures are consistent from May – September, so I estimate that over the 22
weeks of this period we have nearly 4000 visitors. In winter the church has visitor numbers at about half this rate – we counted
84 during a week in November. So for the remaining 30 weeks in the year through the months October - April, my estimate is
2,500 visitors. This totals 6,500 visitors a year. Not all of these actually view the exhibition, my estimate is that half do, so 3,250
per year. These are just visitors to the church who are not there for any events – people who walk in the door throughout the
day. The exhibition has also always been opened during the many concerts and events that have taken place throughout the
organ project alone (more on these in this report in the next section), not to mention during the normal activity of the church,
where there is a concert or event twice a week. In May there are 4 or 5 events each week as part of the Notting Hill Mayfest.
One of these events is the May Fair, when this picture was taken:
Visitors viewing the exhibition during the May Fair.
It is not possible to accurately record how many visitors view the exhibition (for example, 500 visited during the Open House
day, and the vast majority of these people viewed the exhibition), but I would estimate it to be thousands. I can accurately
evaluate how many have visited as part of tours and groups throughout the project, which I will do later in this report. I would
say that 5000 people view the exhibition each year.
The church has not yet become PIQAS accredited. This is something that they hope to do in future.

49
Activity 8: Concerts and Recitals
“The most positive elements were the new music, and new musical combinations for me. I have never heard of or seen such
combinations and interesting sounds before!” Millie Appleton, performer
The following is taken from page 45 of the Activities Plan:
In line with the aims of making the organ available to new audiences, I wanted to put on a broad spectrum of musical activities
that would appeal to a wide section of the community.
I will show broad spectrum by looking at the different elements of the Activity Detailed Description – Concerts and Recitals
taken from above:
1. Opening recital by internationally known organists
2. Community choral concert, featuring local choirs of different genres, a community choir and a choir of schoolchildren
3. Lunchtime recitals by students of the Royal Academy of Music
4. Peace Concert celebrating the theme of peace and liberation on World Peace Day
5. Carnival concert, around the time of the Notting Hill Carnival and featuring the music of Notting Hill
6. Winter recitals featuring an internationally renowned organist
Some concerts to be recorded by students and extracts published online
I will also give examples of the many other events that have taken place outside of the scope of the Activities Plan.
Activity
Detailed
Description
Audience (s)
Benefits for
People
Resources
Costs in
Project
Budget
Timetable
Targets &
measures of
success
Methods of
Evaluation
Meeting
HLF aims
Concerts &
Recitals
1. Opening recital
by internationally
known organists
2. Community
choral concert,
featuring local
choirs of different
genres, a
community choir
and a choir of
schoolchildren
3. Lunchtime
recitals by students
of the Royal
Academy of Music
4. Peace Concert
celebrating the
theme of peace and
liberation on
World Peace Day
5. Carnival
concert, around
the time of the
Notting Hill
Carnival and
featuring the music
of Notting Hill
6. Winter recitals
featuring an
internationally
renowned organist
Some concerts to
be recorded by
students and
extracts published
online
The broad
community of
music lovers
from Notting
Hill and
beyond.
Older people in
care for
lunchtime
recitals
Local music
groups as
partners
Primary
schoolchildren
as participants
in the
Community
Choral Event
Training
opportunities
for sound
recording
students
Estimated
number of
participants :
3000, over two
years
Appreciation of
the quality of the
historic organ and
its capabilities as
an instrument in
its own right and
as an
accompaniment
to voices and
other instruments
Professional
musicians
Activities
Manager
Director of Music
Mayfest Director
(Volunteer)
Volunteers as
stewards, ushers,
etc.
Approximately
20 per event
Advertising
materials
Concert fees –
musicians,
sound systems,
etc for
professional
concerts
£10000
Advertising, etc
:
£1000
Director of
Music to co-
ordinate schools
choir :
20 sessions @
£100=£2000
Volunteer
expenses
£500
1 & 2.
May 2013
3. October
2013 to June
2014
4.September
2013
5. September
2013
6. November
2013 &
February 2014
Increase in
audience
numbers at
Mayfest and at
other concerts.
Contribution
to local
authority
agenda of
increased
participation
and
appreciation of
the arts
Attendance
monitoring.
Audience
feedback
through
forms.
Reviews in
music press
Hits on media
sites
Learning &
participation

50
Before I begin, I will write that, like many other things in the project, the original timetables for completion for these musical
activities were often inaccurate, because the organ’s restoration was not completed on time (it was delayed, with an expected
completion date of March 2013, and an actual completion date of January 2014). This meant that many activities happened at
times that do not relate to the originally submitted Activities Plan.
1. Opening recital by internationally known organists
This opening recital was programmed for May 2013, but could not happen because the organ was not ready. Large parts of it
had been installed in the church, but many pipes had not been returned. Subsequently, Thomas Trotter (understandably) could
not play it. Instead, the church’s Director of Music, Ben Atkinson, played a piece of music for the planned evening in May 2013,
and John Norman gave a talk. 100 people attended this event.
In many ways, this gave us an opportunity to put the recital on again, but better. For the second occurrence, we had the
assistance of the church’s first Organ Scholar, Daniel Marx, who is a very keen organ enthusiast and organist. He was The Organ
Club’s Youth President during this time. He was instrumental in bringing the recital series (see page 74) into being, and also
advised us on who to invite to this inaugural concert in order to get the word out to the ‘organ world’ about the restoration. He
was integral to the project, performing many roles as a volunteer.
The inaugural recital was reprogrammed for May 2014. This time, we had 175 people in the audience, amongst them many big
names from the organ profession. This evening served as a catalyst for the success of large parts of the project, particularly in
integrating the organ into the traditional networks of organ clubs, societies and bodies in the UK. Following on from this, we had
the Royal College of Organists hold their educational session at St John’s (see page 89), we had visits from the Organ Club and
the British Institute of Organ Studies (Britain’s pre-eminent organ groups, see page 88), and we had several publicity
opportunities, including several articles in the organ world’s foremost magazines (included at the end of this report under Press
Cuttings, see page 119). In particular, I was asked to write an article discussing the education elements of project for the

51
Organists’ Review (see page 119). This evening was a tremendous boost to the profile of the restored organ amongst the organ
world.
Thomas Trotter is considered to be Britain’s pre-eminent organist. He also played during the opening for the restored organ at
the Royal Festival Hall.
Thomas Trotter playing at the inaugural recital
The evening also included the premier of the film made by the Video College (see page 32), and included Thomas Trotter’s hand
projected on the big screen.
Members of the Video College speak after their restoration video has been shown
This event also contributed as a Volunteer Appreciation Event – all volunteers of the project were invited to the evening, and
many came along for good food and good music (for information on Volunteer Appreciation Events, see page 110).
Andrea Ippolito of The Portobello Restaurant provides food on the Thomas Trotter evening

52
There were two principal volunteers at this event: the Notting Hill Mayfest Manager, Annie Lydford, and the Organ Scholar,
Daniel Marx.
The Vicar, Activities Manager, Organ Scholar and Notting Hill Mayfest Manager
The Notting Hill Mayfest Manager directed the whole of the Notting Hill Mayfest in 2014, the church’s annual month-long multi-
disciplinary arts festival, helping to bring together many different events, including this one. The Organ Scholar had helped me
to organise the first recital series on the restored organ (see page 74), and had also volunteered on this evening as a page turner
for Thomas Trotter. We had many other volunteers helping to dish out food, steward people to their places, and look after
proceedings.
Thomas Trotter inaugural concert feedback
I have included a full copy of the Thomas Trotter Programme with this Completion Report. This is a quote taken from the
programme by Wesley Kerr, Chair of London Committee 2007-2014, Heritage Lottery Fund.
2. Community choral concert, featuring local choirs of different genres, a community
choir and a choir of schoolchildren
Upon careful consideration of this activity, I came to the conclusion that it would be difficult to put together because there
would simply be too many people on stage in one evening, and the church would not be able to hold all of the attending
audience members – school choir concerts inevitably attract a lot of audience members because of the parents in attendance,
whilst choirs often attract their friends and families (as shown below). This would present a safety risk in having so many people
in the building. Instead, I decided to separate the elements of this concert into separate events.
The first one unfortunately was a failure. The Director of Music and I tried to build up a choir from scratch to sing Durufle’s
Requiem. We advertised to all local choirs about the opportunity for their members to take part, and also advertised on the
internet and in the church. We did not count on the fact that choirs would be resistant in advertising these opportunities to
their members, in fear of losing them. We did not also properly consider that many of these choirs had been around for years,
and had spent great a great deal of time and effort in building up their memberships, and had understandably become
protective of them. We were trying to get 100 people together in 2 months, which was, in hindsight, a tall order. After the first
rehearsal, and with only about 20 people in the choir, we abandoned this idea. We then came up with several new ideas in
order to fulfil this requirement.

53
Sing West London
Firstly, the Director of Music put on two ‘come and sing’ events under the name of Sing West London, which both had 30
participants in the choir.
Sing West London events
These were day-long events which allowed unauditioned members of the public to learn and sing a masterpiece in one day.
Sing West London flier
These events were positive because they allowed anyone with any level of skill to come and sing, and were popular with local
residents.

54
The Fulham and Hammersmith Choral Society
I also asked the Fulham and Hammersmith Choral Society (F&HCS), an established West London choir with 100 members, to
come and sing with the organ. They did so in April 2014.
Fulham and Hammersmith Choral Society concert at St John’s Notting Hill
This was a sell-out concert with over 150 in the audience.
The F&HCS is run completely by volunteers, with 12 members in particular helping as follows – this was reported to me by the
choir, and includes the age of member and approximately how much time was spent volunteering:
Mary Millington-Buck, 50+
Chairman
Contacting Soloists & liaising with them, liaising with concert manager and Musical Director. Bringing food for soloists, helping
on the day with everything.
Approx half day.
Belinda Physick, 50+
Concert Manager
Contacting church, visiting church, organising staging, organising singers and seating plans, organising bar, overseeing clearing
up etc. Overseeing advertising, putting up banner & posters. Putting tickets online. Buying and bringing glasses for bar,
arranging of washing up and storing afterwards.
Approx 2 days.
Francesca Fennemore 50+
Visiting church, buying drinks for bar, organising bar staff etc.
Approx half day.
Carol Quinn 50+
Librarian
Buying copies of music for choir to buy, hiring copies of music for choir to borrow, arranging for these to be distributed/bought,
& returned to the library afterwards. Rubbing out choir markings from the library copies.
Approx 2 days.
Jackie Bernard 25-50
Assistant Librarian
Helping librarian with all the above, plus collecting up the copies at the end of the concert.
Approx half day.
Vanessa Hammerton 50+
Administrator & Secretary
Sending emails to choir about the concert. Arranging floats for ticket sales and bar. Approx half day.
Fiona Beaven 50+
Treasurer
Paying invoices for all expenditure for concert, paying in takings from bar & tickets, doing the accounts for the concert. Bringing
drinks for the bar. Helping with the bar on the day. Etc.
Approx 2 days.

55
Racha Afiouni 25-50
Putting concert onto the choir website, helping generally during the day.
Approx half day.
Anita Green 50+
Selling tickets before the concert. Helping on the bar and generally at the concert.
Approx half day.
Amy Beddows 25-50
Organising all the publicity material – flyers, tickets & programmes.
Approx one day.
Rodney Fennemore 50+
Bringing drinks on the day, helping with bar, clearing up etc.
Approx half day
Gerald Fearn 25-50
Helping collect names of singers for the concert, helping with chairs, tables, boxes etc
Approx half day
Plus
Many others (probably about 30 others), some between 25-50 and others 50+ who helped with chairs, clearing up the church at
the end, the bar, providing teas to everyone, washing glasses afterwards etc.
This is a good list, as it shows the amount of work that goes into virtually all events that are put on, most of which would not be
possible without volunteers. It also shows the variety of the tasks involved. We rely on volunteers in a very genuine way – in the
sense that, if they were not present, we would not be able to operate at a level anywhere near that which we do.
As you can see from the list, the majority of people are in the 50+ age category. This choir represents high-level amateur music-
making, with traditional classical repertoire. It was very good to include elements like this in the project, as part of a broad
spectrum of events to appeal to different audiences. This choir happened to be one of the friendliest and easy-to-work with
musical groups that I encountered during the project. They offer a very positive environment to their members, with a real feel
of friendship and community. I am glad that we offered them this opportunity to sing with the organ at St John’s. Another
positive side of this is that many of the members of the choir are deeply ingrained in the musical networks of West London, and
further bookings were taken by the church as a result of this event. Events like this have help the church to become well-known
as a venue in the community.
The Kensington Singers
An example of this musician network becoming useful to the church is the next choir event. The Kensington Singers, another
West London choir, sang with the organ as both a result of the failed Durufle Requiem, and because of the F&HCS concert – the
conductor, Hannah Brine, is known to both choirs, and heard about the church through these two events. She booked the
church for her Kensington Singers Christmas concert in 2014, and I asked her to use the organ. 150 people turned up for this
concert.
The Kensington Singers choir concert

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The Duomo Singers
The Duomo Singers, a community choir that regularly sings at the church, sang with the church’s Choral Scholars during the
Christmas Carol Concert in December 2014. 300 people attended this concert, the largest number in the church’s written
records:
Christmas Carol service, with Organ Scholar playing the organ and Choral Scholars singing with the Duomo Singers
This Christmas Carol Concert, along with an Advent Carols Concert, was publicised to the local area with money from the HLF
grant, whereby 10,000 A5 fliers were sent out to every house in the vicinity surrounding the church. These fliers included info
for four events involving the restored organ: the church’s two Carol Services, the Remembrance Day service, the Choral
Evensong programme, and the Silent Film Night Wings:

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A5 folded flier sent out to 10,000 local houses in September 2014.
Real success was achieved, in terms of numbers, by printing and sending out this flier (financed by the HLF award). The Carol
services had a combined total of 500 people in attendance, the Remembrance Day service had 120, the Choral Evensong had 30,
and the Silent film night had 100 (a sell-out, see page 68). The printed flier was very important for launching Silent Film events at
the church. All these events were well attended by members of the community, particularly the carol concert and
Remembrance Day service.
The Choral Scholars
The final choir to mention are the Choral Scholars themselves. They sing at the church every Sunday and during many evenings
for special festivals accompanied by the organ.
Choral Scholars on Ascension Day 2015 and during Choral Evensong - this is normally with 4 singers, this time with 5. Often
singers will join and sing for free out of enjoyment.

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They also sing once a month on Sunday evening for Choral Evensong, which is a service enjoyed by music lovers. These events
are free-of-charge to the public, with high-standard music-making. The Choral Evensongs have been averaging around 20
attendees, with one a month for 9 months in the year, totalling 18 months since the organ was restored. The total attendance
has been around 360. There is always a volunteer who helps to steward on the evening. There were no churches offering Choral
Evensong in the local area prior to this, so the organ restoration has allowed for this traditional service to be available in Notting
Hill at St John’s. It also provides the opportunity for young talented musicians (the Choral Scholars) to further their musical
development.
Two banners used for Choral Evensong
Future Choir Concerts
Several other choirs have also sang with the organ, and many more have already been booked to sing with it in the future. For
example, the Discantvs Choir, associated with the London School of Economics, have their concert booked for December 2015.
Children’s Choir Concert
The children’s choir concert, as mentioned previously in this report, was attached it onto the end of the series of school
workshops for children, where they were able to sing with a full orchestra and choir in front of their parents:
Two school children choir concerts
After the restoration, the church also began a Children’s Choir as part of its Junior Church. They sing with the organ once a
month.
Junior Church Choir
The occurs under the leadership of the church’s new Children’s Music Co-ordinator, Laurel Neighbour, who is in place as a direct
consequence of the organ’s restoration. She is also currently the church’s Soprano Choral Scholar.

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3. Lunchtime recitals by students of the Royal Academy of Music
There have been two concerts so far featuring music students during the church’s weekly lunchtime concert recital series. The
second recital occurred before a visits from the Open Age Men’s Group (see page 90):
There were 35 people at the first recital and 30 at the second. The second featured Ben Comeau, Organ Scholar at Girton
College Cambridge, who had just graduated with the highest marks on his course at Cambridge University.
The lunchtime recital series is organised by a volunteer, Richard Carruthers, for his record label Music Chamber (www.music-
chamber.com). He organises a recital each week, and will continue to use the organ as part of the recital series from now on.
4. Peace concert celebrating the theme of peace and liberation on World Peace Day
Banner placed on railings prior to this event
World Peace Day is held on 21st
September annually. We held our Peace Concert on 5th
September 2013, because this enabled
us to have The Bishop of London, The Rt Rev’d and Rt Hon Richard Chartres, present at the church to bless the organ. A new
piece of music was composed by Matthew Wood, a talented young composer, and performed for the occasion called ‘If I Have
Freedom’, based on the words of William Wilberforce. William Taylor, Vicar of St John’s Notting Hill, wrote the following
programme notes for the evening:
“I chose to put these words together as, for me, they express the essence of the Christian faith as “freedom under authority.” The
words themselves come from three different sources and contexts – William Wilberforce in eighteenth century England, Richard
Lovelace from the same country and the seventeenth century, and the Latin acclamations from eighth century northern Europe.
William Wilberforce
These words were written at the end of the eighteenth century and addressed the Transatlantic Slave Trade. It does not require
too much of a leap of the imagination to picture these words being written at the same time as Wilberforce was hearing the
organ in Holy Trinity, Clapham and now situated in the North Transept of St John’s Church, Notting Hill:
'You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again that you did not know.'

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Wilberforce’s words address many of our contemporary situations with startling relevance – from the banking scandals of our
own society to the unfolding tragedies in Syria and Iraq.
Richard Lovelace
Richard Lovelace was writing in the very different context of seventeenth century England in the grip of civil turmoil and war.
Lovelace, the grandson of a Lord Mayor of London, and a great-grandson of Edwin Sandys, Bishop of London 1570-76, wrote this
work in prison in 1642.
‘If I have freedom in my love,
and in my soul am free,
Angels alone that soar above
enjoy such liberty.’
Lovelace’s words have often given comfort and strength to the incarcerated – especially victims of the miscarriage of justice, and
those imprisoned for their beliefs.
Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat! (Christ Conquers, Christ Reigns, Christ Commands)
These Latin acclamations can be seen today on an Egyptian obelisk from Heliopolis, transported to Rome in 37 AD by the
Emperor Caligula, and now in St Peter’s Square. They were added to the base of the obelisk by Pope Sixtus V in 1586. The
acclamations were used liturgically in The Office of Matins for Christ the King, as the plainsong Laudes Regiae, or Royal
acclamations, and also sung at coronations and anointings since the time of the Emperor Charlemagne (742–814). The Latin
words remind us that there is no true freedom without it being under authority, and that one without the other will always be a
human cul-de-sac.
Matthew Wood’s powerful setting of these words gives encouragement and strength to all of us to persevere in The Way, but
especially to those who experience slavery, incarceration or persecution today.
I am profoundly grateful to Matthew Wood for his musical setting of the words I chose, to the Sing Evensong Choir for this first
performance of it, and to the Heritage Lottery Fund for their generous sponsorship.”
This piece of music was sung by St John’s Choral Scholars, with the Director of Music playing the organ, bolstered by four further
singers.
From the peace concert Above: William Taylor
Below: Matthew Wood, The Bishop of London, Wesley Kerr
Amongst the 150 people in attendance were the Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and many donors and
volunteers for the project.

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Peace concert feedback
The Mayor of RBKC provided this feedback:
Dear Fr William,
It was a great honour and pleasure for me and the Mayoress to be invited to yesterday’s service at St John’s. It was a wonderful
service and we enjoyed “If I Have Freedom” very much. It is both beautiful and thought-provoking.
Before moving to Kensington I lived in Clapham so I was interested in the organ’s history. It is a lovely instrument and I would like
to thank you and the Parish for all the hard work that you have done to restore the organ and the church to make St John’s the
centre of the community. It has been well worthwhile.
Thank you for inviting us.
With best wishes
Charles Williams
As is evidenced in this feedback, the church is considered to be ‘the centre of the community’. This reputation has been greatly
augmented by the activities that this HLF grant has financed.
At this event there were 5 volunteers stewarding and ushering.
Recording of If I Have Freedom
In agreement with the HLF, we were also able to make a high-quality recording of the piece of music at a later date. This is
available for free to listen to on the organ project website, http://www.stjohnsorganproject.com/if-i-have-freedom.html. Since
it was posted in November 2014, it has been viewed only 22 times. There is clearly some work to do here in further promoting
it. However, it gives a very good high-quality recording of the organ for posterity, and significantly it involves William
Wilberforce, intrinsic to the organ’s restoration and to the grant awarded by the HLF, and was performed by the church’s Choral
Scholars and Director of Music, which means that it is an offering from the church to the public. It serves as an appropriate
record of this time in the organ’s history - we do not have any other high-quality recordings of the organ.

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Photos of the recording of If I Have Freedom
5. Carnival concert, around the time of the Notting Hill Carnival and featuring the music
of Notting Hill
Banner placed on the railings for this concert
This concert featured an ensemble consisting of The London Gypsy Orchestra, a high-standard amateur gypsy orchestra of 35
members; a professional steel-pan performer; and an organist, in a fusion concert of these different instruments and music
styles for the premier of “One Day in Grunistan”, a new composition by Gundula Gruen. This occurred on the actual weekend of
the Notting Hill Carnival in August 2013.

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A5 flier for the event
There were over 150 people attending the concert. It was a successful event which showcased the organ being used in a non-
traditional way – the leader of the London Gypsy Orchestra has said that for her this was an entirely unique ensemble. The
concert was performed for a second time at a church in Wansted, and hopefully will continue to be performed into the future.
The concert was recorded by a volunteer and put onto the orchestra’s Youtube channel, and at the time of writing, all of the
videos combined for the different parts of the new piece of music currently have 5,104 views. It can be viewed at
www.londongypsyorchestra.co.uk
The full ensemble Standing room only at the back
Many other volunteers were involved in the event. This is the report from the orchestra leader, Gundula Gruen:
Voluntary Work for the 24th
August Concert:
Names:
Hannah McAslan
Charles Mead
Karen Yarnell

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Phillipa Nowell
Giulia Lindsay
Sarah Driver
Louise Drewett
Olga Baron
Millie Appleton
Alison Benson
Eddie Smith
Holly Stout
Frances Forbes Carbines
Liam Fionescu
Roles:
Spreading posters and Flyers around London
Facebook promotion
Approximate time spent:
3h/person
Name: Fotis Beklis
Role: Video promotion
Approximate time spent: 8h
This event had encountered one large challenge. The performance happened on one of the hottest days in the summer, when
temperatures went over 30 degrees Celsius. In hot temperatures, organs sharpen in pitch, whereas steel pans flatten. The result
was that the steel pan and the organ were out of tune with each other by almost a whole tone. I had to help the organ builder
flatten many of the reed pipes in the organ just for this concert (they were put back to correct pitch afterwards).
Feedback for Balkan Organ Carnival
I collected the following feedback for the evening. I have highlighted in yellow where new learning has taken place, in green
where people have shown a change of opinion about organs, and in blue to show community spirit.
The following feedback was taken from musicians on the night:
Arun Wheys
What would you say were the main positives of the night?
Great fun and fascinating to experience fusion of organ, steelpan and massed gypsy orchestra.
What would you say were the negatives?
Can't think of any.
Only that they are difficult to tune!
More versatile than expected. Previous experience was of organ accompanying hymns.
Do you have any suggestions for further activities involving the organ?
Organ concertos and other music starring solo organ
Any other comments?
Olga Emma Baron
Amazing lively energy, unusual sound, amazing chance to perform with such talented soloists.
Not enough rehearsal time.
Definitely and how they can play in many different styles especially when played by such a virtuosic player!
I am not an organ fan, but I really enjoyed the music we played and I think the organ added a real new dimension. I think it
probably has a bad reputation because of the kind of music we normally hear it play.

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More unusual types of music.
Any other comments?
Thanks for a great event.
Suzanne Lancaster
The main positives of the event far outweigh any negatives! A sense of participating, & witnessing, a unique event, and as such,
very exciting and great fun! We watched Gundula's creation evolve over the period of early rehearsals, right through to the
performance on the night.
It was fascinating, how well the steel pan, organ and orchestra jelled together, appearing to be quite seamless on the night.
Great fun performing in the lovely church, and for such an appreciative audience, who turned out on such a wet & windy night! -
fantastic that we were able to get so many people up and dancing.
Negatives; seating arrangement/ ticket prices/ ushering meant that too many 'best view' seats were empty, which was a shame.
Also, the very informative pre-performance talk was poorly attended - a great shame, as it definitely enhanced the appreciation
of the whole experience as fed back to me via my own visitors.
Yes, I learned interesting things about the organ - how its various 'voices' are achieved; such a complicated instrument for
someone to learn how to play - full of respect for Paul, and organists in general! This particular organ had a very interesting
history, which I greatly enjoyed learning about, in particular the connection with William Wilberforce - a particular hero of mine!
My pre-concert view of church/chapel organs was that their main function was very formal, often playing baroque composers;
accompaniment for hymns; useful at services.
Further activities could include more of the same; i.e. involving unusual combinations such as LGO, other instruments, such as the
steel pan.
Could children be included in a programme of some sort?
Kat ‘The Cellist’
The venue was brilliant for such an event and it was a fantastic opportunity to be able to play with an organ and steel pan in
addition to the usual LGO set-up. The audience appeared to be quite full and I felt that there was a great vibe from the whole
evening.
I would say that although the talk at the beginning was a very good idea to explain the music that would follow later, this
happened so early on in the evening, with a gap between the talk and the music that many people did not get a chance to hear it
- I feel this should have been incorporated at the beginning of the concert - 7.30pm - so that the whole audience could participate
as well as the orchestra members who had been getting dinner when the talk actually took place (as this was the only time
between the long soundcheck and the concert to eat).
Yes I feel I learned a little bit more about organs, especially their ability to be tuned.
My views haven't changed - I have always liked organs, and I think they are beautiful instruments when played well.
I would say some organ recitals and then further collaborative work with the LGO and other musical groups would be a great
asset to the church and surrounding communities of London
Any other comments?
I had a brilliant time, thank you for the opportunity of this project!
Antonio Riva
The music and the festive atmosphere.
The presentation before the concert was not well advertised and not well attended. And definitely too long.
No.
The same. Amazing before, amazing after.
More concert, using the organ for different types and styles of music.
Any other comments?
It was a very well organised event.

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Gundula Gruen, Orchestra Leader
- the unusual line-up
- the immensely enthusiastic audience
- the musicians and organisers, who had worked really really hard to put such an extraordinary event together
I would have hoped for a sold-out concert, this might be partly the timing, as the date coincided with the Panarama steel-pan
event, and was on a bank holiday weekend, when lots of people go away
Yes, specifically about the tuning, which changes the temperature does to it. I also did not see many organs from the inside
before
I always loved the instrument, as it is powerful, but also can be very sensitive and subtle
Promote learning the organ to kids, offer workshops and lessons at the church
Any other comments?
N/a
Millie Appleton
The most positive elements were the new music, and new musical combinations for me. I have never heard of or seen such
combinations and interesting sounds before! I also loved the audience participation and general feeling of unity, between band
and audience. They were enjoying the music as much as we were! I'm sure the cheap bar helped that! ;)
I didn't feel any negatives from the night. I left with a real sense of well being and happiness! The only thing I can possibly think
of is the lighting, and how it could have been a little more atmospheric, however that may have changed the feeling of audience
and band as one as said above!
No, not necessarily, but I definitely learnt that it is a more versatile instrument than many think.
Solo based, or hymnal accompaniment. I really enjoyed hearing it in a different genre and felt it fitted perfectly and added
grandeur and sense of occasion to the music.
Definitely more collaborations!
The following feedback was taken from audience members on the night:
Sadie Hudson
Church was very attractive, a lovely setting for music.
Atmosphere was great, nice and relaxed. I liked that the band mingled before and after with the audience
Easy to get served with refreshments, and the people serving were pleasant and efficient.
The music itself was great.
Toilet was clean
It was very hot- though that could be because we were in the gallery
I could hear the music, but not what was bring said- again that might be because we were in the gallery
Didn’t realise we would need to bagsie seats within the allotted area, and our group ended up not sitting together
That they are more versatile than I imagined
That they are only used to play ‘traditional’ music.
Any other comments?
Kenneth Hudson
I thought the Orchestra gave a quite unusual evening's entertainment .They were very good players and the singers were lively
and were highly competent in several languages. Overall it was a great evening.
No comments.

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Yes, very interesting.
It has made me research some information about organ models and design.
I would like to hear someone like Thomas Trotter play the organ.
Any other comments?
The more music the better and any other entertainments you manage to stage.
Best of luck.
Jessica Hudson
The church looked lovely. The atmosphere was great. I had never heard a Gypsy Orchestra before so it was a delight to listen to
something new and enjoy it so much, I even bought a cd. It was very well organized and I loved sitting up high in the balcony.
Absolutely no negatives. A brilliant evening.
I think I learned that the organ can adapt to be used in any musical offering.
I don’t think I had any particular views on organs before, after? Loved it. It sounded great with the Gypsy music.
The organ compliments music to me, so any events which can be used in conjunction with the organ.
Any other comments?
Thanks for a lovely evening, it was really super successful. I wasn’t expecting to have so much fun. Kudos to the organizing and
the beer was an excellent idea too. I especially loved how the fabulous orchestra exited the stage, slowly, so we could all watch
them sashay off playing their lovely music.
Alison Anderson
The whole evening was a positive. Well organized, a friendly welcome, and the church was beautifully decorated. The fact that I
could have a nice glass of wine whilst listening to the music was a lovely idea. The acoustics were fantastic. I had a lovely view
with plenty of room so I was relaxed and comfortable.
There really wasn’t any negatives.
As someone who knew very little about organs I found the evening very informative. Learning about this particular organ’s
restoration was very interesting. This one really was quite beautiful up close.
I think prior to this concert the view I had on organs was mostly that they were used for singing hymns to, or maybe used on old
black and white films. After this concert I realised just how wonderfully they can enhance any kind of music and really create an
atmosphere with their rich tones.
I think that it’s a marvellous instrument that can be used in accompaniment to other artists, as so clearly evident with the Gypsy
Orchestra. As it’s a very visually imposing instrument I think to get children interested in music it could be quite fun to use it as an
accompaniment to children’s fairy tales. The fairy tale villain can be the crashing of the deep tones, whereas the fairy princess
can be the light sweet notes!
Any other comments?
I had a thoroughly lovely evening. I stood and clapped along. I happily sang when I was asked to sing. I even had a little dance! It
really was a wonderfully organized and enjoyable night!
6. Winter recitals featuring an internationally renowned organist
We did two things for this final musical activity. Firstly, we had a silent film night in October 2013. One of the UK’s most famous
organists played at this event, so we fulfilled the requirement to have an ‘internationally renowned organist’. However, we still
had money left over in the music budget, so we put on a recital series in May – July 2014, with the agreement of the HLF. I will
describe both of these items below.

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Silent Film Nights
The first silent film night organised was part of the Notting Hill Mayfest in 2013, the church’s month-long arts festival. However,
along with the Thomas Trotter concert, this recital could not happen when the organ was not restored in time, and it had to be
rescheduled for October 2013.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
This was a showing of the classic silent film The Hunchback of Notre Dame, with organ accompaniment.
Flier for Silent Film Night Silent Film Night at St John’s Notting Hill
It was organised in conjunction with Film Fugitive, a pop-up cinema company which had organised several film events previously
at St John’s Notting Hill. There were 100 people in attendance, which was a sell-out crowd – the church can only hold 100
people when a film is being shown in order maintain good sight-lines.
This would prove to be Film Fugitive’s final film, as their Director found that she no longer had time to organise these events. I
had to step in and organise a lot of this event myself in fact. The plus side of this was that I became experienced in organising
silent film events. I also managed to persuade her to sell me her film equipment for a fraction of the cost - £700, when she had
purchased it for £2,500. She was happy to do this because I had built up a good relationship over the years, and she wanted to
see the films continue. This saving of £1,800 went towards satisfying our HLF non-cash contribution of £2000, for AV equipment
– here we received a projector, large screen and two PA speakers with mixer, all the equipment we would need to continue to
put on silent film events at St John’s into the future, as well as other events involving organ and screen, such as Project R (see
page 81).
I subsequently put on two more silent film events, which both sold out, and I am planning to help the church put on many more
film events into the future now that I have established a good mailing list.
Many volunteers were involved with these events as stewards, popcorn sellers, bar staff, ticket sellers and so on. For The
Hunchback of Notre Dame there were 5 volunteers, working 5pm – 10pm. For Wings we had 6 volunteers working 5pm – 10pm.
And for Steamboat Bill Jr there were 4 volunteers working 5pm – 10pm. The Mayfest Manager for both festivals that included a
silent film was also voluntary.

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Wings – November 2014
Poster for silent film Wings Programme for the evening for Wings
The silent film Wings was shown in November 2014, to tie in with the centenary for beginning of WWI. The event was organised
with support from the Royal British Legion, who advertised it on their website and social media feeds, and also sent three of
their representatives, including Colonel Tim Connelly, to speak before the event.
There were 100 people present at this sell-out showing.

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Steamboat Bill Jr – May 2015
Steamboat Bill Jr
The final film screened was Steamboat Bill Jr, as part of the church’s annual Notting Hill Mayfest, which also sold out with 100
people in the audience. This screening was not financed with HLF money – it covered its own costs and made profit for the
church to spend on the organ. In total, it made £860, with £400 to the organist and the rest to the church. T
The film was put in the Mayfest brochure, sponsored by Strutt and Parker, and delivered to 12,000 local houses.
Steamboat Bill Jr programme for the evening

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Poster and Photo of Steamboat Bill Jr
Silent Film Conclusion and Feedback
These events seem to be very popular with younger adults, who are interested in the London arts scene, as well as older film
and heritage buffs. Much of the following feedback showed, they allowed us to reach new audiences with the organ, who would
otherwise think that “organs are generally instruments that ought to be seen and not heard and certainly never listened to”. I
have highlighted in yellow where new learning has taken place, in green where people have shown a change of opinion about
organs, and in blue to show community spirit.
Vikas Aggerwal
What would you say were the main positives of the film night?
Great use of the venue. It probably got more people to go to the church that had never been before.
Pews are rubbish seats. Even with the cushions. But not really a negative of the night.
Yeah. I didn’t realise how much they cost to repair. It’s a lot. More than many people’s houses.
Didn’t really change. They are massive, really impressive, and there are lots of knobs and handles that I have no idea as to what
they do.
hmmm... not really sure you could do a popular style music concert on an organ, but if you could, that would be pretty cool.
Any other comments?
Maybe a guide to the organ would have been a nice printout for people when they came in. How it works etc. I realise that is
what Wikipedia is for, but I probably wouldn’t have looked it up in my spare time.
James Wright
The atmospheric interaction between virtual and church spaces in terms of visual and audio content.
The seating.
Yes, I underestimated their versatility.
Before: organs are generally instruments that ought to be seen and not heard and certainly never listened to.

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After: organs are capable of extraordinary volume and depth of tone although it is rare to hear them performing at their true
potential.
Ballet/contemporary dance
Any other comments?
Dan Bloom
Refreshments and the cosy nature of it
Talk was quite anoraky at the beginning
Yes!
Good and good
More 'popular culture' events like the silent film night - it was great to see it put to a different use other than hymns
Any other comments?
Thanks for a great night!
Sean and Amanda Feeney with children Jack, Elizabeth and Finlay
Finlay (10): "throwing molten lava at the people in the square", the beverages, sweets and popcorn. Hearing the organ was
'fairly' cool.
Jack: (6) "the torture scene" and the marsh mallows.
Elizabeth (8) the food , being in the dark, the bit when Quasimodo poured oil on the people.
Amanda: Hearing about the organ use in the cinema, and the film was great. Also, the positive and enthusiastic nature of the
organ player was really infectious.
Sean: A nice busy crowded venue.
Finlay: The hard seats. Found a lot the movie boring (sorry Jamie) .
Jack: The reading was a bit tricky (just learning how to read)
Amanda: I loved the idea of sitting in the pews, whilst watching the film, but next time, I will bring a soft cushion!!!
Elizabeth: Hard seats
Sean: Hard seats
Finlay: No
Jack: "I learned a bit about the inside of organs"
Elizabeth: No
Amanda: Yes, I love hearing about the organ, although I could have listened a bit better.
Sean: Yes, esp organ development in the UK, mainly cinemas.
Finlay: Like some sort of elite piano before, and even more elite after
Jack: Don't know
Elizabeth: Some ginormous, loud piano, and even bigger and louder after the film
Amanda: A very specialised instrument, and very pleased to see it used in such a cool way.
Sean: "I didn't realize how complex they were", therefore a very enlightening evening.
Do you have any suggestons for further activities involving the organ?
Finlay: Possibly more modern films, still silent with organ accompaniment. Or a play.
Jack: Horror night
Elizabeth: A play, with dancing that the audience can join in with. A Christmas film, an Easter film ..... get the pattern?
Amanda: Organ concerts, where the organ will really let rip (play loud in NZ speak). Also, more film nights, I loved it.
Sean: More organ concerts & film nights, Sean doesn't have any great ideas here.
Any other comments?
Sean: Great to see a classic old film. The whole setting was ambient.
We loved how they had beverages & drinks fully available for kids and wine for the parents. This kids bit was really important
Laurel Neighbour
Great atmosphere, great to see the church used in a different way and the organ sounded fantastic. Food and drink was a really
nice touch, and the film quality was really high, making it a vivid experience and Donald's playing was great to watch.
I would have preferred an interval

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Yes, some good questions were asked in the talk about how organs work and Donald explained everything well
Before I thought it was only really used in church services but after I realised how apt it is at providing musical depth to film,
which was a nice surprise
Christmas tunes, Composition competition, Singing competitions for young children, other film nights accompanying film- which
is quite common in London concert halls, eg London Phil Chorus do Gladiator with orchestra and choir but could be done with just
organ- and for kids you can do Harry Potter or Disney
Any other comments?
Hope to see more events like this in the future at St John's
Lidijia Armanda
The organ and ambience of the church, fantastic organisation, great creepy atmosphere, food and drinks
Seating a bit uncomfortable- maybe an interval was needed for such a long film.
I missed the beginning talk
More films or alternative concerts- rock, pop, jazz etc. silent films was great, even musicals!
Any other comments?
It was wonderful and I would love to come again! :)
Emma Markovic
The film was great and the hit chocolate was a great addition
The seating was difficult to sit on for two hours
Yes, very interesting . Especially for silent movies how they were used.
before- used only for choir songs- after- can be used for everything
Do you have any suggestions for further activities involving the organ
Concerts, even organ playing classes. Ballet, theatre. Classical music, opera
Any other comments?
Lovely evening and would love to come to something similar again.
Simon Wafula
I’d never seen an organ played before nor seen a silent film!
None
Definitely – I had no idea there were so big and required such maintenance
Thought they were outmoded like harpsichords and that no one really played them anymore
Stick some speakers on the outside of the church and play some solemn Christmas carols to Landsown Crescent (or whatever the
crescent was called…)
Any other comments?
The number 6 comes after the number 5
The following feedback is taken from two volunteers who helped with being ticket sellers and stewards on the night
Please provide your name, age and nationality.
Debbie May, American
Seeing the church full of people from the community, listening to the organist
None

74
What were your views on organs before and after this concert?
I have always loved organs – I was amazed by the organist and the music that night – how much he played and how much the
music contributed to the evening. The evening showed how much the organ can contribute to the community, not just to the
church.
Do you think this was a good activity to volunteer for? Why?
Yes (for all the reasons above)
Yes
Any other comments?
The restored organ was one of the reasons we visited St John’s at the beginning.
Please provide your name, age and nationality
Jim May, American
We had never been to this type of event. We like movies and the organ. It seemed like a great opportunity.
None. It was a great event. It was especially nice to tie the organ with a movie about WWI
What were your views on organs before and after this concert?
I felt this was a great use of this beautiful instrument. I think it was great to get exposure of the instrument to some who may not
attend this church congregation.
Do you think this was a good activity to volunteer for? Why?
Sure. Again it is great exposure for the organ and the congregation.
Yes. Again this is a historical instrument. Its preservation is important. This provides a new life and exposure for this device. This
historically important device should be preserved and experienced by future generations. Its story is important.
Any other comments?
I hope my views are clear. Preserving history is important. This was a great way to accomplish that.
Recital Series May – July 2014
Recital Series May – July 2014 banner
With £1000 of grant money, the church put on 5 further recitals in May – July 2014, following on from the inaugural recital by
Thomas Trotter. These recitals were not in the original bid, but (with the silent film nights) took the place of the ‘winter recital
with international organist’.

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Recital Series 2014 brochure

76
Advert place in Choir and Organ Magazine, circulation 4,000; in two London Concert Organ Guides, total circulation 26,000
This recital series included a concert by the church’s Organ Scholar, Daniel Marx, and organists from New York (Harvey Burgett)
and Sydney (Oliver Brett). The two concerts in May were part of the church’s annual Notting Hill Mayfest, and included in all the
marketing materials for that festival: online; 12,000 brochure distribution; and social media.
All concerts put on organrecitals.com, which has 100,000 page views a month
The church’s Organ Scholar, Daniel Marx, played a large role in helping to organise this recital series, in a volunteer capacity. He
helped with designing the concept for the recital series (fortnightly on Fridays at 7pm in summer, which is a time when there are
no other organ recitals occurring anywhere in London), booking organists, designing publicity, marketing the concerts online,
researching and designing programme notes, and being present at each concert as compere. Daniel was 19 years old when he
did this, and he is discussed further in this report under the ‘Young Talented Musicians’ section. We also had Maria Fernandez,
an Erasmus student from Spain who was working at the church, volunteering at each of the 6 concerts as a steward.
The recital series made £1000 in retiring collections at the end of each concert, enabling the church to put on another recital
series in 2015, which will become an annual feature of the church calendar. There were 350 attending the recitals during the
course of the recital series.

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Typical programme used on the day for each concert in the recital series
Recital Series 2015

78
Brochure for Recital Series 2015, in pager order (A5 folded). This was designed and printed ‘in house’
With the proceeds of the Recital Series 2014, the church was able to organise the Recital Series 2015. The May recitals were
once again included in the Notting Hill Mayfest publicity – 12,000 houses received a brochure in 2015 (up from 4000 in 2014),
online and social media (the Mayfest Twitter account has over nearly 1000 followers, many of them Notting Hill and arts
bloggers, and other local area institutions with many followers of their own).
The churches Organ Scholar for 2014-15, Sam Barber, helped to organise these recitals in the same capacity as Daniel Marx the
previous year: booking organists, promotion, publicity, and compering at each concert. He also gave a recital as part of the
series, in what will become an annual tradition for the Organ Scholar at St John’s Notting Hill. Sam Barber was also 19 when he
helped with this. The recital series at St John’s Notting Hill will give these young organists the opportunity to both perform, and
also to organise music concerts with a small budget, increasing their capabilities in promotion and budget management. It also
enables these organists to meet likeminded fellow professionals and make useful contacts.
The 5th
organist in the recital series is also a talented young musician. Christopher Baczkowski was winner of the Oundle Organ
award – a prestigious award for young organists, given to one who shows excellent ability and dedication. This recital represents
his award.
Daniel Marx contributed 6 hours a fortnight between December 2013 and May 2014, totalling 60 hours in volunteer time. Sam
estimates he spent 5 hours on this in total. Both Scholars attended all of these recitals as comperes, 5pm – 9pm, totalling 36
hours.
The organ recital series in 2015 has made £855, and this will be used to put on the recital series in 2016. So far, 220 people have
visited to see the recitals in the series for 2015.

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Front cover and example of organ concert inclusion in Notting Hill Mayfest brochure, circulation: 12,000 to local area
Further Concerts and Events items not included in Activities Plan
Many more concerts and events involving the organ have happened during project time frame, outside of the original Activities
Plan. I will report on several of these below.
The Hermes Experiment
A group of young, recent graduates called The Hermes Experiment performed newly composed music and improvisations over
two concerts at St John’s Notting Hill, with a combined total of 150 people in the audience at both concerts. The ensemble
consists of singer, harpist, clarinettist and double bassist, joined in these concerts by organist. They are winners of Battle of the
Bands 2014, UK Young Artists 2014 and Park Lane Group Young Artists 2015/16. The innovative and contemporary music
performed by this group encouraged new audiences to engage with the organ.
There were several volunteers helping at each concert, as stewards and serving food.
The Hermes Experiment performing in September 2014 and December 2014

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Fliers for the concerts by The Hermes Experiment

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Feedback from Hermes Experiment
Name, gender, age, ethnicity
The Hermes Experiment
1 man / 4 women
Average age: 23
Ethnicity: 3 British / 1 French / 1 Polish
What were your thoughts on organs before and after the Hermes Experiment concerts at St John's Notting Hill?
Our experience of our concert at St John's expanded our love of the organ! It is a glorious instrument they have there, and we
thoroughly enjoyed hearing it. And because some of the pieces our organist Ben Morris was playing were contemporary (21st
century), it really opened up our ears to more of the instrument's sonic possibilities.
Kate Whitley – Organ Concerto
Kate Whitley, a talented young composer, composed a piece of music called ‘Organ Concerto’ specifically for the organ at St
John’s Notting Hill. Unfortunately, this was to be performed in a concert that was programmed for May 2013, when the organ
was not finished in time. It was performed later in the year, in August 2013. Kate Whitley was a recent university graduate, and
this opportunity represented a chance for this talented young musician to developer her skills. Kate also composed the piece of
music, called ‘Wishes’, that the children sung at the end of the Orchestra and Organ workshops (see page 16).
Project R November 2014
The church is able to put on all sorts interesting events now that it owns the big screen and projector. An example of this was
when St John’s hosted Project R, a film club which shows vintage reels, normally rescued from skips and bins. They frequently
show these films with live music accompanying. We asked them to show something, with the organ accompanying, in relation to
Notting Hill. They showed reels of Notting Hill made during the slum days, when children played on rubble and broken glass. In
exchange, they were able to use the church and equipment for free for one of their events, which they put on to an audience of
60 people.

82
Photos of the Project R event
This event was popular with the young, trendy, arty crowds of London. This was in line with my objective of opening up the
audience to new audiences and created new experiences.
Everyone who works for the group is a volunteer. The main organiser (who wished to remain nameless due to the secretive
nature of the film club) writes that there were 9 helpers and 5 musicians all volunteering. One of the helpers was an
experienced sound technician. Denton conservatively estimates that volunteers spent over 60 hours organising the event.
Georgian Cultural Evening April 2014
In celebration of Easter and St George, the Patron Saint of both Georgia and England, the group Inglima put on a special
Georgian Cultural evening which included performances on the organ. The evening was organised in partnership with The
Georgian Orthodox Church Diocese in Great Britain and Ireland, The Ministry of Culture and Monuments Protection of Georgia,
The Office of the State Minister of Georgia for Diaspora Issues, The Georgian Community in the UK, and The British-Georgian
Society.
Georgian Cultural Evening April 2014
This was successful in bringing in Georgian communities to listen to the organ. There were 75 people in the audience for this
event.
Resonance FM visit March 2014
Daf and Sally, volunteer broadcasters learning their craft at Resonance FM, visited St John’s Notting Hill in March 2014 in order
to make a recording of the organ to play live on air on the radio station. This recording is available online on the radio station’s
website.

83
This again opened up the organ to new many thousands of new listeners.
The radio station Resonance FM has the following mission statement:
“Imagine a radio station like no other. A radio station that makes public those artworks that have no place in traditional
broadcasting. A radio station that is an archive of the new, the undiscovered, the forgotten, the impossible. That is an
invisible gallery, a virtual arts centre whose location is at once local, global and timeless. And that is itself a work of art.
Imagine a radio station that responds rapidly to new initiatives, has time to draw breath and reflect. A laboratory for
experimentation, that by virtue of its uniqueness brings into being a new audience of listeners and creators. All this and
more, Resonance104.4fm aims to make London’s airwaves available to the widest possible range of practitioners of
contemporary art.
Resonance104.4fm is the world’s first radio art station, established by London Musicians’ Collective. It started
broadcasting on May 1st 2002. Its brief? To provide a radical alternative to the universal formulae of mainstream
broadcasting. Resonance 104.4 fm features programmes made by musicians, artists and critics who represent the
diversity of London’s arts scenes, with regular weekly contributions from nearly two hundred musicians, artists,
thinkers, critics, activists and instigators; plus numerous unique broadcasts by artists on the weekday “Clear Spot”.”
This is taken from their Ofcom report in 2011:
“Resonance maintained its links with The Wire magazine and Frieze Art Fair. It also worked with Gasworks Gallery. Its
press campaign benefited both the station as a whole and many dozens of individual programmes, as well as expanding
the audience base. Its on-line podcast page allowed downloads of signature programmes to a national and
international audience of tens of thousands outside the station’s FM footprint.”
The FM footprint is not possible to determine according to their website, but it is likely to be more than their online
audience numbers.
Also according to their Ofcom report, the radio stations has around 300 volunteers a year averaging 1116 hours per week.
Members of the Resonance FM team with Daniel Mark (second from left), St John’s Organ Scholar, who also appears on their
recording explaining how an organ works.

84
Bach to Baby January 2015
Bach to Baby design music concerts for parents and toddlers to enjoy together. I persuaded them to use the organ in one of
their events, which they then repeated in 20 churches throughout London.
40 toddlers, each with a parent, were present at the organ event at St John’s Notting Hill.
Bach to Baby at St John’s Notting Hill
Sangerstevne Festival May 2015
This is a popular choir festival, which happens over several days in multiple venues in London, on a weekend in May. In 2015, 30
choirs from around the world participated. At St John’s Notting Hill, three choirs performed, one from Estonia, one from the
Czech Republic, and one from England. At my request, the organ was played at this concert, and it is hoped that in future choirs
will sing with the organ.
David Bird plays the organ at the Sangerstevne concert at St John’s Notting Hill in May 2015
70 people listened to the organ on this day. David Bird played the organ as a volunteer, and there were two volunteer stewards
helping. All choirs sing for no payment.

85
BBC Scotland Recording May 2014
BBC Scotland made a programme about the Lockerbie Bombing, which aired on 18th
August 2014. The programme makers
visited St John’s Notting Hill in May 2014, where the organ was recorded for inclusion in the programme.
From the BBC website
The jtunes December 2014
This young music group, formed of school students with names all beginning with the letter ‘J’, made a recording with the organ.
This was recorded by 16 year old Tom White, and is available on the organ project website. The leader of the group, John Miley,
who drove the young people to the church and played the organ for them, and Tom White were both volunteers.
“A special thanks goes to St John’s Notting Hill for allowing the filming of this DVD. Without them and Jamie’s help, this
wouldn’t have been possible.” John Miley, former President of the Organ Club
jtunes make a recording with the organ

86
Concerts and Recitals Conclusion
There were 3,065 people in the various audiences for the concerts and recitals, and 435 performers. We therefore met our
target of 3000 participants stipulated in the Activities Plan.
Many varied events have been put on to appeal to different audiences and parts of the community. Numerous people had the
opportunity to take part, whether as volunteers or as performers – both professional and amateurs.
Many events will continue to happen in the future.
The purchase of the AV equipment for showing films will allow the church to continue to put on silent films, which have become
profitable – the silent Film Steamboat Bill Jr made £860 at the door, with costs of £400. A mailing list has been setup for the film
nights, with 150 entries, and the church knows where and when to advertise to maximise success.
An Organ Recital Series will be arranged for 2016, financed by the funds raised from the series in 2015.
The church has a reputation as a place for choirs, and more will come and sing with the organ. Already, Discantvs choir,
associated with the London School of Economics, will perform in December 2015, and choirs will sing with the organ during the
Sangerstevne Festival in May 2016.
The Choral and Organ Scholars will continue at the church indefinitely. They will take part in numerous concerts in the upcoming
years.
Tea dances are also due to continue, now that the church owns all the necessary equipment to put them on. Alan Quan has
indicated that he is happy to continue to put them on, and has already been in discussions with the Parish Office about the next
event.
Many of these events will be included in the annual Notting Hill Mayfest, which goes from strength to strength each year.

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Activity 9: Visits and Open Days
“The lecture on the organ was interesting, informative and comprehensive – most enjoyable. And the organ playing by the Organ
Scholar was greatly appreciated. The local history resource on the boards around the organ is well written, accurate and very
useful. The tour of the tower was an unforgettable experience and again most enjoyable” Member of Open Age History Group
I will evaluate this part of the project by breaking it down into these three areas:
Activity Detailed Description
1. Organised visits by special interest groups such as the Organ Club, NADFAS, local music & history societies, etc.
2. Informal tourist visits
3. Two Open Days per year to include demonstrations, workshops, lectures and other activities.
1. Organised visits by special interest groups such as the Organ Club, NADFAS, local music
& history societies, etc.
I arranged visits from the following groups:
 The Organ Club in December 2014
 The British Institute of Organ Studies (BIOS) in April 2015
 The Royal College of Organists (RCO) in December 2014 and February 2015
 The Surrey Organ Association in May 2015
 The Central London and Eastern Society of Organists in December 2013
 The Bromley and Croydon Organ Association in February 2014
 The Open Age Men’s Group in February 2015
 The Open Age History Group in March 2015
 The Ealing National Trust Association January 2015
 Exploring London and Beyond December 2014
Activity
Detailed
Description
Audience (s)
Benefits for
People
Resources
Costs in
Project
Budget
Timetable
Targets &
measures of
success
Methods of
Evaluation
Meeting
HLF aims
Visits and Open
Days
1. Organised visits by
special interest
groups such as the
Organ Club,
NADFAS, local music
& history societies,
etc.
2. Informal tourist
visits
3. Two Open Days
per year to include
demonstrations,
workshops, lectures
and other activities.
A mixture of
local, national
and
international
visitors of all
ages,
interested in
architecture,
local history,
music and the
organ
restoration
Estimate :
2000 over two
years
Appreciation of
the history,
quality and
rarity of the
Organ.
New visual
access created
by the design of
the new case
and the viewing
balcony
Appreciation of
music and
learning
opportunities at
Open Days
Volunteers to
welcome groups –
2 per visit
Volunteers to
assist at Open
Days as
welcomers,
guides,
demonstrators,
stall managers,
etc.
Director of Music
to demonstrate at
Open Day and
formal visits
RAM students to
assist Director of
Music
Leaflets to
promote Open
Days
Website to
promote Open
Days
Information
booklets for
visitors
Director of
Music
£200 per Open
days (4 days)
=£800
Director of
Music as host of
formal visits
from Organ
clubs, etc.
Minimum of 6
sessions @£150
per sessions =
£900
Promotion, etc.
£1500
Visitor leaflets
£1250
Volunteer
expenses: £500
1. Any time
post May 2013
2. Anytime
post May 2013
3. May and
November
2013 & 2014
Monitor
bookings and
group visitor
numbers
Attendance at
Open Days
Monitor
number of
casual visitors
Visitor
feedback
through
satisfaction
forms and
online
Repeat visits
from formal
groups and at
Open Days
Learning &
participation

88
I will look at these one by one, and then show feedback that was received.
The strong links that have been developed with The Organ Clun, BIOS and the RCO have generated numerous publicity avenues
for the organ within the organ world, and have led onto many useful contacts for the church. These are Britain’s preeminent
organ bodies, and knowledge of the restored organ amongst them has generated a great deal of activity and usage for the
organ.
The Organ Club
The Organ club visit in December 2014 – they listen to a talk by John Norman
The Organ Club is Britain’s preeminent organ enthusiast club. 50 members visited in December 2015. John Norman volunteered
as a speaker for the event, and Sam Barber, St John’s Organ Scholar, demonstrated the organ.
“The Organ Club exists to promote awareness and appreciation of the art and science of the organ, its players and its music.
Membership is open to all who are interested in the organ and organ music and both players and non-players are equally
welcome.
The Club was founded in 1926, and the first President was Henry Willis Ill. The Club continues to thrive and meet the aspirations
of its members in promoting knowledge about organs, organ music and organ performance.”
The British Institute of Organ Studies (BIOS)
BIOS visit in April 2015
BIOS is the foremost scholarly group associated with organs in Britain. This is taken from their website:
“The British Institute of Organ Studies (BIOS) exists to encourage and promote the study of the pipe organ, its history and design,
and to increase appreciation and understanding of its music by both organists and the general public. The society serves
effectively as the amenity society for the British organ and lobbies Government, English Heritage and other national bodies on
behalf of the instrument.”
“The Aims of BIOS
 To promote objective, scholarly research into the history of the organ and its music in all its aspects, and, in particular,
into the organ and its music in Britain.
 To conserve the sources and materials for the history of the organ in Britain, and to make them accessible to scholars.

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 To work for the preservation, and where necessary, the faithful restoration of historic organs in Britain.
 To encourage an exchange of scholarship with similar bodies and individuals abroad, and to promote, in Britain, a
greater appreciation of historical overseas schools of organ-building.”
Amongst other activities, BIOS administers the graded listing scheme for organs, and maintains the National Pipe Organ Register
(listing details of every pipe organ in the UK) and the British Organ Archive (a substantial resource containing information about
organs and organ builders, kept at the University of Birmingham).
30 members visited in April 2015 for the Institute’s AGM. This included talks given by John Norman, our Organ Adviser, and
Andrew Fearn, the church’s Organ Builder, both in a voluntary capacity. Sam Barber once again played the organ for the visitors.
The Surrey Organ Association, The Central London and Eastern Society of Organists, and The Bromley and Croydon Organ
Association
John Norman gives a presentation and Sam Barber plays the organ for the Surrey Organ Association in May 2015
There are many organ associations (all affiliated to The Incorporated Association of Organists) dotted around the country. These
three associations visited St John’s. The general format for Organ Association visits is that a volunteer gives a presentation, the
organ is played for the attendees, and then each member has the opportunity to play the organ. This happened for the above
three events. As you can see from the picture, the church is utilising the big screen that was purchased with HLF money.
Between these three organ associations, 50 people visited.
The Royal College of Organists (RCO)
The Royal College of Organists have visited twice, both times for their adult learning classes for amateur organists.
The RCO learning classes

90
This provides an excellent opportunity for older musicians to receive top-level training and to develop their skills. The RCO will
continue to hold educational classes at St John’s Notting Hill. One of the conditions is that they provide a place for the church’s
Organ Scholar, in order to further his or her musical training, or they pay a fee which will go towards organ upkeep.
Feedback from The Royal College of Organists
The attendees at these classes filled out feedback forms. I have included scans of these with the Completion report, as a
separate attachment. Each person in the first class answered this question:
The organ at St John’s Notting Hill was restored with a £373,500 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The grant has financed
many activities related to the organ restoration, including: new history exhibition; many events, concerts and activities;
school visits and workshops; learning opportunities for adults.
Please leave any feedback for the restoration below.
I have also types up the responses below. I have highlighted in yellow the feedback which I think shows that the organ is useful
for organ teaching.
Nicholas Stefano, Oxford:
Great initiative! I like the glass around the organ. Children need to be introduced to the organ – well done!
Christopher Francis:
Well organised display of info on the pipe organ. Really enjoyed the inner display through the glass.
Jenny Hoave:
Why you are visiting today: To learn about playing hymns on the organ, to lead workshops in my own church
This is an excellent teaching venue; good organ & space around the console to see & be taught. Thank you for the opportunity
Emma Heseltine
Why you are visiting today: RCO organ hymn class – thank you for allowing us to play your excellent organ!
S Jasper:
Comfortable organ to play, excellent for Romantic music & services
David Pimm
-Wonderfully mellow, balanced tone
-Came into its own on romantic
-Fabulous creative use of being able to see into the works round the back
-Beautiful case
-Pedal, typical of the period, lacking rather in definition
-Nice responsive action
-Reeds in need of tuning
Ann Mitchell
Enjoyed playing the instrument
Reed on Pedal could be better
Thank you for letting us use the organ
George Freeman
Fascinating exhibition
The organ sounded best in Cesar Franck!
The Open Age Men’s Group in February 2015 and The Open Age History Group in March 2015
“Open Age was established in 1993 and we’re now celebrating over 20 years of championing an active life for older people. We
work across Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster and Hammersmith and Fulham to enable anyone aged 50 or older to sustain
their physical and mental fitness, maintain an active lifestyle and develop new and stimulating interests.”
From the Open Age website

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Open Age Men’s Group
The Open Age Men’s Group is a group for men over the age of 50. It has been shown that men in this age group are the least
likely to participate in social activities, with 80% of uptake in social groups by women. The Open Age Men’s group is designed to
help men participate in activities.
Open Age Men’s Group visit
20 men visited for this day. They firstly listened to a lunchtime organ recital, as part of the lunchtime recital series at the church.
They then received a talk from John Norman about the history and function of the organ at St John’s Notting Hill, and had the
opportunity to use the organ and ask questions.
Open Age History Group
The Open Age History Group is a group of history enthusiasts. They came to see and hear the organ, listen to a lecture, read the
exhibition, and climb the tower at the church, in order to view the area that they had just read about. For this day, we had 20
visitors, all over the age of 50.
Open Age History Group
Local historian Geoffrey Roome volunteered on this day as a guide and helper. Geoffrey has established a good relationship with
the church, having volunteered at all ‘Climb the Tower’ days – see the Open House London part of this report below for more
info. The Organ Scholar, Sam Barber, was also present to show the organ.
Open Age Men’s Group Feedback
This following feedback is taken from the Men’s Group Visit. Responses were as follows:
Did you know much about organs before you visited today?
Yes, being an organist!
I am an organist
No
No
No
No

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Please leave any of your comments about today below
Very interesting talk and recital. The history of the organ was clearly presented and the particular history of the St John’s organ
was fascinating!
Thank you for a wonderful recital today – Ben Comeau was brilliant – especially his improvisations! The talk by John Norman was
beautifully presented and very informative. Thank you.
Enjoyed it
Helpful. Enjoyed performance
Extremely interesting and eye opening and superb music played by the organists and tutors.
Open Age History Group Feedback
The Open Age History Group answered the same questions as other visitors to the exhibition. Questions and responses are
recorded below. Hand written feedback is included as an attachment with the project Completion Report. The group have very
good knowledge of the local area, so it was good to hear several times that they have learned something new about the history
of the area, and that the information was well researched and laid out. Many also comment that they have learned a great deal
about the organ, and that it was very good to be able to see inside at the mechanism and pipes.
What do you think was good about this exhibition?
Really informative – very well presented. Lovely organ music. I would recommend this exhibition to others. Also having lived in
the area for over 60 years made it all the more interesting.
Very clear and well displayed history panels. Great to see the organ working, and to hear and see it played.
Interesting texts (historical) paired with well researched visual (photos and maps), chronologically displayed to our modern
times.
What an excellent exhibition – so informative
Absolutely fantastic and educational
Very interesting and enlightening. Extremely impressed with the way it is set out
Very well researched & put together. Covers many different aspects of history – social etc
Very well displayed and interesting
The lecture on the organ was interesting, informative and comprehensive – most enjoyable. And the organ playing by the Organ
Scholar was greatly appreciated. The local history resource on the boards around the organ is well written, accurate and very
useful. The tour of the tower was an unforgettable experience and again most enjoyable
Very good history of the area, the church and the marvellous organ
Very clearly set out and shows the history of both the area and the church very clearly
Very interesting
The knowledge of the speakers, it was a really interesting informative talk and walkabout.
I found the visit most informative. The exhibition has been planned well, which was very interesting
Very clear text and good, helpful illustrations. Really brought the history of this area (my homes for 40 years) to life
What do you think could be better?
Could a small book be produced of the exhibition? Never knew it was on – more publicity
Can’t think of anything
Chain in front of organ when older people visit
Exhibition could not be bettered
Could you provide a history booklet with the display boards included so we could buy it for ?????????????
Nothing that I could think of though the tower would look nice with a clock as it would form a focal point for all
A little limited in space with a group of people
I think so. Lot to do.
To obtain a clearer view from the tower, by opening up more of the window space
I hope you can eventually improve the viewing from the spire, to enable viewing to pinpoint local landmarks
What new things have you learned?
Much about the organ how organs in general work – knew v. little before. Local history facts
How the organ was restored and about the very beginning of “Notting Hill” & about the “Hippodrome” in the mid 19th
Century.
Very interesting also the “Organ Makers”
A panorama of the ups and downs of the area
How complicated and difficult the organ is to play. Had no idea of what is involved.
About the organ
About how an organ works
That organs are very complicated and difficult to play! I have learned much about the organ. The history of the church and local
area – a compliment coming from a member of the local history group.
The Hippodrome racecourse

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Seeing the inside of the organ
I think those days people has done very hard work
All the history of the church, organ and how it works. The history of the area and the church itself
The history about the church & surrounding locality.
Has anything about this exhibition led you to change the way you think or feel?
Just that as local people it is grand to feel so much history is around us & we’re part of it.
I will listen to organ music with some knowledge – I was pleasantly surprised by the “powerful” sound of the music being played
during our visit.
It really touched me
Extra knowledge invaluable in an area I grew up in and have worked all my life
As a group we are from a local History Group (Open Age) we already knew some of the history of the area
I wish I’d visited sooner – I was born in Walmer Road in 1948 and this is my first visit
I think we all of us get together and make do better to improve
Did you enjoy this exhibition?
Very much excellent
Yes, very much
Oh yes – so interesting
Yes, very much
Yes, very much
Yes – very much
Yes
Very much
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes very much
Very much
Several member comment that they would like a booklet of the exhibition. Unfortunately, this was not possible to produce
because of the copyright issues involved with the images. Beyond this, the comments are all very positive.
The Ealing National Trust Association
From the Ealing National Trust website:
“Ealing National Trust Association (ENTA) was founded in 1980. Its purpose is two-fold: to enhance membership of the
National Trust, and to raise funds for the National Trust. To this end ENTA organises a programme of events which will
be of interest to National Trust members living in the Ealing area and which raise a small profit. Monies raised during
the year are donated to various National Trust projects.”
This group visited in March 2015. Unfortunately I do not have a picture of this group but I have this piece of feedback left by
their leader:
“I brought a group from the Ealing National Trust and was most impressed with the truly excellent display of local history. Every
member truly enjoyed the visit and we all learned so much. George Marin, Group Leader for Ealing National Trust”.
30 members attended on this day.
Exploring London and Beyond
Tour group leader Robin from Exploring London and Beyond came with 3 groups of 30 people each. He left the following
feedback:
“We all (30 of us in 3 groups) very much enjoyed our visit, seeing the innards of the organ, and the exhibition of the history of
Notting Hill – thank you Jamie, and thank you Sam for playing the organ to us. Robin”
Our Organ Scholar, Sam Barber, was on hand to show everyone the organ and answer questions.

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Further visits
The exhibition has gained in popularity, with many groups now visiting without asking ahead. These groups include the Camden
Forum and the Kensington and Chelsea Forum.
2. Informal tourist visits
As mentioned previously, the church has many tourists entering throughout the year. I wrote the following under the exhibition
entry in this report:
Numbers of visitors to the exhibition are difficult to quantify due to the fact that the church is open for a great deal of the time
(every day, at least 10am – 5.30pm) and there is not always someone present at the exhibition. However, we did a count during
the busy summer month of July (when there are lots of tourists) and 20 – 30 people visited per day, a total of 178 people in one
week (this counting was done by a Community Payback attendee). Many more people visit on Friday and Saturday when
Portobello Road Market is operating. These figures are consistent from May – September, so I estimate that over the 22 weeks of
this period we have nearly 4000 visitors. In winter the church has visitor numbers at about half this rate – we counted 84 during a
week in November. So for the remaining 30 weeks in the year through the months October - April, my estimate is 2,500 visitors.
This totals 6,500 visitors a year.
Over the two years that the organ has been in situ, this equals 6,500 visitors.
3. Two Open Days per year to include demonstrations, workshops, lectures and other
activities
Banner for the Open Day
The Activities Plan stipulates 4 open days, with two a year in May and November 2013 and 2014. The first problem with this was
that the original date of November 2014 would have been outside of the initially agreed project deadline (to finish in May 2014),
so this was an error in the Activities Plan. The second problem was that, due to the delay in organ restoration, we had less time
to fit 4 open days into. I felt that having 4 open days in fairly quick succession would lead to reduced numbers showing up
because people would not be interested in coming to so many, and also, spreading the advertising budget for the open days
over 4, I felt, would also lead to reduced numbers for each one. I came up with an alternative plan, in agreement with the HLF,
which I felt was much better. There would be one open day, which would have all the resources put into it, which would be
included in Open House London, and would have an evening event.
Open House London Day
I managed to have the organ included in the Open House London programme in September 2014. Open House London is an
architectural appreciation event that occurs throughout London during a weekend in September. Their theme in 2014 was
‘revealed’, as in revealing great architecture. Normally they do not include churches, because these buildings are usually open to
the public anyway, whereas Open House London likes to include buildings that would otherwise not be open.

95
Fliers for Open House Day, delivered to 15,000 local houses
I managed to persuade them to include the church by offering access inside the organ itself, and access up the church tower,
which had been inaccessible to the public since the church was built in 1845. This would reveal the inside of the organ (also
viewable through the glass panels and with use of the LED lights), and reveal the architecture surrounding the church, which sits
on top of a hill and is one of the tallest buildings in the borough. It would also reveal the inside of the tower.
Viewing the organ with Sam Barber; Adults using the organ models; Listening to John Norman’s talk; Children using the organ
model

96
The day was interspersed with four talks by John Norman on the history of the organ, and Simon Ablett (the church architect
and designer of the organ case), Andrew Fearn and James Mathison (the Organ Builders from T. W. Fearn & Son), and the Organ
Scholar (Sam Barber) all volunteered during the day, showing people the organ, talking about the restoration and the case and
so on. Lord and Lady Carrington volunteered by staying up the tower and telling people about the clock, bell and view. There
were several volunteers helping as stewards, including a member of the Community Payback programme. 15,000 fliers were
distributed to the local area, a banner and poster were all put on the railings, and the event was included in the Open House
London marketing materials. The event was also widely publicised on the internet, attractive to many online outlets – see press
cuttings at end of report, page 119.
We had over 500 attending on the 10am – 5pm day. This was more than could have been hoped for with the 4 separate open
days – I felt that they would not have attracted more than 50 people each. It generated a lot of interest in the organ, not just on
the day itself, but also online – several news outlets found this to be a compelling story, and used it to report on the organ
restoration in a broader sense (see several press cuttings at end of report, including article in Kensington and Chelsea Today on
page 128).
Inside the bell tower with Lord Carrington
The Open House Day was very successful at connecting local people with their heritage. Many people had come from the local
area in order to see their houses from the tower of the church. Climbing the tower has subsequently become a popular event at
the church, with the tower having been made accessible twice after this event (including once for the visit of the Open Age
History Group mentioned on page 92). There are plans to open it again in future, and to improve it as a viewing platform for the
local area. The combination of the tower and the exhibition will hopefully lead to St John’s being known as a centre for local
history in the area, and also may lead on to PIQAS and other such accreditation.
The Highest and Lowest Notes of an Organ
During the evening of this Open Day, Edward Henderson performed his piece of sound art for organ, called The Highest and
Lowest Notes of an Organ. This involved holding down the highest and lowest notes of the organ for 5 hours, between 5pm –
10pm. He described the piece of music as follows:
“The Highest and Lowest Notes on an Organ is an open score durational piece where the highest and lowest notes on
any organ are held down continuously. It explores organs as idiosyncratic found objects, fixed in different spaces –
machines that produce sound on an industrial scale. It will be performed for five hours from 5pm to 10pm at St John’s
Notting Hill.
Listeners will be able to come and go as they please, staying as long as they’d like and will be encouraged to move
around the space including round the back of the newly restored organ. It is an opportunity to explore the physicality of
the instrument, its relationship to its spatial and sonic environment and the nature and boundaries of your own
perception. There will also be the opportunity to participate - listeners can perform the piece of music for part of the
duration, holding down the highest and lowest notes.
Edward Henderson is a composer based in south London. He makes work with instructional scores, found sounds, found
objects, repetition, duration, physical theatre and audience participation. His work on this piece has so far included
making recordings (at St John’s College, Cambridge; St Stephen’s, South Dulwich; St Paul’s, Deptford; St Francis and St
Mark’s, Camberwell; and St John’s, Notting Hill https://soundcloud.com/edward-henderson/the-highest-and-lowest-
notes-on-an-organ-st-johns-notting-hill) and 10-minute performances at Bastard Assignments events
(www.bastardassignments.com) at Alessandro’s, Shoreditch (June 2014) and Block T, Dublin (July 2014).”

97
Edward Henderson had already visited St John’s to make a 10-minute recording of this piece, which has been published on
Soundcloud online and listened to 104 time:
This 5-hour long performance was the longest time that the piece had been performed. He was aided by two volunteers during
the performance, in order to finish it.
The Highest and Lowest Notes of An Organ (left to right): At the beginning; in the middle (with helper); towards the end.
Those who entered the building also had the opportunity to hold down the notes, which included the Vicar of St John’s Notting
Hill, The Rev’d Canon Dr William Taylor:

98
50 people came and went during this time. It added a new audience for the organ, with those who interested in sound art and
experimentation visiting. It was also good to have another recording of the organ online.
The Highest and Lowest Notes Feedback
This feedback is provided by Edward Henderson, composer of the piece.
Name: Edward Henderson
Gender: Male
Age: 25
Ethnicity: White British
My piece The Highest and Lowest Notes on an Organ playfully explores organs as idiosyncratic found objects, fixed in different
spaces. The piece untangles the cultural freight of the organ as an instrument and symbol of religion and high Western musical
culture and draws attention to them as machines that have the capacity to continuously produce sound on an industrial scale.
The experience of performing the piece throughout the afternoon allowed me to reflect on how the sounds behaved within the
space of the church over time.
I’ve highlighted in particular the part where he writes that his piece challenges the conception of the organ in this country.
Visits and Open Days Conclusion
850 people visited the church for the open days and visits, and an estimated 6,500 people visited the church as tourists. This
combination is more than the 2,000 that was stipulated in our Activities Plan.
The various organ clubs and societies that visited have ‘plugged’ the organ into the main networks of the national ‘organ scene’,
with all the benefits this entails – increased publicity, usage and knowledge of the organ.
The Open House London was a very successful day. The opening of the tower will occur regularly at St John’s Notting Hill, as the
church strives to be even more of a community centre and tourist spot. The Open House day attracted local people, architecture
aficionados, history and heritage enthusiasts, and experimental music lovers all together.
The groups most interested in visiting were music/organ related groups and local history. It is a shame we could not persuade
more arts, culture, engineering and other such groups to visit, but that proved more difficult to organise.

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Note on Talented Young Musicians - Scholars
The third key aim, mentioned at the beginning of this document, was:
Beyond the many performance opportunities afforded to young musicians – such as for The Hermes Experiment (see page 79),
Edward Henderson (see page 96), organists Ben Comeau (see page 91) and Christopher Baczkowski (see page 77), composers
Kate Whitley (see page 81) and Matthew Wood (see page 59) and so on – the main beneficiaries of this aim are the church’s
new Scholars. The church began a Scholarship scheme in September 2013, with 4 Choral Scholars and 1 Organ Scholar. Each
musician is awarded a scholarship per academic year, where they learn from the church’s experienced Director of Music and
gain invaluable experience as professional musicians. They sing or play in a service on most Sundays. The Scholars are usually
still at university or have recently graduated, and are at a stage in their careers where this opportunity will make a great
difference to their prospects. This scheme would not have been possible without the restoration of the organ, and it is financed
via the goodwill that has been created because of the organ restoration. There have been 8 Choral Scholarships and 2 Organ
Scholarships since the project began (5 for each year).
The Scholars also perform for several events outside of Sundays. Examples in this project include:
 All Choral Scholars performed at the Peace Concert (see page 59)
 All Choral Scholars were recorded for the If I Have Freedom piece of music (see page 61)
 The Organ Scholars having a recital each in the Recital Series 2014 and 2015 (see page 74)
 One Choral Scholar sang in one of the organ recitals in the Recital Series in 2014 (see page 74)
 All Scholars performed at the Volunteer Appreciation Event in December 2014 (see page 110)
Scholars have also had the opportunity to be involved elsewhere in the project. Examples include:
 Both Organ Scholars helping to organise the Recital Series 2014 and 2015 (see page 74)
 Organ Scholar Daniel Marx was involved in 11 school visits for Black History month, playing the organ for the children
and answering questions (see page 12)
 Organ Scholar Sam Barber was involved in many club and society visits and adult learning days, playing the organ and
answering questions (see page 94)
 Choral Scholar Laurel Neighbour led the children in singing for the Black History Month workshops, and was a volunteer
at the Organ and Orchestra school workshops (see page 12)
They have also sung and played at many other events, and will continue to do so for years to come.
Choral Scholars and Organ Scholar at St John’s Notting Hill

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Website – www.stjohnsorganproject.com
The website shows: details of the restoration; information about the organ; concerts, events and activities listings; school
workshops info; an opportunity to watch the Video College film and listen to the If I Have Freedom recording; and photos for
everything. I have included some screenshots below. The website has become both a useful resource for seeing what is going on
in the project, and also for information about organs and hold they work.
Home Screen
The organ, including restoration details

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The Video College Film
If I have Freedom recording

105
Thank you
Note: The Heritage Lottery Fund logo is included in the header of every page on the website.
Photo gallery
Website numbers
I have been regularly updating this website throughout the course of the project, having created it in June 2012. I started
tracking it with Google Analytics on 31st
July 2014, two years after it was built, and in the 10 months between 31st
July 2014 and
25th
June 2015, it has had 6,403 visitors. A rough estimate for the whole project (multiplying this figure by 3) would give 19,209
visitors over the course of the project.

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Volunteers
“I felt really good in helping in such a brilliant event for the community” Erica Fletcher, Silent Film Volunteer
Many volunteers took part in the project, and I have mentioned most of them above. This section provides an overview of
volunteers in the project.
Community Payback
We had many people helping from the government’s Community Payback programme, which is described as follows on the
government’s website:
You may get a community sentence if you’re convicted of a crime by a court but are not sent to prison.
You may have to do unpaid work in your local community, like removing graffiti. This is called Community Payback.
Community sentences can be given for crimes such as:
 damaging property
 benefit fraud
 assault
You may get a community sentence if:
 the court thinks you’re more likely to stop committing crime than if you go to prison
 it’s the first time you have committed a crime
 you have a mental health condition that affects your behaviour
https://www.gov.uk/community-sentences/overview
Community Payback members had two main functions in the project.
One member, who was a professional photographer, took photos when Ashburnham school visited, and worked with me to
upload these onto the church computer (care was taken to make sure these were deleted immediately from the camera so that
only the church retained copies). His photos are seen in this report under the organ model section (see page 20). He spent a
morning doing this. He also took photos of the church and of the organ, which he let us use freely.
Secondly, many community payback members acted as stewards on certain concerts and events. This included:
 The Open House Day (one member, all day from 10am – 10pm, see page 94)
 The silent film nights Wings and Steamboat Bill Jr (one member for each, 5pm – 10pm, see page 68)
 Preparing for school workshops by moving benches and putting out equipment
 Organ recital series (see page 74)
The Community Payback members were part of a scheme at St John’s Notting Hill, and would help with many other things, such
as folding leaflets, putting posters up on the railings, collecting printed items from the print shops, counting visitors to the
church and so on. It is difficult to put a total on how many were involved in this respect. However, I know certainly that there
were 3 who acted as stewards; 1 who organised the tea dance; and one to take photographs, totalling 5. They contributed over
200 hours over the course of the project.
Community Payback member feedback
This feedback is from Erica Fletcher, who helped at the silent film night Steamboat Bill Jr:
Please put your name, age, ethnicity, and gender
Erika Andrea Fletcher
age 36
Colombian

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How did you feel about helping on the evening for the silent film Steamboat Bill Jr?
I felt really good in helping in such a brilliant event for the community
What did you think about organs before and after this event? Did your opinions change?
At the beginning as I had never been in a silent film before I thought the organs we’re not going to go with the film, but after I
thought it was absolutely amazing they were a big part of the film I loved it
Did you think that this was a good or bad way to complete your community payback hours?
I think it was a brilliant way I would definitely do it again...
University of Nottingham Work Experience Module
The University of Nottingham’s Department of Music has a module for students called Work Experience. Students are expected
to gain experience in the various fields that they may find themselves in at the end of their degrees.
I had Victoria Powell helping me for 10 Mondays, 10am – 5pm, 3rd
February – 7th
April 2014, assisting with bringing together the
first recital series for the organ (see page 74). She helped to design printed materials, market the concerts online and in other
venues, researched the information to be included in the programmes for the different recitals, and liaised with the artists
about their requirements. She contributed 7 hours a day, for 10 days, totalling 70 hours.
Erasmus Student
Maria Fernandez joined us on the Erasmus scheme in order to improve her English. She stewarded at every organ concert in the
first recital series (6 in total, 5pm – 9pm, see page 74), and she translated all of the materials for the project into Spanish (we
didn’t use these in the end because the translations were not precise, so it became more of a task to improve her English skills).
She spent 50 hours in total assisting with the project.
History Exhibition Volunteers
20 volunteers helped to research and write the history exhibitions surrounding the organ (see page 41). Total hours recorded as
being contributed was 476 – please see the time monitoring sheets included with the Completion Report. Some volunteers were
bad at handing these on, so I believe that there were more hours spent than this.
Tea Dance Organisers
Alan Quan and Kieran Das Gupta spent 100 hours each on organising the tea dances (see page 36). Total 200 hours
School workshops
A volunteer called Josephine Robinson helped at the beginning of the project with putting together a database, contacting lots
of schools to inform them about the project, designing some materials for the children to use, and assisting at the pre-
restoration school workshops (see page 10). She contributed 42 hours during this time. She could not stay throughout the
project as she had to move to Bristol in 2012. Four volunteers contributed on the Orchestra and Organ days (see page 16),
stewarding the large groups of children. This lasted for 2 hours per person, totalling 8 hours. Three volunteers were also present
at 12 out of the 24 Organ Model workshops (see page 20). They assisted with directing the children in the activities, and one
volunteer, Catherine Townsend, lead one of the workshops after she felt experienced enough to do so. This totalled 6 hours of
volunteer time. The church’s Organ Scholar, Daniel Marx, volunteered at 11 Black History Month workshops (see page 12), a
total of 22 hours. The total is therefore 36 hours of volunteer time.
The Video College
All of the film makers from the Video College are considered volunteers (see page 32). They contributed 756.5 hours in total to
the project – please see the time monitoring sheets included with the Completion Report.

108
Adult Learning Course
There were 2 volunteers helping at each of the five sessions in the adult learning course run by Rootless Garden (see page 38).
They contributed 3 hours per session, totalling 30 hours. They role included leading on the workshop activities, such as flower
arranging and playing the organ, as well as preparing for each workshop – for example, by visiting flower markets beforehand.
Concerts, events, visits and open days
I have calculated the following numbers of volunteers who took part during the events, performing the tasks associated with
concert and visit organisation:
 Open House Day (see page 94): 10 volunteers at 10 hours each, leading workshops, being tour guides, answering
questions, playing the organ etc. Total 100 hours
 Visits by interest clubs (see page 87): 6 volunteers contributing 5 hours each, including stewards, leaders, tour guides,
talks, and the Organ Scholar to play the organ. Total 30 hours
 jtunes recording (see page 85): this was organised and led by a volunteer called John Miley, 10 hours in total, and the
sound engineer, Tom White, also volunteered his time for 10 hours that day: Total 20 hours
 Sangerstevne concert (see page 84): 3 volunteers assisting as steward, bar staff, and playing the organ. At 5 hours each.
Total 15 hours.
 Resonance FM visit (see page 82): 5 volunteers, including the church’s Organ Scholar and the 4 members of the radio
station, at 2 hours each. Total 10 hours.
 Georgian Cultural Event (see page 82): 5 volunteers as stewards, tickets, publicity, at 5 hours each. Total 25 hours.
 Project R (see page 81): 14 volunteers producing 60 hours’ worth of volunteer time. This includes sound mixers, film
projector technicians, stewards, food and drink serving, publicity etc.
 Silent Film nights (see page 68) – this does not include the Community Payback members mentioned above: 13
volunteers in total as stewards, staff, cleaning up, and looking after the equipment, at 5 hours each. Total 65 hours.
 Organ Recital series 2014 and 2015 (see page 74): The two Organ Scholars helped to organise the recital series (booking
organists, designing publicity, designing concert etc) and the compered at each of the 11 concerts. Total volunteer
time for this was 120 hours.
 Balkan Organ Carnival Concert (see page 62): 15 people totalling 50 hours of volunteer time, on publicity, fliering,
Facebook, and sound.
 Peace Concert (see page 59): 2 stewards on the evening, totalling 10 hours volunteer time.
 Kensington Singers (see page 55): 4 volunteers at 5 hours each, total 20 hours. On music sheet preparation, publicity,
preparing the venue and cleaning up etc.
 Fulham and Hammersmith Choral Society (see page 54): 12 people contributing 90 hours of volunteer time. Includes
publicity, preparing the venue, stewards, bar staff, music printing, library visiting etc.
 Thomas Trotter inaugural recital (see page50): 4 stewards at 5 hours each, total 20 hours.
 Organiser of Lunchtime concerts recital series (see page 59): 1, averaging 5 hours a week. Two concerts were put on, so
this totals 10 hours during this project.
Total: 645 hours
Music Librarian
Jim May volunteered as a music librarian, codifying all of the new music that was bought to support the Scholars and the music
programme at the church, with a much organ music included. This was a new position that came about during the course of the
project, particularly since the creation of the music library was possible using HLF funds. Jim contributed 20 hours to this over
the course of the project.
Music Librarian Feedback
Jim May, American (post-retirement age)
What did you enjoy about volunteering as music librarian?
It was an opportunity to help prepare them for their future expanded use of music in their services.

109
I'm not sure there is much that I can add. The only thing they could use is more money to allow them to purchase more scores
Do you think that your knowledge of organs improved as a result of this activity?
Not really. My musical abilities run to trombone not organs. I am one who enjoys music, all types of music.
Any other comments?
Part of my interest was due to the fact that I perform a similar role in my local church here in Texas. I have found that this type
of help allows the professional musicians more time to do their tasks. They get to be more effective.
Accountant
The church’s accountant, Anthea Nembhard, contributed 30 hours of volunteering, helping me with budget management, and
making sure that the correct accountancy practices were in place for the project. This volunteer was also not specified in the
original Activities Plan.
Left out
Many volunteers have taken part in the project but have not been recorded above. This is because it is not always easy to record
who is doing what when, because many people are volunteering at St John’s on diverse projects involving the organ.
An example of an overlooked volunteer would be the Notting Hill Mayfest Manager and their team. Each year, a volunteer
manages the Notting Hill Mayfest, a month long arts festival that takes place in multiple venues in Notting Hill, centring around
St John’s Notting Hill. In 2013, 2014, and 2015, each manager (and their team members) contributed to the organisation of
several organ recitals and events that took place during the festivals. It is hard to say how much each person contributed.
However, as a ball park figure, I was the manager in 2015, and I worked on the festival for the equivalent of one day a week.
Duties included designing the brochure, fliers and website, booking acts, all sorts of logistical concerns, and everything else that
goes into event organisation. I have given about 100 hours to the Mayfest in 2015. I am certain that the other two Managers
would have contributed something equivalent to this.
Volunteer Numbers
Here is a table showing the above information
Volunteers
Who Activity Number of people Hours contributed
Community Payback
Members
Photography,
stewarding, setting
up, and various
administrative jobs
4 100
University of
Nottingham Work
Placement Student
Victoria Powell
Organising the recital
series in 2014
1 70
Erasmus Student
Maria Fernandez
Stewarding at the
recital series 2014 and
translating materials
into Spanish
1 50
Exhibition Volunteers Researching n
libraries, archives,
internet etc, and
writing up
information. In one
case, contributing a
drawing to the
exhibition
20 476

110
Tea Dance organisers Concept, marketing,
publicity, being there
on the day etc
2 200
School Workshops Setting up, assisting
on the days, the Organ
Scholar leading
segments
9 78
The Video College Creating the film for
the restoration
18 756.5
Adult Learning
Course
Preparation, leading
workshop elements
on the day
2 30
Concerts, events,
visits, open days
Tour guides, organ
playing, publicity,
stewarding, set up and
take down,
communications,
budgeting etc
100 645
Music Librarian Creating and codifying
the new music library
1 20
Accountant Help with budgeting
and setting up
accounts for the grant
1 30
Totals 159 2455.5
There was a target of 100 volunteers in the project, contributing £72,000 of volunteer time. We met both of these targets – we
reached the £72,000 of volunteer time at the beginning of 2015 and have had many extra volunteer contributions to the project
since then.
Volunteer appreciation events
There were two primary volunteer appreciation events. The first was the inaugural recital with Thomas Trotter in May 2014 (see
page 50). There was good food, wine and music at this event. The second event was held in December 2014, with food, drink,
and entertainment. All volunteers in the project were invited to these events.
Volunteer Appreciation Event December 2014 and food at Thomas Trotter in May 2014
The photo above to the left shows the church’s Choral and Organ Scholars performing at the volunteer appreciation event in
December 2014.

111
Numbers of People
I have provided numbers of people who have interacted with the organ here in some way. This is a summary taken from
numbers shown in the different sections of the report.
Numbers of those who visited the organ to take part in activities
These numbers show people who have entered the church and engaged with the organ.
Activity Who Numbers
All school workshops and visits
(see page 10 through to page 29)
Children and teachers/teaching assistants 1,265
Documenting the restoration: Video
College Film (see page 32)
Young film-makers and 6
supervisors/trainers
24
Adult Learning (see page 35) Participants (attendees and deliverers) in
lectures, tea dances and learning course
502
Concerts and Recitals (see page 49) Audience numbers 3,035
Concerts and Recitals (see page 49) Performers 435
Visits and Open Days (see page 87) Attendees 850
Visits and Open Days (see page 87) Deliverers/performers 17
Volunteers (see page 109) All volunteers for project 159
Total Everyone 6,287
Estimated Tourist Visits
This number is extrapolated from two weeks of counting tourist visits in the year – for people who actually engaged with the
organ, not just entered the church.
Exhibition and organ as a heritage
object (see page 94)
Visitors (not including those who attended
events – these people are already counted
above) at 3,250 per year, so 6,500 over the
two years that the organ was in situ
6,500
Total 6,500
Verified online figures
The following numbers show proven online figures for various elements
Balkan Organ Carnival Youtube
videos (see page 62)
Online viewers 5104
Ed Henderson recording
(see page 96)
Online listeners 104
www.stjohnsorganproject.com –
Organ project website (see page 100)
All visitors to Organ Project website,
including for information on events, about
the organ, listening to recordings and
watching the Video College film. Visitors
have only been recorded using Google
Analytics since July 31st
2014, when the site
has been up since July 2012. Until June 25th
2015, this totalled 6,403 visitors. I am
multiplying by 3 for the entire project.
19,209
Total Everyone 24,417

112
Printed brochure and flier circulations
The following numbers show printed materials that were delivered to houses in Notting Hill. These printed materials either
feature the organ as the part, or feature the organ in a substantial way. All of these materials were designed by myself.
Four organ event printed leaflet
(see page 56)
With details about Carol concerts, with film
Wing, Choral Evensong, and Remembrance
service. Printed and delivered to local area.
10,000
Open House London printed flier
(see page 94)
Details about Open House London day,
printed and sent to local area
15,000
Notting Hill Mayfest brochures
(see page 77)
Notting Hill Mayfest included several organ
events in 2014 and 2015. 16,000 brochures
were sent out to the local area in these two
years. (This printing and delivery was not
funded by HLF money, but featured HLF
funded events).
16,000
Total 41,000
Printed media circulations
The organ included as a feature in part of a larger magazine/newspaper/guide with these circulation (see the Press Cuttings on
page 119)
London Concert Organ Guide
(see page 133)
Readers of the guide. The organ has
been in two guides, with a circulation of
13,000 each
26,000
Organists’ Review Magazine
(see page 119)
Readers of magazine 13,000
Choir & Organ Magazine
(see page 123)
Articles included in two editions with
4,000 circulation, with many more
downloaded online
8,000
Church Building & Heritage Review
Magazine (see page 129)
Article included in edition of magazine ? – It was not possible to
establish circulation
numbers
The Kensington Magazine
(see page 132)
The Recital Series in the What’s On
section in 2014 and 2015 editions.
Circulation: 34,500 each year
69,000
The Notting Hill and Holland Park
Magazine (see page 126)
Articles included in three editions
20,500 circulation to residential homes,
4,200 to business addresses (estimated
265,150 readers per month, according to
press pack, due to popularity with
businesses)
795,450
The Kensington and Chelsea Today
(see page 128)
Inclusion of Open House Day and info
about organ restoration in one edition
Readership is 80,000
80,000
Total 991,450

113
Further inclusion on online/radio/TV with only rough numbers known
These numbers represent hits for entire websites, and are not particularly accurate in representing actual numbers of people
who have directly engaged with the organ at St John’s Notting Hill, but do show the breadth of the reach of the organ
restoration.
Resonance FM
(see page 82)
Listeners of station. FM is unknown, online receives
‘tens of thousands’
Organrecitals.com
(see page 144)
Visitors to organ concerts listings
website
100,000 per month
BBC Scotland
(see page 85)
Watchers of programme about
Lockerbie Bombing
I could not find out this
information
Royal School of Church Music
website (see page 134)
Readers of article about restoration
on website
I could not find out this
information
Other online sources
(see page 134)
For example, Notting Hill Post and
The Hill Blog, Twitter, Facebook,
various other online sources (see
press clippings for examples of all
of these)
Do not know
Open House London Open Day
(see page 94)
People who read their marketing
materials, including printed, online
and phone apps.
Their website claims that their
marketing reaches ‘millions [of
people] annually’.
Numbers of People Summary
Totals shown below
Summary
Activity Total Numbers
Actual visitors to the church and organ: 6,287
Estimated tourist visits 6,500
Verified online visitors to organ-related items: 24,417
Printed flier and brochure circulation to local houses: 41,000
Readership of printed press with organ included: 991,450
Other sources, including radio, TV and online: unknown, likely to be many thousands

114
Review
I’ve reviewed all of the items when referring to them in the rest of the report. In this brief recap, I will work through the Key
Aims shown at the beginning of this report, and under each one I will write about what elements of the project have contributed
to the aim. I will then provide a conclusion for this report.
Key Aims of the project
1. By providing learning opportunities for young people that are focussed on the heritage of the historic organ, its
history and its music.
and
2. By focussing on core curriculum subjects through the history and structure of the historic organ (such subjects
including literacy, numeracy, science, music, history, religious education and the arts)
1,065 school children visited (see page 10 through to page 29), to take part in school worships that focused particularly on music
(the music of the organ), engineering (how the organ works) and history (the abolishment of slavery and the history of Notting
Hill), with elements of numeracy (for example, discussing how many pipes there are), science (discussing how the size of a pipe
changes the pitch) and religious education (discussing the organ’s purpose in Christian worship). The education packs contain
several exercises for children to carry out around the other subjects.
There were several activities for young people who were not visiting with schools. This includes the Bach to Baby concert for
toddlers (see page 84), and the Open Days where organ models were available to young people who attended (see page 94).
The Video College also trained young people in film making, focusing on the heritage and restoration of the organ (see page 32).
The 8 Scholars involved with the project have all gained valuable training for developing their musical skills. Many young
musicians have had the opportunity to play the organ, or play in an ensemble with an organist – for example Edward
Henderson, Christopher Baczkowski, Ben Comeau, and composer Kate Whitley. The talented young people of The Video College
developed their film-making skills (see page 99).
4. Providing young adults with opportunities to participate as volunteers
A great deal of young adults volunteered throughout the project, for example as Exhibition Researchers, events organisers,
school workshop leaders, the Erasmus student and the student from the University of Nottingham (see page 106).
5. Providing families with opportunities to participate in community events
Bach to Baby was an event specifically for toddlers and their parents (see page 94). Parents were also present to see their
children sing in the school choir (see page 58). Many families attended the open days and visits, particularly the Open House
London day (see page 94).
6. Providing older people with opportunities to participate in learning through an appreciation of the organ, its history
and its music
This was achieved through the adult learning course, tea dance and three lectures (see page 35), as well as in the many visits,
tours and open days (see page 87). For example, the Open Age Men’s Group and the Open Age History Group both visited (see
page 90), alongside the Royal College of Organists adult learning groups (see page 89).
7. Providing older people with opportunities to enjoy music in a safe and welcoming environment
The many events and concerts that took place enabled this. The frequent positive feedback about the church shows that it is an
open, welcoming place (for example, see Volunteer Exhibition Researcher feedback on page 43).

115
8. Providing older people with opportunities to participate as trained volunteers and thereby give them a sense of
achievement and purpose
The older people involved with the Exhibition Research all had this opportunity, as did many of the stewards at various concerts
and events. The music librarian and accountant were both ‘older people’ as were the tea dance organisers and many more of
the community payback members (see page 106).
9. Preserving an extremely rare historic organ for future generations to enjoy and presenting it in an innovative and
accessible way
The organ has been completely restored. The glass panels on the sides and LEDs inside, combined with the organ model on the
back, are all innovative (see page 8).
10. Strengthening the relationship between the church of St John’s Notting Hill and the communities around it
All of the events have fulfilled this aim, with much feedback showing this (for example, the tea dance feedback on page 37). The
church goes from strength to strength in its role as a centre of the community.
Conclusion
I believe the project can be considered a big success. As shown in this report, we outperformed many of the targets we
submitted in our Activities Plan, in terms of numbers of people involved. The church engaged with multiple audiences and
communities through a varied activities programme, engaging many different people with the heritage of this country.
The history exhibition (see page 41) will continue to be used by many people for years to come. The information in the
exhibition has been highly rated by all who view it. It attracts those who are looking for knowledge about the local area,
including tour groups and history clubs (see page 87). It is also used by the many tourists who visit the church (see page 111),
and by the many people who are attending one of the numerous events that happen at the church – there are several each
week. As word continues to spread, it is hoped that the church will grow as a tourist destination. The continued opening of the
church tower, which gives views out over the area, will contribute to this (see page 94).
The organ, as an attraction and as an object for learning (with the glass panels on the sides and LED lights inside, see page 8),
was also hugely popular. This is evidenced by the Royal College of Organist’s continued use of the organ as a learning instrument
(see page 89), and by the continued links with schools. Every local school has visited and is aware that the organ is a very useful
tool for learning across the curriculum, particularly in relation to the history of the local area, music, science and engineering
(see page 10 through to page 29). Schools and other organisations also have the option of using the organ models that are
available. John Norman, the organ adviser for this project (and one of Britain’s preeminent organ advisers), has said in every
presentation he has given to the numerous organ clubs that have attended, including The Organ Club and to the British Institute
of Organ Studies (see page 87), that the organ will be noted for:
 Its fine tone remaining unchanged
 The pneumatic Barker action - now quiet in operation
 The organ can at last be heard in the nave and well-balanced to the needs of the congregation
 The educational facilities provided- as prompted by the Heritage Lottery Fund
 Simon Ablett’s innovative modernist case
 Alison Henham’s Eagle
The organ is well known for these education facilities amongst the organ profession (they have discovered this via organ visits,
releases in the press associated with organs - see press cuttings on page 119 - and the success of several high profile organ
concerts, when many people who work with organs attended), and it is felt that, should a teacher require an organ for learning
days and so on, there is a good chance that the organ at St John’s Notting Hill could become part of their plans.
Beyond these educational activities, the organ is simply known as a fascinating object amongst those tourists and others who
visit, much like a windmill or lighthouse, for example. The educational facilities have opened it up to the public. This was shown
by the immense popularity of the Open House day (see page 94), which brought many people in the community up close to the
organ. The organ is open and accessible to the public.

116
These three children use the organ – they were not attending the church as part of any workshops, they were simply visiting
This sort of learning is supervised against any adverse use.
One disappointment is that the organ does not feature permanently in any regular printed guide that a tourist could consult. I
feel confident that, given time, it will feature more and more (than it does already) on local guides, blogs, and information
websites for Notting Hill, as something to do if one is visiting this area.
The events programme has also been a big success, appealing to many different and varied audiences – with world music, sound
art, film, dance, and classical organ music events held amongst a varied programme. The annual organ recital series (see page
77) will definitely continue, as will the silent films (see page 68 - the next silent film night has already been organised on
Saturday October 24th
2015), the tea dances (see page 36), and the choral music programme featuring the Scholars and Director
of Music (see page 99). The organ will also surely be used in many choir concerts and other events as well – several events are
already booked as I write this report. St John’s Notting Hill has recently completed a £1.25 million restoration campaign, making
it very suitable as a venue for events. Having the building in such good condition, combined with an organ that is fully restored
and in excellent working order, will mean that the church becomes even more popular than it already is.
The church also successfully supported young talented musicians (and will continue to do so with the Scholarship scheme, see
page 99), and there were many opportunities for people to use sound and video technology to record the organ (for example,
see page 82). New technology and media were used throughout, with a large online and social media presence (see Twitter and
Facebook on page 145). The traditional printed media was also utilised and led on to great success – the 15,000 printed fliers for
Open House London were instrumental in introducing the organ to the local area, for example (see page 94). The same is true of
the organ’s inclusion in local newspapers, and online on blogs and other Notting Hill news and events websites (see press
cuttings at the end of this report, page 119).
The restoration work to the organ is considered to be very successful – despite the delay. Many visitors comment approvingly
about the organ’s tonal qualities, and enjoy the fact that one can hear it speaking from a previous century. This is born out in
the popular recital series (see page 77) that we have put on throughout the project. It is considered to be an excellent example
of a Georgian instrument.
The biggest disappointment in the project was the inability to get in secondary school children, despite much effort. This was a
great shame. The reason for this is that secondary schools were much harder to engage with than primary schools. These
schools also require a much greater level of advanced planning, and a more precise connection with their curriculums – this can
be a very large task, almost as much work as everything else in the activities project combined. Secondary schools very rarely

117
visit in an instance of, for example, them feeling it might simply be a ‘good day out’ for their children, with educational benefit. I
think we did not properly get to grips with their more complex needs – this, combined with the difficulty in engaging with them
in the first place, made it very hard to have them visit.
This ties in with the overarching theme of how I think some things could have been done better. The most important thing, in
my experience, is to understand what an outside organisation, or group of people, wants before organising the event. We could
organise the best adult-learning event in the world, but if no one is interested in that particular activity, then no one will come.
The tea dance was a big success because it involved the organiser from beginning to end, leaving him to decide exactly what
would attract people. The adult learning course was unsuccessful because we designed the content ourselves without asking
people what they would like to learn. If doing this again, I would go to an organisation which already puts on adult learning
events, and ask them to do something using the church organ that would appeal to their learners.
This is true of the secondary schools. If these workshops were put on again, I would visit a school, try to meet a music teacher
very far in advance, and ask them what activity involving an organ would lead them to visit. I did this with the primary school
teachers, consulting with them about the school workshop activities we put on before they visited, which led on to success in
this area. However, these primary schools were easier to please (relatively speaking – it still required lots of persistence), so this
task was less formidable than what is was with secondary schools.
In terms of ‘deadweight’, it is safe to say that none of these events would have happened if the church had not received the HLF
grant to restore the organ. All of them relate to its restoration. Many other events would surely have occurred in the church, but
nothing to do with a restored organ. Receiving the HLF grant not only allowed the church to put on all of these activities, but it
also signified that the church was serious in its ambition to increase its role as a hub of the local and London-wide community. It
was a show of confidence at the beginning of the church’s restoration campaign, where eventually £1.25 million was raised to
improve the facilities of the church. It now has excellent community rooms, much improved accessibility, and has had many
building work inside to improve its acoustics and attractiveness. The church has ‘stepped up’ to an increased level of activity.
I have greatly enjoyed managing this project and seeing this increased activity occur. I have been fortunate to have had the
opportunity to be involved in everything that happened, in lots of different ways. It has been very rewarding to work with all the
different people in many varied activities. This includes coming up with ideas and concepts for activities, designing the fliers,
posters, programmes and the other marketing materials, organising the requirements for the event days, and relishing the
atmosphere of a sold-out event. I have learned many skills myself, and made numerous friends.
To finish, I have included on the next page a copy of an encouraging letter received from Paul Singleton (no relation to me)
during the course of the project. He was organist at St John’s Notting Hill in 1975/76, and writes that even back then he spent
his days “struggling to get anything musical from the old beast.” He comments that he learned about the Organ Restoration in
Organists’ Review, having read the article that I wrote for that magazine (included at the press cuttings at the end of this
report). He also had read about the restoration in the London Organ Concert Guide (also included in the press cuttings), as well
as in a newsletter from The Organ Club (one of the many publicity items which I was not aware of). This reflects my previous
point that this organ restoration is well-known in the organ profession, and has received much publicity.
He also comments that the organ’s new position should greatly improve its usefulness for accompanying singing (which it has
done), and he writes that it has many fine sounds, mentioning the great posaune and several sounds on the choir.
He finishes by writing that he is “so glad that St John’s appears to be thriving once again. The last time I visited, 1991, I could not
get past the locked front door!” This is certainly not the case in present times, when the church is open most days, 8.30am –
5.30pm, and frequently outside of those hours as well.
Jamie Singleton
Activities Manager

118
Feedback Letter from Paul Singleton

119
The Organ Project in the Media – Press Cuttings
Here I have included several articles in the media regarding the organ restoration. This includes in the printed press, online, and
social media.
In Print
Organists’ Review
I was asked to write this article following the successful Thomas Trotter inaugural recital. It was one of the main features in the
magazine. Organists’ Review has a circulation of 13,000.

123
Choir & Organ Magazine – two articles
Choir & Organ has a circulation of 4,000, and I was told that they have many people who download the magazine – they cannot
track these numbers. We had two articles publishes in two different editions the magazine, so total circulation was 8,000.
Article 1:

126
Notting Hill and Holland Park Magazine
Three events were includes in three separate editions of Notting Hill and Holland Park Magazine – the main glossy mag for this
area. The magazine has a circulation of 20,500 to residential homes, and 4,200 to business. In their press pack, they say total
readership is 795,450.
The silent film ‘Wings’:
The Christmas Carol Concert:

127
Recital series in May 2015:

128
Kensington and Chelsea Today
Information about the restoration, Open House London open day, and Wings. Readership: 80,000
Diocese of London Annual Report
Circulated to all churches in London, and available on the Diocesan website.

129
Church Building and Heritage Review Magazine
Circulation: could not discover this information. Website claims that “Church Building & Heritage Review Magazine keeps
leading architects and decision-makers informed of developments in the ecclesiastical and heritage sectors

132
The Kensington Magazine
Circulation: 34,500. We were included in the What’s On section in two editions.

133
The London Organ Concerts Guide
Printed guide with (paid-for) organ recital listings. The organ at St John’s has been in two guides, with a circulation of 13,000
each.

134
Online media (selected examples)
Most events were advertised in many places on the internet. I am going to put a selction here, to give a general idea.
The Royal School of Church Music

135
Notting Hill Post
Very popular Notting Hill news blog, funded by The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea council. This is one of many
inclusions on the blog.

136
The Guide to Notting Hill
Another very popular Notting Hill blog – this one is a lifestyle blog. This is one of many included events on the blog.

138
Diocese of London Website
Very popular website for the Church of England Diocese of London

139
City Living Local Life
Blog funded by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea council. This shows an example of how the Adult Learning course
was publicised, but unfortunately numbers were low.

140
Open House London website
For when the organ was part of the Open House London weekend. Open House’s website claims their marketing reaches
‘millions annually’.

141
The Sampler
Sound art website

142
London Calling
Very popular online listing website

143
Time out
Huge listings website
All in London
Another large online listings website

144
Organrecitals.com
Largest online organ recital listings website – all recitals listed here

145
Twitter
Hundreds of tweets have been sent out during the project. Below are a select example, taken from other organisations tweeting
about the organ, and tweets coming from St John’s Notting Hill – the church has tweeted many times, with all tweets being
posted on its Facebook page. This has helped the organ reach audiences who use social media.
Tweet from the London Poppy Appeal
Tweet from Notting Hill Life, Notting Hill blogger with many followers
Silent London, biggest Silent Film listings and info website in London

146
Organists’ Review
The Heritage Lottery Fund London

147
Kensington and Chelsea Today – newspaper
Notting Hill News, Notting Hill blog site

148
Notting Hill Blog, note about the Fulham Gazette, The Londonist, The Royal College of Organists, Twentysomethinglondon all
tweet
Arts Award Voice, Jesus College Choir,

150
Local school and random audience members
This person tweets about their RCO class
Rootless Garden about the learning course

151
Exhibition and organ model are popular with church visitors
Tweets about the Open House day

152
Performing organists
Performing sound-artists

153
Tea dance organisers
HLF officers

154
The Notting Hill Mayfest
Notting Hill Life blogger

155
Fulham and Hammersmith Choral Society

157
Examples of tweets from the church – many more like this

158
Facebook:
There were many posts on Facebook, including all tweets from St John’s Notting Hill (these were all simultaneously posted on
Facebook). I am showing some examples below.

Evaluation Report St John Notting Hill Low Quality

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