About the Festival
The Fyvie Festival, running from 31 October to 4 November in Fyvie Hall on the University of Westminster’s Regent Campus, will celebrate the past and future of this historic venue.
All events in the Fyvie Festival are open to the public as well, but the free places are limited and need to be booked in advance.
A rare 1934 Compton organ housed in the University of Westminster’s Fyvie Hall will be revealed in a series of concerts after restoring it to its former glory in a project worth £50,000, launching a new era of musical performance at the University with access for all. Attendees will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tick playing an organ off their bucket list as they will be able to get up close with and play on the historic music instrument.
A public lecture will explore the life, work and influence of Ethel Wood CBE whose bequest left to the University made the restoration of the Fyvie Hall organ possible, while a seminar will take place on the recently restored Fyvie Hall murals representing London’s arts and crafts, held by the restorers from the Simon Gillespie Studio.
Everyone is welcome to explore the rich history and future of Fyvie Hall.
About the events
The Festival will include the following events:
- The history and restoration of Fyvie Hall murals at the University of Westminster - Monday 31 October, 5.30-7pm
An evening public lecture about the recently restored Fyvie Hall murals representing London’s arts and crafts as the modern Polytechnic remembered the technical industries of the past. The presentation will be followed by a reception allowing guests to get up close with the murals.
- A Symposium on the life, work and influence of Ethel Wood CBE - Tuesday 1 November, 5.30-7pm
The Symposium will consider Wood’s life in the context of the early-mid twentieth century. Dr Helen Glew, a historian researching Ethel Wood’s life, will be joined by several guest speakers who are experts on aspects of Wood’s work and contributions, for an evening of short talks.
- Inaugural concert on the Fyvie Hall organ by Paul Hale - Wednesday 2 November, 7.30-9pm
Paul Hale was Cathedral Organist & Rector Chori at Southwell Minster, Nottinghamshire for 27 years, having previously been Assistant Organist of Rochester Cathedral, Assistant Director of Music at Tonbridge School, Organ Scholar of New College, Oxford and a music scholar at Solihull School, where his lifelong passion for the organ was ignited. He was appointed Cathedral Organist Emeritus on his retirement from Southwell in 2016. On 9 June 2017, in a ceremony at Lambeth Palace, the Archbishop of Canterbury conferred on Paul the Thomas Cranmer Award in recognition of his “outstanding contribution to church music in Southwell and beyond”.
- Lunchtime Concert on the Fyvie Hall Organ - Friday 4 November, 12.30-1.30pm,
The concert will be performed by Professor Andrew Linn, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Head of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Westminster.
- The Finale: Have a go on the restored Fyvie Hall organ yourself - Friday 4 November, 1.30-2.30pm
Never have you ever played the organ? Or buzzing to have a go on this rare historic musical instrument? This is your chance to tick this off your bucket list. With Professor Andrew Linn and organ-builder Peter Hammond on hand to show you around the Fyvie Hall organ, this may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Open to students, alumni, colleagues and all members of the public.
