Danish Church develops live music programme as Royal College of Organists collaboration follows folk gig success

A city centre church is working on plans to develop a regular and varied programme of live gigs after attracting a full house for an evening of maritime folk music and raising more than £1,100 for charity.

The Danish Church in Hull will celebrate the Royal College of Organists’ Play the Organ Year 2025 at its next concert on Saturday May 31, with plans to repeat the event in September.

The venue, which also incorporates Nordic House, is also exploring other ideas after receiving ringing endorsements from musicians and singers who performed at the maritime folk gig at the beginning of May.

The gig was organised by Wolfy O’Hare, a trained classical singer and a professional medieval music specialist with a keen interest in folk music, and Sam Martyn, an experienced musician and singer with an extensive and varied performance history.

They visited the Church and decided it was the ideal venue for their collaboration with the London Sea Shanty Collective (LSSC). The outcome was a capacity crowd and a cash windfall of more than £1,100 which will be split between the Church and the Sailors’ Children’s Society.

Wolfy said: “We were deeply moved by the spirit of musicianship and collaboration throughout the whole process of bringing the original idea for this concert to life. From working alongside the diverse skills of the London Sea Shanty Collective to formulating the practical steps involved in putting on a concert with the help of the personnel at Nordic House - the whole event had an unstoppable momentum of its own. 

“Most of all we want to thank a highly receptive, appreciative and capacity audience whose enthusiasm and applause not only transformed a concert into a gala occasion - but whose generosity raised over a thousand pounds for charity.”

Sam added: “The venue itself is an inspiration to play and perform in - and I look forward to further collaboration with Nordic House, which made us all very welcome and worked seamlessly around us to create the space we needed to make the magic happen. The choir knocked it out of the park and the whole thing exceeded everyone’s expectations, including raising a fab amount for the charities.”

Chris Wilson, a member of the LSSC, comes from Hull and has returned to the city for a number of performances including as part of the UK City of Culture programme in 2017. 

He said: “Nordic house was the perfect music venue for us - acoustics, Scandi design, wonderful staff. It was a privilege to share this community resource. We hope to be back soon!”

The event on Saturday will feature Michael Baron, organist at the Danish Church, and special guest Philip Paul, organist at The Central Methodist Church in York, both playing the Church’s own organ which was built by renowned manufacturers Frobenius & Sons in Copenhagen in 1963.

Charlotte Theill, manager of Nordic House at the Danish Church, said: “Frobenius  organs are renowned for their beautiful tone and ours also has a noteworthy story. It was donated by Rind church in Herning, Jutland in 1994 and restored, installed and tuned by Frobenius in 1995, as part of a major renovation of our building.

“In celebrating Play the Organ Year we are supporting the Royal College of Organists with a project to increase the number of people learning to play the organ, as well as enjoying live and recorded organ music. We aim to stage a second recital on Saturday September 20 when we take part once again in Heritage Open Days.”

The entertainment on Saturday May 31 will begin as 12pm with a light lunch priced at £10. The organ recital is free to attend and starts at 2pm. To reserve places please email Charlotte at hello@nordichousehull.co.uk