Music on Market - Richard Hills

Music on Market is a program of The United Methodist Church of Wooster and supported by Main Street Wooster, Inc. and Wayne Center for the Arts. The series provides a diverse selection of high-quality music throughout the year to the entire community. These performances are presented in the Wooster UMC sanctuary - one of the largest, historical venues in our downtown and has handicap accessibility, available parking and proximity to downtown restaurants.

All events are free with a free-will offering to help cover the costs that accompany this amazing series. Seating is open style and no tickets are required. Doors open at 6:15.

Richard Hills was born in 1980 and, having shown an early interest in the organ, commenced piano studies at the age of six. Having heard the Wurlitzer organ of the Thursford Collection in Norfolk, England at the age of seven, Richard became hooked on the sound of these instruments and began to study both theatre and classical organ with John Norris.

In 1995 at the age of 14, Richard was the over-all winner of the A.T.O.S. international Young Theatre Organist of the year competition in Detroit, Michigan. He returned to the United States the following year to perform at the 1996 A.T.O.S. convention in Pasadena, LA. Since then, he has been a featured artist at five international A.T.O.S. conventions, giving his debut concert in 1998 at the Oakland Paramount Theatre in California at the age of 17.

In 1994 Richard was awarded the Organ Scholarship at King's School in Rochester, England, and studied the classical organ at the Cathedral there with William Whitehead. Following this, Richard became the Organ Scholar of Exeter College at Oxford University where he studied the classical organ with David Sanger. Having completed his studies at Oxford, Richard spent a year as the Organ Scholar of Portsmouth Cathedral, where he studied with Rosemary Field, before being appointed to the Organ Scholarship of London's Westminster Abbey, where he performed regularly on the five-manual Harrison & Harrison organ and worked with the world-famous Abbey choir.

In addition to these and other performances in the US, Richard has played throughout the British Isles, in Holland and Germany, and undertaken a four-week concert tour of Australia in August and September, 1999.

Richard left Westminster in September 2004. He now pursues a freelance career and is Organist at St Mary's, Bourne Street, London. His career in the theatre organ world has been equally prestigious. He has numerous prizes and awards to his credit, both in England and in the U.S., where he was named by 'Organist of the Year' in 2010 by the American Theatre Organ Society. He has appeared many times on national and international TV and Radio, including solo appearances on programmes as diverse as Radio 3 Choral Evensong and Radio 2's 'Friday Night is Music Night', and he made his solo debut at the BBC Proms in 2013. He returned to the Proms as a soloist during the 2015 season. Richard has several recording credits including, most recently, a disc of British music made on the magnificent dual-purpose Compton organ of Southampton's Guildhall, which earned a five-star review in Choir and Organ magazine.

When not on the bench, Richard continues to spend time furthering his interests in, among other things, Classic Cars and Organ Building. He has recently been appointed Musical Advisor to the UK's Cinema Organ Society in whose work he has taken an increasingly active role. He has a particular interest in the music and playing of Quentin Maclean, legendary organist of the Trocadero Elephant & Castle in the 1930's.

Richard is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists and a strong supporter of the work of the UK’s Cinema Organ Society, to whom he serves as Musical Adviser.

For more information, please go to https://www.stmarysbournest.com/music/richard_hills_organist 

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