About this Artist
Anna Lapwood is an organist, conductor, and broadcaster and holds the positions of Director of Music at Pembroke College (Cambridge, U.K.), Associate Artist of the Royal Albert Hall (London), and Artist in Association with the BBC Singers. Appointed MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for services to music, she also received the prestigious Gamechanger award from the Royal Philharmonic Society and signed to Sony Classical as an exclusive recording artist in 2023.
Having made her debut at the BBC Proms as a soloist in Saint-Saëns “Organ” Symphony with The Hallé conducted by Mark Elder in 2021, Lapwood gave her Proms recital debut with her program “Moon and Stars” in July 2023. Lapwood regularly performs concertos with leading symphony orchestras and conductors, has guested at Classic FM Live, and collaborated with artists including Raye, Alison Balsom, Bonobo, and Benedict Cumberbatch. Highlights of the 2023/24 season include concerts on the east and west coasts of the United States, including her recital debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
Lapwood’s debut solo-organ album, Images, was released on Signum Records in 2021 and features her transcription of Britten’s “Four Sea Interludes” from Peter Grimes. Three further albums with the Choirs of Pembroke College have also been released on Signum to great acclaim. Under Lapwood’s direction, the choirs guested on To Shiver the Sky on Decca with multi-Grammy-winning composer Christopher Tin, recording at Abbey Road Studios. Signing exclusively to Sony in 2023, she launched the relationship with the EP: Midnight Sessions at the Royal Albert Hall. In September 2023, Lapwood released her first album on Sony Classical, LUNA, which was the fastest-selling classical album of the year.
Lapwood made her TV-presenting debut hosting coverage of the BBC Young Musician competition. She went on to present a televised Prom from the Royal Albert Hall. In 2022, she served as Chair of the Jury for BBC Young Musician and an adjudicator for the televised Welsh choral competition Côr Cymru. As a radio broadcaster, she is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4 along with independent stations and has been featured in multiple global television and radio programs and podcasts.
Lapwood is a terrific protagonist for her instrument, the organ. She is a natural communicator and reaches a huge audience through her concerts and via social media with over 1 million followers across all platforms, amassing tens of millions of views in a short space of time. Lapwood’s passion for the organ is matched by her mission to support girls and women in music. She was the first female in Magdalen College Oxford’s 560-year history to be awarded the Organ Scholarship, and since then, she has run regular organ workshops for young players around the U.K., hosted the Cambridge Organ Experience for Girls, and organized an annual 24-hour “Bachathon” to raise money in support of musicians in Zambia.
A strong advocate for music education, Lapwood is dedicated to bringing music to children of all backgrounds at home and abroad. Her commitment to equality and diversity is evident in almost every aspect of her life and work, and new music that she has commissioned features in her recitals across Europe and North America. Gregoriana―an anthology of 12 new organ pieces by female composers, curated and edited by Lapwood for Stainer & Bell―was awarded Presto Music’s Publication of the Year in 2022. Her own compositions are published by Boosey & Hawkes.
Having spent some years being encouraged to “play like a man,” Lapwood is proud and humbled to see so many adopt her hashtag #PlayLikeAGirl.