Every little bit helps. Please…we need your support and funding to make this opportunity happen, and leave a legacy to be proud of for our congregation, our Cathedral, and Glasgow.
Make a Donation
All donations – large and small – are gratefully received. You can make a donation to the appeal at any time with a cheque made payable to ‘St Mary’s Cathedral (Organ Appeal)’. Please click here to download and print the form which will enable you to GiftAid your donation and send the form and cheque to the address on the form.
You can already donate to the Organ Appeal in the following simple ways:
- Put cash or a cheque into a St Mary’s Gift Aid Envelope and mark the envelope “Organ Appeal”, fill in your details, and place it in the Cathedral collection plate, or send it to the cathedral office. Please make cheques out to “St Mary’s Cathedral” and write “Organ Appeal” on the back.
- Make a payment by internet or telephone banking to the cathedral bank account, and mark it ‘Organ Appeal’:
Sort Code: 82-20-00
Account Number: 30185232 - You can also donate via the St Mary’s Gift Aid envelopes during a service – just clearly mark on it that it is a donation for the Organ Appeal and put it onto the collection plate.
Fundraising & sponsorship
You and your friends could raise money for the organ appeal by hosting an event, a recital, a sponsored sing, a coffee morning, a cheese and wine evening, a raffle, etc – the list is endless. Get in touch via organappeal@thecathedral.org.uk if you would like any help in organising or publicising your event.
If you work for an organisation that provides corporate sponsorship, or know of a suitable grant-making trust to approach, please put us forward for consideration, or tell us who would be a good person to contact. There are opportunities for corporate sponsors and trusts to receive considerable publicity as well as involvement in special events. Please contact Frikki Walker, the Director of Music, or Michael Hitchman, who is heading up the Fund-raising team. Get in touch with us by email to organappeal@thecathedral.org.uk or by phone on 0141 339 6691.
David Dimbleby, Broadcaster, writer, and journalist – “I have heard the choir at St Mary’s and know how important their music is to Glasgow. A new organ will attract choirs and organists to the city from all over the world. It is a thrilling development and I urge everyone who values fine singing and playing to support it. The cathedral is a beautiful venue and deserves only the best.”
Dr Gordon Stewart, International Concert Organist and Conductor, Organist in Residence, Huddersfield Town Hall – “I am delighted to support the restoration of the historic organ in St Mary’s Cathedral in Glasgow. It is a very fine instrument, but after many long years of service there are clearly mechanical and tonal problems which need attention. I have no doubt that in the hands of Harrison and Harrison, one of Britain’s leading organ builders, the newly restored organ will be a magnificent enhancement of the Cathedral’s imaginative liturgy and its broadcasts. Sitting as it does in that great building, it would be my hope that it would become an important part of the musical life of the whole City of Glasgow.”
Dr George McPhee, MBE, Director of Music, Paisley Abbey – “It is with great delight that I write in support of the Appeal for the rebuilding of the organ of St. Mary’s (Scottish Episcopal) Cathedral, Glasgow.
David Briggs, International Concert Organist and Composer, Artist-in-Residence, the Cathedral of St John the Divine, New York, Organist Emeritus, Gloucester Cathedral. – “There is no doubt that the sound of a really great pipe organ can change lives – it can deeply move, and even heal, the human spirit. The prospect of a completely rebuilt and enhanced instrument at St Mary’s Cathedral is mouth-watering indeed. Rebuilding and renewing this organ will make sure that the Cathedral has an organ that not only the City of Glasgow can be proud of, but the whole of Scotland, giving the cathedral an instrument that will continue to attract first class choirs and organists from all over the world to the city, as well as supporting the cathedral’s busy program of services, concerts and national broadcasts. Please support this magnificent project as generously as you can.”
Thomas Totter, International Concert Organist, Birmingham City Organist, Organist of St Margaret’s Westminster, Visiting Professor of Organ, Royal College of Music, London – “The British choral tradition which is so carefully fostered by our cathedral musicians is the envy of the world. The British organ tradition is rather more taken for granted, and yet a pipe organ is as much at the core of cathedral worship as a choir. The organ at St Marys Cathedral was built in romantic style by William Hill in 1871. Since that time it has been rebuilt several times with mixed results, and the time has come for a more radical approach. Harrison and Harrison’s imaginitive proposal enhances the organ both tonally and visually whilst respecting and amplifying its original character.
Dr. Kevin Bowyer,International Concert Organist, Organist to the University of Glasgow, Artistic Director, International Organ Festival– “Glasgow has become increasingly important in recent years as a centre of organ excellence in the UK, with new instruments and careful restorations of older ones. The city has developed an “organ culture” with many recitals and increasingly appreciative and musically aware audiences. The next step in this evolution is the rebuilding of the fine organ in St. Mary’s Cathedral. The musical tradition in the Cathedral has flowered under the direction of Frikki Walker and the choir deserves the support of a really great instrument. The scheme put forward by Harrison & Harrison will restore to the instrument much of the original builder’s vision. It will be tremendously exciting both as a solo instrument and also in support of worship in the cathedral. It will be a musical jewel of which the city will be proud. ”