One of Britain’s outstanding concert organists and teachers is putting on a celebrity organ recital in St Albans Cathedral next Saturday, November 29.

Margaret Phillips made her début at the Royal Festival Hall in 1972 and soon gained an international reputation as a soloist, playing at concert halls and cathedrals throughout Europe and in the USA, Canada, Australia and Mexico.

Recent performance highlights have included concerts in cathedrals throughout Scandinavia as well as celebrity recitals in Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral and King’s and St John’s Colleges in Cambridge.

Since 1996 she has been Professor of Organ at the Royal College of Music in London and she is also much in demand throughout the UK and abroad as teacher, masterclass tutor and international jury member.

As her recital is on the eve of Advent Sunday, Margaret will frame her programme with contrasting settings of two Advent hymns. From the 17th century there is De adventu Domini by Samuel Scheidt and from the 20th century, Anton Heiller’s Variations on Luther’s German version of the same hymn.

The recital, which gets underway at 5.30pm, will finish with two versions of Luther’s Nun freut euch tor gentium, one by Matthias Weckmann and one by Lionel Rogg.

Margaret will also play Toccata and Fugue by Edwin Lemare, a trio of dances by the Swedish composer Håkan Sundin, and the ever-popular Miroir by the Dutch composer Ad Wammes.

Entry to the recital is free with a retiring collection in aid of the International Organ Festival Society. After the recital the audience will have the opportunity to meet the soloist at a reception in the refectory.