10th Anniversary of the Lunchtime Organ Recital

Join us as we celebrate the 518th recital in our Lunchtime Recital series. Performed by St Michael’s Organist and Manager of Music, Rhys Boak and the Japanese born organ virtuoso, Ryoko Mori, the two organists that presented the inaugural recital in 2007. 

The music presented will range from the late Baroque Era, to the 21st century, and will include music for four hands and four feet (two organists at one organ). 

The program will include music by composers such as J.S. Bach, Louis Vierne and more.

Over the 10 years that this program of weekly organ recitals has run, many leading organists from around the world have taken part, a complete list is not practicable to include here, but recitalists from the UK, France, Belgium, Poland, Germany, Denmark, Italy, the Czech Republic, Russia, China, Japan and the USA have taken part.

Ryoko Mori was born in Japan and is an internationally active classical organist and pianist. She studied with Tomoko Miyamoto at Ferris University and Naomu Matsui at Seitoku University’s graduate school. She also studied organ with Naoko Imai at the Tokyo University of Fine Arts. In 2013 Ryoko won third place in the International Goedicke Organ Competition. Ryoko now runs her own private organ studio. During her time in Australia, Ryoko was the organist and director of music at several important churches including Melbourne’s Toorak Uniting Church, Wesley Uniting Church and Malvern Presbyterian Church. She has performed for several international organ festivals including the Organs of the Ballarat Goldfields Festival, and The Scots’ Church International organ festival. In 2005 Ryoko helped perform the first ever series of organ recitals held in mainland China, opening the Gulangyu International Organ Museum, the largest museum of its type in the world.

Rhys Boak is one of Australia’s busiest organists. He is in constant demand locally and internationally as both a recitalist and accompanist. He is currently the organist and manager of music at St. Michael’s Church, Melbourne.  Rhys Boak was born in Melbourne. He studied organ with John Mallinson, Douglas Lawrence OAM and Sergio de Pieri at Melbourne University, and harpsichord with Ann Murphy.

He is a veteran of several concert tours including tours to Europe and Asia and his playing can be heard on more than a dozen CD recordings both as a soloist and as an accompanist to many of Australia’s finest choral ensembles.

In 2006 Rhys traveled to China where he gave a series of concerts with fellow Australian musician Geoffrey Tozer featuring the rare combination of Piano and Organ in duet. They ended each concert with a series of improvisations on local folk melodies. In 2011 Rhys again toured Germany, Denmark and France performing on several important historic instruments such as the Silberman organs of Freiberg Cathedral.

Rhys is highly active as an organist, pianist, choral conductor, composer and arranger.  He has arranged and transcribed music for artists and institutions such as Greta Bradman, Geoffrey Payne, Sir Richard Bonynge, The English Chamber Orchestra, Move Records, Sony Records and Decca.