Leeds International Organ Festival

Welcome to the Leeds International Organ Festival 2025. 

As Director of Music for the Diocese of Leeds it is my particular pleasure to be the Director of this year's Leeds International Organ Festival featuring Leeds Cathedral’s wonderful four-manual Klais organ and some of the finest players from around the world. 

I am looking forward to sharing with you the varied and exciting programmes of this year's recitalists, which will showcase the power, versatility and subtlety of the organ along with the players' musicality and technical prowess. Their repertoire takes in some of the very earliest music written for organ, well known favourites, modern works and, I hope, some new discoveries for all listeners. 

As part of the festival's continuing support of young organists I'm delighted to announce a special recital for children given by David Pipe as part of the RCO's Play the Organ Year 2025, though don't let that put you off if you're no longer a child! We're also proud to be showcasing our home-grown talent in the final recital of the festival given by Leeds Cathedral Organ Scholar Frankie Tempest.

I hope you'll enjoy hearing the recitals as much as I will, I look forward to seeing many of you there,

Ben Saunders