TikTok Organist's Australian Tour

0:00On this March 17th in Sydney, here's what is making headlines. Anna Lapwood is a 30-year-old organist who's become one of the world's most famous, with four million followers on social media. She's the first official organist for London's Royal Albert Hall, a role created in 2025 after its 155-year history. Her shows mix classic organ pieces from composers like Bach, with fun arrangements of film scores from movies such as Interstellar and Pirates of the Bach, and Caribbean, she earned her nickname, the TikTok organist, by posting quick videos from organ lofts during the pandemic. Lapwood films most clips by propping her phone on her boot to capture real practice sessions without interrupting her routine. A standout video of her playing with electronic artist Bonobo at the Royal Albert Hall exploded to over 5.6 million views and still draws, fans to her concerts. Crowds have gone wild for her performances, proving social media's real pull. In July 2025, her free recital at Germany's Cologne Cathedral pulled in 13,000 people, way over the 4,000 capacity.

1:07Leading her to play two back-to-back shows, thousands more waited outside for hours, showing how she's bringing fresh audiences to the organ. Lapwood also tackles gender stereotypes in the male-dominated organ world with her hashtag Play Like a Girl. At 21, she was the youngest music director at Cambridge's Pembroke College, where she launched programs like a girl's only organ experience. That grew from 20 to 90 participants. She stepped down this year to focus on global recitals. Right now, she's on her first tour in Australia, hitting the Melbourne Town Hall Grand organ on March 13th and 14th. Then, the Sydney Opera, housed from March 19th to 28th. Fans can catch her with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra on ABC Classic March 27th at 8pm, playing pieces like the organ symphony and A. New Concerto, written just for her. A quick thank you to our sponsor of today's episode. Press play. Put your head down. The sound is already there.

2:08S-O-L-I, solelypillo.com. Made in A.I.