Music at St. Greg's

02/07/2026

Really looking forward to our next concert at St Greg's. Please note the date in your diary now. This one will be very special and it's free admission!

20/06/2026

Well, it’s 4am and I’ve just woken up for my shift. I must be mad!

7 hours in and 175 hymns down. About 20% through, by my tired calculation! I’ll try to post again when I’ve done my 4 hours. Wish me luck!

Gordon

16/06/2026

Just 3 days to go!

Earlier this evening I looked through the 197 hymns I’ll be playing during my 3 hymnathon sessions and was surprised by how many of them I hadn’t come across before. There are some cracking tunes in there that are rarely heard.

If you drop in at some time over the weekend you could just hear something new…

10/06/2026

⏰ Just 9 days to go! ⏰

The countdown is on to St Gregory's Great Hymnathon Challenge!

From 19–21 June, we'll be attempting the extraordinary feat of playing all 847 hymns in the Ancient & Modern hymnbook over one glorious weekend of music, worship and fellowship.

Whether you're planning to stay for a hymn, an hour, or the whole weekend, we'd love to welcome you. Come and experience this unique event, support our players, and enjoy the wonderful atmosphere as St Gregory's Church fills with music day and night.

📍 St Gregory's Church, Marnhull
📅 19–21 June 2026

🎵 Vote for your favourite hymns and find out more about the event here:

https://www.stgregorysmarnhull.org.uk/music/hymnathon/

The 5 top-voted hymns will be sung at our special 10am All-Age Service on Sunday 21 June.

Please share this post and help us spread the word about what promises to be a unique and memorable weekend.

847 hymns • One hymnbook • One church • One glorious weekend

05/06/2026

Our Great Hymnathon Challenge is rapidly approaching!

Over the 2+ days, the organists of St Gregory’s (and guests) will be playing all of the 847 hymns in the Ancient & Modern hymn book!

Why? Gordon, one of the church's organists explains...

“We adore playing hymns of such beautiful music and incredible meaning, that have connected generations, marked life’s milestones and inspired faith and worship for hundreds of years and their power lives on. Yet so many of the 847 hymns in our Ancient and Modern hymn book never get played. So we’re going to play the lot, in one go, then anyone can come into our great church to hear for the first time very rarely heard ones, or their favourite ones, played on an impressive organ, for free. And if you want to sing, please do!
We will start on Friday 19 June at 9pm and finish in time for the 10am service on Sunday 21 June. That’s about 34 hours so we’ll limit ourselves to about 2 minutes of each hymn. We’ll be asking people to vote for their favourite hymn(s) and the top 5 will be played in full, in that service. Do join us.”

Further details can be found on the church's website here: https://www.stgregorysmarnhull.org.uk/music/hymnathon/

You can vote for your favourite hymn(s) here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSewijrihYUPP_dh5tZX0aNwCiKjlCpfwocztnVLbookIQUFEw/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=114077632169680610888

An alphabetical list of the available hymns along with their numbers can be found here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1r1Z3uBFAH9uxJBy0-IzVJ2_f6-SDbtmO/view?usp=sharing

We would be very grateful for sponsorship which would go towards keeping our beautiful church and its organ in working order for all to enjoy. Donations can be made here:
https://givealittle.co/c/6E40xC0ifeogoqBVOJ0egg.

15/05/2026

Between Friday 19th June and Sunday 21st June, St. Gregory’s Church, Marnhull will be undertaking a marathon Hymnathon Challenge when we will be playing all 847 hymns in the Ancient & Modern hymnbook, over a continuous 34-hour period. Many of the hymns in the hymn book are rarely heard, but we will be playing every single one of them, starting at #847 and ending with #1. You all will be welcome to drop in to the church to listen, hopefully be inspired and even sing along, and your moral support would be much appreciated during this challenging task. You can even vote for your favourite hymns and the top 5 will be played during our 10am All Age Worship service on Sunday 21st June.

Further details will be posted soon on our website. We would be very grateful for sponsorship which would go towards keeping our beautiful church and its organ in working order for all to enjoy.

Thanks and all best wishes,
Gordon

Organist & Concert Organiser

14/03/2026

🎶 Upcoming musical events at St Gregory’s Church, Marnhull 🎬

Join us for two short lunchtime organ concerts by Stephen Binnington at 12 noon (about 30 minutes each). Free admission – donations to Church Funds welcome.

• Tuesday 17 March – Organ music for Lent
• Thursday 16 April – Organ music for Spring & Easter

Then during Holy Week, we present the epic silent film The King of Kings (1927) on Tuesday 31 March at 7pm.

The film will be accompanied by spectacular organ improvisation by the international concert organist David Briggs, recorded on the Sweetland organ at Gillingham Methodist Church. At the moment of the Resurrection, the film famously bursts from black-and-white into colour – a remarkable cinematic moment.

🎟 Free admission
☕ Light refreshments afterwards

Do come along and join us! 😀

Call now to connect with business.

05/03/2026

🎬 The Phantom of the Opera – with live organ improvisation 🎶

This Saturday evening at St Gregory’s Church, Marnhull, experience the classic silent film The Phantom of the Opera in a truly special way — with a live improvised soundtrack by the extraordinary David Bednall (Organist & Choral Director at Clifton Cathedral).

For the entire 1 hour 45 minute film, David will compose and perform the music on the spot, reacting to every moment of the drama in real time. It’s an astonishing musical feat and makes the film feel thrillingly alive.

If you’ve never experienced a silent film with live organ before, this is the perfect chance — atmospheric, dramatic, and unforgettable.

🗓 Saturday, 7pm
📍 St Gregory’s Church, Marnhull
🎟 Tickets £12

Come and see cinema as audiences experienced it a century ago — but with world-class musicianship.

(Costumes optional… but encouraged!)

24/01/2026

Location: St Gregory's Church, Marnhull, DT10 1PZ
Date: 7pm, Sat 7th March 2026

The Phantom of the Opera comes to life on the big screen in the atmospheric setting of St Gregory's Church. Join "one of the most distinguished organists of his generation...", David Bednall for this special event.

David Bednall is recognized as one of the leading choral composers of his generation. He studied for a PhD in Composition with Professor John Pickard at the University of Bristol and is Choral Director at Clifton Cathedral, an Organist of St John The Evangelist, Bath, Director of Bristol Bach Choir, Bristol Chamber Choir and Chew Valley Choral Society alongside an extensive freelance career. He studied with Dr Naji Hakim and David Briggs and was Assistant Organist at Wells Cathedral and Sub Organist at Bristol Cathedral.

David was previously Organ Scholar at The Queen’s College, Oxford and then at Gloucester Cathedral, where he also spent periods as Acting Director of Music and Acting Assistant Organist and was closely involved with the Three Choirs Festival. He won prizes in Improvisation and Performance at the examination for Fellow of The Royal College of Organists and has given recitals at La Trinité, Paris, and many English Cathedrals. In June 2008 he gave a recital at Notre-Dame de Paris. He has performed all the major works of Messiaen and his debut solo recording and CD of improvisations with Malcolm Archer have received excellent reviews. He has improvised on live radio and in concert. He has also appeared as stunt-organist on BBC TV’s Dr Who.

Please click on the link or use the QR code on the poster to order your tickets for this special event! 😀

19/01/2026

Music at St Greg's is excited to announce our concerts for 2026. We look forward to welcoming you to one or more of our exciting events this year. Please see the pamphlet attached and the individual events for further details.

Admission is free to most of the concerts. Tickets for the ticketed events can be purchased by scanning the relevant QR code on the pamphlet.

NB: All concerts are kindly sponsored by The Crown Inn (next door to the church) - why not check them out? 😀