The “TikTok Organist” Anna Lapwood brought her expertise to San Luis Obispo as she combined her mastery of one of the most archaic of all instruments with modern scores to share her passion for music.
On top of serving Pembroke College in Cambridge as director of music, Lapwood has amassed more than 550,000 fans online. She uses her platform to share her love of music and her love of the instrument.
Lapwood performed within the Harold Miossi Hall in the PAC as a part of the Forbes Organ Series beginning at 7:30 p.m. Additionally, a pre-concert lecture in the hall began at 6:30 p.m. where the artist spoke about her online influence and answered fan questions during an open Q&A.
Before the show, Molly Clark, the Director of Cal Poly Arts, spoke of her excitement for Lapwoods performance.
“I think the power of Anna Lapwood is they watch her videos and they want more, and that following on social media is starting to translate to in-person,” Clark said. “Her audience is growing and she’s bringing in new people to the genre who wouldn’t typically be at an organ concert, and I think that’s beautiful.”
According to Clark, Lapwood’s performance was the most highly attended organist concert the PAC has hosted all season.
Cal Poly alumni Judy and Dick Klein traveled more than 200 miles to enjoy Lapwood’s music.
“We’re excited to be here, we love the organ,” Judy Klein said.
The hall filled slowly as a video of the organ being installed was projected on the main screen as guests filed in. At the start of the show, the projection switched to a bird’s eye view of Lapwood’s lap and feet, allowing the audience to get a closer look at her technique.
Once the lights dimmed and the show began, Lapwood announced her entrance by excitedly chatting about the pieces she would play throughout the night.
“The organ has an incredible power to tell stories, with the voices and colors and instruments and artist vocals – all sitting at one organ console, so that is what I’m exploring today,” she said.
During one of the songs in her performance, “Cornfield Chase” from the film “Interstellar,” Lapwood asked the audience to bring up their flashlights to act as the night sky.
“It can be such a weirdly lonely thing playing the organ, you’re facing away hoping everyone down there is still awake,” Lapwood said. “So to be able to turn around and know every pinprick of light is a person, I always find that moving. Thank you.”
After the performance the Kleins were incredibly moved by the music and thrilled to see Lapwood’s talents showcasing the wonders of this instrument to the younger generation.
“That organ music just has such a wide array of emotion. You can feel the emotion, it’s amazing and remarkable,” Dick Klein said. “You can feel it within you.”
Michael Weber, a junior electrical engineering major, attended the concert on recommendation from his mother who was a fan of Lapwood.
“It’s insane how she’s able to play all this. She’s using her hands, then playing a completely different melody with her feet,” Weber said. “She has like three layers of keypad to switch between. It’s incredibly complex and it takes a crazy amount of skill to be able to play this thing.”
Lapwood’s final concert within the US leg of her tour will be at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Sunday.
More information on future events happening at the PAC can be found on its website pacslo.org.