James O'Donnell
Yale University and Westminster Abbey musician directs Choral Evensong Festival, followed by organ recital; free admission
May 16, 2027 at 11:00:00 PM
Tickets on sale this August.
James O'Donnell, Professor in the Practice of Organ and Sacred Music at Yale and former Organist and Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey, comes to St. James by-the-Sea for a Choral Evensong Festival at 4:00 pm, followed by a 5:30 pm organ recital. The afternoon brings together two sides of O'Donnell's extraordinary musical life: the choral tradition of daily worship at the highest level, and the art of the organ recital. For listeners, it is a compact pilgrimage through the English sacred-music tradition, with Evensong first, then the organ stepping forward in full voice.
About the Artists
James O'Donnell served for twenty-three years as Organist and Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey, where he led the Abbey's music department, directed the celebrated Choir of Westminster Abbey, and oversaw music for royal, state, and national occasions, including the 2011 wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the 2022 State Funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. He is now Professor in the Practice of Organ and Sacred Music at the Yale School of Music and Yale Institute of Sacred Music. Before Westminster Abbey, he served at Westminster Cathedral, first as assistant and later as Master of Music, where the Cathedral Choir won the Gramophone Record of the Year award. Internationally recognized as a conductor, organ recitalist, and teacher, O'Donnell has performed throughout the United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, and has worked with many of Britain's leading ensembles.