A Recital by Francois Cloete

Local organ scholar François Cloete will be playing J. S. Bach's Goldberg Variations BWV 988 as a fundraiser for the Guernsey Harpsichord Trust (GHT) on Saturday 2 August. This is one of Bach's most popular keyboard works and certainly one of the most challenging, requiring a monumental feat to perform it. As an extremely talented keyboard player, François is more than up to the task.

Having grown up in Guernsey and attended Elizabeth College for the first part of his secondary education, he has recently been awarded the organ scholarship at Westminster Abbey, following on from organ scholarships at Wells Cathedral, Hereford Cathedral and, most recently, Merton College Oxford, where he has just
been awarded a Congratulatory First for his undergraduate degree. He combines his performance career with musicological research, recently recognised with an award from the Society for Music Analysis.

His performance will showcase the Trust’s recently restored Andrew Garlick harpsichord in its full splendour.  One of the objectives will be to encourage talented young musicians to take up learning to play the harpsichord. François has very kindly agreed to waive his fee for the concert but we are seeking donations of £25 - or more! - to help defray the cost of insuring and maintaining the instrument.

The concert will be in the Hall at Elizabeth College starting at 6.30pm and lasting for about an hour.  We will be offering drinks afterwards when audience members will have an opportunity to chat to François and to inspect this unique instrument.