In conversation with ... James O’Donnell
David Pipe
James O’Donnell is known around the world as a distinguished organist and award-winning choral conductor. Following positions at Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, he moved to Yale University as Professor in the Practice of Organ and Sacred Music at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music and the Yale School of Music in 2023, where he teaches graduate-level organ majors and other students in sacred music, and directs a newly established professional liturgical vocal ensemble, Yale Consort. He spoke to OR’s Editor, David Pipe, from his home in the USA.
DP: It’s such a pleasure to speak to you, James. With the RCO’s Play the Organ Year in mind, as a Past President (2011–13) could you tell us about who or what first influenced you to learn the organ?
JO’D: That's an easy question to answer. My grandfather, who was a doctor, was also a keen amateur organist, and he had an early Hammond classical organ with a full pedalboard, which was state of the art at the time. He had the Hammond in his house, and he had a Leslie speaker down in the cellar – the cellar was an empty room with nice live acoustics. The sound came up from the cellar through a grille in the floor. As a seven or eight-year-old I thought it sounded just like St Paul’s Cathedral: it was marvellous! My mother was also a doctor, and she played the piano. We had quite a nice piano at home, so there was music around when I was a child. And I just thought, this is something I'd love to do.
