Nigel Ogden's raison d'etre is to give organ music the widest possible

public appeal. Building on the finest traditions of British light organ music
established, amongst others, by his mentor, Reginald Dixon, Nigel is
passionate in the belief that the organ is there to be enjoyed by all.

Having celebrated 40 years of broadcasting in 2011 and, as Presenter, since
1980, of BBC Radio 2's longest running specialist music programme,
'The Organist Entertains' which began in 1969, Nigel continues to bring the
highest quality popular and light classical organ music to audiences at home
and throughout the world. In this internet age, the programme is enjoyed by
listeners as far afield as New Zealand and as exotic as the Far East as well as
by a large and diverse audience very much nearer home.

Nigel is also recognised as one of the country's most popular performers. His versatility and virtuosity are guaranteed to delight all but the most extreme musical tastes. Nigel is equally at home at the console of a Mighty Wurlitzer, a cathedral organ or playing many of the superb instruments that adorn our churches and chapels up and down the country and he is also one of very few organists still playing entire concerts on the Hammond organ.

Nigel has established a reputation as one of the finest exponents of silent film accompaniment, a genre that he particularly enjoys, and he has provided music for full length film presentations in venues as diverse as the Plaza Super Cinema, Stockport, Symphony Hall in Birmingham and the Finlandia Hall in Helsinki, Finland. In addition, he is regularly to be heard providing incidental music for radio and TV productions which have included Dennis Potter's Lipstick On Your Collar and he has even been heard quite frequently on Buffy The Vampire Slayer! In front of the camera, he has made several TV appearances including being a special guest on BBC 1's 'Songs Of Praise' and, on radio, he has been a guest on such programmes as 'In Tune' and 'Comparing Notes'. He is especially pleased to be the only organist ever to have broadcast a Wurlitzer on Radio 3 playing items from the classical repertoire.

Nigel's recording output is considerable with over 70 albums to his credit as either a solo performer or accompanist. Many of these have been made on the incomparable Wurlitzer in the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool where Nigel first fell in love with the instrument as a boy, but they also include several churches and cathedrals and a range of other theatre organs around the country.

He occasionally finds time to put pen to manuscript paper building up a repertoire of light music for the organ that is published by the prestigious London firm of Stainer & Bell Ltd. From stirring marches such as 'England's Glory' to whimsical novelty items such as 'Penguins' Playtime', Nigel's compositions are becoming ever more popular.
Nigel's towering contribution to the world of light music was recognised by the American Theatre Organ Society which elected him to its Hall Of Fame, one of very few British organists to have been accorded this honour.
Nigel has made his home in the beautiful town of Lytham on Lancashire's Fylde coast where he helps out playing for church services when time permits. He is a self-confessed seaside fanatic and a keen ornithologist, not to mention another great passion in his life, his two Morris Minors!