David was one of the world's most accomplished concert organists. This site gives information about his recordings and concerts as well as details of music he composed and some background about his life in the English Lake District.

Recital at St Michaels, Cornhill, City of London

A recital given by five leading organists in memory of David will be given on Monday 1 November 2010 at 1pm. For more details, click here.

Celebration of David's Life

A celebration of David's life will be held on Saturday 5 March 2011 at 2.30pm at Great St Mary's, the University Church in Market Square, Cambridge. This will be followed by a reception at a nearby venue (to be confirmed). A number of David's close colleagues and former students will be playing - so far Hans Fagius, Stephen Farr, Clive Driskill-Smith, Philip Rushforth, Kevin Bowyer and Jon Laukvik have confirmed they will be performing. In addition, some of David's choral music will be performed. Further details will be posted when available.

David’s family and friends are grateful to the many people who so quickly rearranged recital schedules, etc., to replace his bookings, and to those who have dedicated events to David’s memory.

David Sanger's funeral

In line with David's wishes, a simple, private funeral was held at Distington Crematorium in Cumbria on Monday 21 June 2010. Family, close friends and local people attended. The text of the eulogy read out at the funeral is available here.

Tributes

If you have any memories of David you would like to share, please go to this website: davidsangerrip.blogspot.com

Obituary

An account of David's life, written by his brother Peter, is available here.

David Sanger's estate

Sadly, for all who knew David and enjoyed visiting him, the Old Wesleyan Chapel and its Bevington organ now need to be sold.  It is hoped they can be sold together, to an organist who will appreciate the many fascinating features of the chapel and the Cumbrian fells, and who will make good use of the organ, perhaps for teaching and organ practice, or even concerts.  Anyone interested is invited to visit www.cumbriachapel.com.

David bequeathed all his organ music, organ CDs and organ books to the Royal College of Organists (RCO). The RCO also agreed to take all of David's organ consultancy/concert related files, which they will pass on to the British Institute of Organ Studies (BIOS) and/or the Association of Independent Organ Advisors (AIOA) as appropriate. All this material will be catalogued in the RCO library as being from David Sanger.

Anyone with outstanding contractual issues concerning David is invited to write to solicitor Mrs Lorraine Greenwood, of Brockbank Curwen Cain & Hall, at Norham House, Main Street, Cockermouth, Cumbria CA13 9JS, or email her at lgreenwood@brockbanks.co.uk.

David Sanger died at his home on Friday 28th May 2010. His website is now a memorial to a great musician, teacher and friend to many.

He toured many countries as recitalist - Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Belgium, Holland, Austria, Italy, France, Russia, Iceland, the United States, Mexico and South Korea - as well as giving many recitals in the British Isles, notably at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, The Royal Festival Hall, the City of London Festival, the Bath Festival, the Chester Festival, the West-Riding Cathedrals' Festival, and many similar occasions. He gave Master Classes in many places including Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo, and was 'Headmaster' of the Church Music Seminar in Bergen for fourteen years. He was frequently partnered by Hans Fagius from Sweden for Organ Duet Concerts.

As a recording artist he made over 20 CDs, all of which received favourable reviews. His debut on the organ was with Polydor (DG Début Series) with Bach and Franck recorded in Munich. He recorded the complete organ works of César Franck at the Katarina Church in Stockholm (before the fire) for BIS. His Meridian recordings of Vierne's Six Organ Symphonies received wide acclaim and he was close to completing his recordings of the complete organ works of Bach. The most recent Bach CDs were recorded on the newly constructed, historic-style, Carsten Lund organ in Copenhagen's Garnisons Church.

With Meridian he recorded a selection of trifles by Lefébure-Wély on the recent Cavaillé-Coll style instrument at Exeter College, Oxford, for which instrument David Sanger also acted as Consultant. Other projects as consultant included new, rebuilt or restored organs at Bromley Parish Church, Haileybury College, St Cuthbert's, Edinburgh, Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Sheffield Cathedral, Trinity Hall, Cambridge, Strathclyde University and Leeds Cathedral .

David appeared in the jury of many international organ competitions; St Alban's, Paisley, Speyer, Biarritz, Alkmaar, Odense Nűrnberg and Lucerne.

For some years he was professor of organ at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and chairman of the organ department there from 1987-89. Between 1989 and 1997 he was a Consultant Professor at the RAM. He was guest professor for a period of two years at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, Copenhagen. He has been a Visiting Tutor in organ studies at the Royal Northern College of Music, and was a teacher of organ at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. He had many successful students at international competition level, including two winners at the Calgary International Organ Competition. He was President of the Royal College of Organists from 2009 to 2010.

From time to time, he composed music for organ, as well as for strings and choirs.

He wrote an organ tutor in two volumes for beginners, entitled Play the Organ, which has become the most widely used in Britain in recent years.

He ran courses for advanced students in the Cumbrian Lake District, including tuition on the Bevington organ installed there.

David Sanger's hobbies included racquet sports, walking, swimming and gardening.

A more detailed account of David's life, written by Peter Sanger, is available here.