Danish organ virtuoso Tina Christiansen brings an international concert career and the grandeur of Europe’s great organ tradition to St James’ for an evening of music ranging from the majestic to the intimate, from Bach and Vierne to composers writing for the organ today.
The programme opens with JS Bach’s dazzling Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major, one of the great works of the organ repertoire. César Franck’s Deuxième Choral en si mineur, and Herbert Howells’ evocative Rhapsody No 1 in D-flat major follow, leading to the evening’s dramatic climax: the Final from Louis Vierne’s monumental Symphony No. 5 in A minor.
The evening also ventures beyond the traditional organ repertoire. Tina performs three works by contemporary Danish composers Anthony Lledo, Peter Due and Rasmus Zwicki, who collaborated on the soundtrack for the acclaimed television nature series Wild and Wonderful Denmark, as featured on PBS. Their music brings a very different sound world to the organ, reflecting the colours and landscapes of contemporary Denmark.
The programme also features David Loxley-Blount’s Eventide Étude, a work dedicated to Tina and premiered by her at Westminster Abbey in London in 2023. It is a fitting addition to a recital by an artist whose career has taken her to some of Europe’s most distinguished historic organs, including Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, Riga Dom and St Florian Stiftsbasilika.
From Bach’s brilliance and Franck’s lyricism to Howells’ atmosphere, Vierne’s grandeur and the distinctive voices of contemporary composers, Tina Christiansen’s recital reveals the remarkable range of the organ, and offers Vancouver audiences the opportunity to hear a virtuoso who has performed on some of the great instruments of Europe.
Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major, BWV 564
Deuxième Choral en si mineur
Toccata (2002)
Rhapsody No. 1 in D-flat major, Op. 17, No. 1
Out in the Countryside (2020)
From the television series Wild and Wonderful Denmark
The Flight of the Golden Eagle (2020)
From the television series Wild and Wonderful Denmark
Main Theme (2020)
From the television series Wild and Wonderful Denmark
Eventide Étude (2023)
Dedicated to Tina Christiansen
Symphony No. 5 in A minor, Op. 47
V. Final (Allegro moderato)
Tina Christiansen is a Danish concert organist who has performed extensively as a soloist, chamber musician and accompanist. Her more than 90 concerts have taken her throughout Denmark, Scandinavia, continental Europe, Russia and the United Kingdom, including solo recitals at distinguished historic organs such as St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey in London, Riga Dom in Latvia, Kaliningrad Cathedral in Russia, and St Florian Stiftsbasilika in Austria as part of the International Bruckner Festival.
Tina graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus with the highest marks in her master’s examination and subsequently completed the advanced postgraduate Soloist class, making her debut concert in 2013. Her repertoire spans many centuries, from the great works of the organ tradition to contemporary music, and she has given world premieres of organ and chamber works by numerous Danish and international composers.
As a chamber musician, Tina has performed for more than a decade with recorder player Monica Schmidt Andersen as the Doppler Duo. In 2024, the duo released Danish Concertos for Recorder and Organ, featuring world-premiere recordings of four Danish works.
In 2025, Tina received the Minister of Church Affairs Mette Madsen’s Honorary Scholarship for her work. She is organist and director of music at Ansgar’s Church in Odense and the initiator and artistic director of the Odense International Organ Festival. She also teaches at the Danish National Academy of Music and Løgumkloster Church Music School.