Thomas Heywood (born 1974) is an Australian concert organist. He is the first Australian musician in history to live as a professional concert organist. Heywood was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He began playing the

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

at a very young age and gave his first public performance at age five. He performed at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

at age 17. Heywood tours widely and has played a large range of organs in concert halls, town halls,

cathedrals A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

,"Review: Thomas Heywood"
''The Muster Express''. festivals"From theatrical to classical"
''The Courier''. and churches around the world. Heywood has a repertoire of over 5,000 works and has recorded more than 20 albums of organ music, receiving both popular and critical acclaim. He has also transcribed many famous classical and romantic pieces for solo organ and his arrangements are widely performed by other organists.

References

External links

Concert Organ International website

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heywood, Thomas 1974 births Living people Australian classical organists Male classical organists 21st-century organists 21st-century Australian male musicians 21st-century Australian musicians