Rhys Boak
Rhys Boak is a Melbourne organist and accompanist, active as a recitalist on historic instruments and with Australian choirs. He is organist and manager of music at St Michael's Church, Melbourne.
Rhys Boak was born in Melbourne. He studied organ with John Mallinson, Douglas Lawrence OAM and Sergio de Pieri at Melbourne University, and harpsichord with Ann Murphy.
A veteran of concert tours to Europe and Asia, he appears on more than a dozen recordings as a soloist and as an accompanist to many of Australia's finest choral ensembles.
In 2006 he travelled to China for a series of concerts with fellow Australian musician Geoffrey Tozer, featuring the rare combination of piano and organ in duet and ending each programme with improvisations on local folk melodies. In 2011 he again toured Germany, Denmark and France, performing on several important historic instruments, among them the Silbermann organs of Freiberg Cathedral.
Artist's website: www.youtube.com
Rhys Boak is featured on the following titles
Music for Trumpet and the King of Instruments
In the world of classical music, one of the most special and enduring combinations of instruments is that of the trumpet and the pipe organ. Dating back over a millennium, the pairing has produced a tradition of heroic and majestic music-making.
Arranger
Organ of the Antipodes
Organists Rhys Boak and Ryoko Mori mark the centenary of a landmark Australian instrument: the 1906 George Fincham & Son organ at Malvern Presbyterian Church.
Rhys Boak also appears on
Dances and Delights
Premiere recordings of Australian and American works for modern flute ensemble fill this album with spirit and serenity, from waltzes and two-steps to cherished song arrangements.
Bach Motets
The Australian Chamber Choir, directed by Douglas Lawrence, performs motets by J.S. Bach with works by Johann Michael Bach and Johann Christoph Bach.
Organs of the Ballarat Goldfields
Fifteen historic organs from the Ballarat region are heard on this disc, released to mark the 2005 Organs of the Ballarat Goldfields festival. A fully illustrated 16-page booklet surveys the builders, churches, instruments, music and performers.
Editing Engineer
Organ Miniatures
A collection of 33 short organ works on the 1882 T.C. Lewis organ at St George’s Uniting Church, East St Kilda. The programme samples music written for small pipe organs and harmoniums, from Baroque chorales to twentieth-century miniatures.
The 12 Days of Christmas
The Choir of Ormond College sings carols long held in affection around the world, and pairs them with newer works, accompanied by renowned Australian pianist Stephen McIntyre.
Devils of the Night
On this, his first CD for Move Records, Tasmanian composer and didjeridu virtuoso Ron Nagorcka is joined by long-time collaborator Robert Williams, the Melbourne pianist, educator and co-composer.
Sing to the Lord, ye Heavenly Hosts
The Choir of The Scots' Church offers sacred music from sixteenth-century Palestrina to twenty-first-century Australian composer Andrew Batterham, crowned by a rare performance of Widor's Mass for choir, baritone choir and two organs.
Millennium Magic
Live from the Melbourne Concert Hall on St David's Day 2000, the Melbourne Welsh Male Voice Choir's first solo concert of the new millennium, with Linda O'Brien, Rhys Boak, Delyth Stafford and Lynlee Williams.
Other credits
North of the Yarra: Organs of Melbourne
Gordon Atkinson plays seven of Melbourne's finest organs, from the oldest surviving city instrument to the giant Town Hall organ, including St Patrick's Cathedral, The Scots' Church, St Paul's Cathedral and St Mary Star of the Sea, West Melbourne.
The Way of the Cross
Dupré's depictions of the fourteen Stations of the Cross, with his Variations sur un Noël, are played by Dr Robin Batterham on the 4/68 Rieger organ of The Scots' Church, Melbourne.