The former organist of St Mary’s Parish Church, Ross-on-Wye, Laurence John, ‘brought the house down’ when he gave his second summer recital in the church on Saturday evening.

Laurence, who is 20 yeas of age and an organ scholar and music undergraduate at Oxford University’s elite Queen’s College, was greeted with rapturous applause and calls for more at the end of his stunning 60-minute performance.

He obliged with an encore of Widor’s exhilarating Toccata, and then received a standing ovation from the audience of 150 music lovers from as far away as Usk, Hereford and Bromyard.

He had previously wowed them with a selection of works by composers such as Bach, Schubert, Gershwin, Elgar, Mendelssohn, Stanford and Walton.

His evening of magical playing raised over £1,300 (after printing and refreshment expenses) for the Friends of St. Mary’s, with the money going towards the cost of preserving, restoring and improving the ancient church building.

Introducing Laurence, Rector The Rev. Sarah Jones, said: "When he came to the church first of all as a teenager, he immediately made the organ sound completely different from anything I had previously heard in all my time here."

The Ross recital came just three days after Laurence accompanied the Queen’s College Choir at a packed evening Eucharist in Westminster Abbey.

One enthusiast remarked after the memorable Ross performance: “What a wonderful evening, not just musically, but also socially, with many people chatting with friends and acquaintances over a glass of wine in the interval. I only wish we could do this more often.”

Laurence’s next recital will be at St Laurence’s Church, Ludlow, at 1pm on Saturday, August 25th. Admission is free.See this week’s paper for more stories like this, available in shops and as a Digital Edition now.