Amsterdam Organ Summer

The Amsterdam Organ Summer is a successful summer concert series of weekly organ concerts, founded in 2001 by music director and Basilica organist Michael Hedley. Although the organ in the Basilica was built according to the ideas of the Romantic era and naturally lends itself to music from this style period, the organists also play organ music from other centuries, so that everything from Bach to Piazolla can be heard during an organ concert. The great romantics such as Brahms, Liszt, Schumann and Franck, who are well known to the musical public, are joined by specific “organ virtuosos” such as Widor, Vierne, Rheinberger and Reger.

Organists with an affinity for this type of organ from the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Belgium and the United Kingdom are happy to accept the invitation of Muziek in de Nicolaas to play the music of their own preference on a top instrument. That is what makes this concert series so diverse and inspiring. There was a summer especially aimed at young talent, a summer with former foreign students of the Conservatory of Amsterdam, and a summer with exclusively Dutch organists.

The pandemic forced the organization to a halt in 2020 and Michael Hedley also died in this year. In 2021 we were able to create a small version of the concert series with the new Music Director, Dr. Giles Brightwell. In 2022 it will be possible to organize a full concert series again. Eight organists came from far and wide to Amsterdam to contribute to this special series in memory of Michael Hedley (1951-2020). 

Practical information

Concerts take place on Wednesday evenings in the summer months and start at 8:15 pm, doors open at 7:45 pm.

As soon as the performers of the concerts in 2023 are known, you can book tickets here. If you have any questions, you can contact orgelzomer@muziekindenicolaas.nl