Anna Lapwood is one of the UK’s most dynamic ambassadors for classical music. As the official organist of the Royal Albert Hall, she has broken down genre boundaries and introduced a huge new audience to the organ. She has reached millions via her devoted social media following and helped revitalise repertoire for the instrument through the dedicated commissioning and performing of new works. She is also an established conductor and broadcaster, and a fierce advocate for the advancement of female voices within her industry. The scope of her influence is demonstrated by her appointment as MBE in 2024’s New Year’s Honours list and her inclusion in the 2025 Sunday Times Young Power List.

Anna is a graduate of Oxford University, where she was the first female Organ Scholar in Magdalen College’s 560-year history. In 2016 she also became the Director of Music at Pembroke College, Cambridge – the youngest ever person to be appointed in that role at an Oxbridge college. Her time at Pembroke saw her found a much-lauded girls’ choir, commission works from leading choral composers and spearhead the release of five records.

A keen collaborator, Anna is an Artist in Association with the BBC Singers and Featured Artist with the Hallé. Her relationship Royal Albert Hall has resulted in some of her most memorable pop collaborations including AURORA, Bonobo, Florence + the Machine, and Raye, as well as actor Benedict Cumberbatch for Letters Live. Her close relationship with the Hall has also led to the launch of a new annual Organ Scholar Programme, just one of several initiatives demonstrating Anna’s commitment to musical outreach and the fostering of young talent. Her relentless encouragement of and support for female organists in particular has made her a role model within that community, neatly captured in the hashtag #playlikeagirl. Now with a three-million-strong social media following, she has helped bring the organ, and contemporary ideas of a what an organist can be, to a whole new audience.