18 October 2025 @ 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm
Come and hear this superb recital of organ music, given on Leeds Minster’s famous Harrison & Harrison instrument, in memory of Dr Simon Lindley (1948-2025).
Organists Carleton Etherington, Jonathan Lilley and Darius Battiwalla all began their careers under Dr Lindley’s supervision at what was then known as Leeds Parish Church, and progressed to senior positions.
This recital forms the first event in a day of celebration for the life and music of Dr Lindley, hosted by St Peter’s Singers.
Admission to this recital is free; there will be a collection as you leave to help defray costs.
Programme
| Dankpsalm | Max Reger |
| Larghetto in F# minor | Samuel Sebastian Wesley |
| Fiat Lux | Théodore Dubois |
| Carleton Etherington | |
| Sonata in A major Op.65 No.3 (i) Con moto maestoso (ii) Andante tranquillo | Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy |
| Toccata-Prelude on ‘Pange, lingua’ | Edward Bairstow |
| Impromptu for Sir Edward Bairstow on his 70th Birthday | Francis Jackson |
| Etheldreda Rag | Arthur Wills |
| Jonathan Lilley | |
| Largo, Allegro, Aria and two variations | Michael Festing |
| Song of Sunshine | Alfred Hollins |
| Sonata Eroica | Joseph Jongen |
| Darius Battiwalla |
Carleton Etherington was Assistant Organist (1991-1996) and is now Organist and Director of Music at Tewkesbury Abbey.
Jonathan Lilley was Assistant Organist (1996-2002) and is now Director of Music and Organist at Waltham Abbey Church.
Darius Battiwalla was Organ Scholar (1984-87) and is now Leeds City Organist and a leading freelance organist in the North of England.
Your may also be interested in …
Come and Sing for Simon! for anyone who would like to sing in the concert later on the same day
Come celebrate Simon! for anyone who would like to listen to the concert later on the same day
JS Bach’s Christmas Oratorio St Peter’s Singers and 18th Century Sinfonia perform Cantatas 1-3 of Bach’s masterpiece
Access and Accessibility
Leeds Minster is about 5 minutes walk from Leeds Bus Station, and about 15 minutes walk from Leeds Railway Station. There is on-street parking on the side streets nearby, as well as the NCP Markets carpark (5 minutes) and the John Lewis carpark (10 minutes).
There is ramp access to the main doors beneath the tower, with entrance to the grounds at the West End by the Lamb and Flag pub recommended to avoid the steps up from the street level. Once inside there there is step-free access to the concert seating and to the City of Leeds Room for refreshments and toilets. Wheelchairs and mobility devices are welcome and can be accommodated.
Carleton Etherington
Carleton spent five happy years – from 1991 to 1996 – as Sub Organist at Leeds Parish Church, working with Simon Lindley on a daily basis. From here he moved to Gloucestershire to be Organist and Director of Music at Tewkesbury Abbey, where he has remained ever since. At Tewkesbury he directs the Abbey Choir, which sing the Sunday services, and accompanies Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum, which sing the midweek Evensongs. He also directs Musica Deo Sacra, an annual Festival of Music within the Liturgy held at the Abbey each summer.
Born in Lancashire, Carleton was educated at Chetham’s School of Music, Manchester and The Royal Academy of Music, London, where he studied organ with Peter Hurford, David Sanger and Nicholas Danby, winning all the prizes for organ performance. During his time at Leeds, he won the prestigious Royal College of Organists ‘Performer of the Year’ competition and gained first prize at the Paisley International Organ Competition.
Since then he has performed throughout the UK and has toured in France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Sweden, Ireland, Australia and the USA. He has broadcast on BBC Radio 2, 3 and 4 and has appeared on BBC television, both as organist and conductor. He has made several solo organ CD recordings, featuring mainly Romantic repertoire, all of which have been received with much acclaim. His playing also features on numerous recordings as an accompanist, in repertoire encompassing all periods of music.
Carleton has served on the Council of the Royal College of Organists, as Chairman of the Gloucestershire Organists’ Association and on the Gloucestershire Area Committee of the RSCM. He is conductor of Pershore and Cirencester Choral Societies and organ tutor at Dean Close School, Cheltenham. Honorary awards include Associateship of the Royal Academy of Music and Fellowship of the Guild of Church Musicians.
Jonathan Lilley
Jonathan Lilley took up music in earnest when he became a cathedral chorister in his home city of Salisbury, and progressed via a music scholarship at St Edward’s School, Oxford to the Royal Academy of Music, where as a first-year student he held the organ scholarship at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, and gained the FRCO diploma.
Jonathan arrived as Sub-Organist to the then Leeds Parish Church in 1996 in succession to Carleton Etherington. During his time here, alongside his wide-ranging duties as Dr Lindey’s assistant, he led the newly-founded Girls choir, and began to develop his enduring métier as a keyboard accompanist. He worked with numerous choirs, including Halifax Choral Society, where he succeeded Darius Battiwalla as accompanist, together with the choral society, opera class and individual students of Leeds College of Music (now Leeds Conservatoire), and the RSCM Northern Cathedral Singers, the latter proving to be a happy relationship that lasted some 12 years.
In 2002, Jonathan was appointed assistant to former LPC chorister Paul Trepte at Ely Cathedral, where in addition to providing keyboard accompaniment for worship, he played recitals and a concerto in the cathedral, accompanied numerous broadcasts, recordings, and memorable overseas tours, including a live BBC Radio broadcast of Poulenc’s organ concerto. Equally at home on piano and organ, he worked with King’s School Ely, Ely Choral Society and Ely Consort as well as with the cathedral’s choirs, and developed a skill in improvising accompaniments to silent films.
In 2013 Jonathan assumed the position of Director of Music at Waltham Abbey Church in Essex. There he leads the Abbey Choir, the Abbey’s new ‘relaxed choir’ for adults of all musical abilities, and a new children’s singing group, which encourages children’s singing with the intention of attracting them towards choir membership proper. He maintains a busy freelance career as organ and piano accompanist, enjoying resident positions with the Reigate-based English Arts Chorale, the Waltham Singers of Chelmsford, and Royston Choral Society. The Abbey’s lunchtime recital series allows him to explore piano repertoire, particularly the music of composers known mostly to the organ community. His solo playing of the church organ, rebuilt under his influence, can be sampled via his YouTube channel.
Darius Battiwalla
Darius took up the post of Leeds City Organist in 2017, programming the very successful Town Hall recital series and giving regular solo concerts. He is currently overseeing the renewal of the Leeds Town Hall organ. Recent performances include the recitals at the Cathedrals of Coventry, Lincoln, Ripon, and St Albans, as well as appearances with Collegium Vocale Gent in Ghent and Amsterdam, and the annual recital for the Royal College of Organists conferment of diplomas.
In 2024 he was part of the premiere of a new work for four organs by James Wood commemorating the Great Storm of 1674, to be performed simultaneously by organists across Europe. He has recently released a CD, recorded by audiophile label Base2 Music, including the Whitlock Sonata and works by Fela Sowande and Percy Grainger.He has appeared as soloist with the Halle and London Philharmonic Orchestras, and is a regular orchestral organist and pianist for the BBC Philharmonic and Halle orchestras.
As a pianist, he gives regular chamber concerts with members of the Manchester orchestras, and on the harpsichord he has played continuo with many UK orchestras, and performed and broadcast harpsichord concertos: most recently soloist in Frank Martin’s Harpsichord Concerto for the Northern Ballet Theatre.
Darius teaches improvisation at the Royal Academy of Music, and is teaching on this year’s Royal College of Organists summer course.
