Review Centre: Organists

"Gareth is very responsible and always punctual. He is always willing to help, very committed and is able to give great advice on how to improve musically. We had a great time working with him. We really miss working with him and if anyone needs an accompanist, I highly recommend Gareth. Leo "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Gareth was incredibly helpful - he found the music we wanted and met us a few months before the wedding at the Church to go through things. He played the organ beautifully during the wedding service. We would not hesitate to recommend him."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Gareth usually plays once a month at our church services in Dorking - First Church of Christ, Scientist in Moores Road. He is always prompt, very helpful and communicates well with all our members and visitors. His expertise as a pianist, organist and accompanist is at the highest level. We are extremely grateful to have Gareth as one of our artists and would love to have him play our new Clavinova more often!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Gareth helped us achieve a dream. We had discovered a Victorian ancestor had had quite a bit of music published, which we had been able to copy, but not being musicians, we didn't know what to do next. I wanted to have the music recorded as an Xmas present for my husband and found Gareth's details on line. I went to him in early December so it didn't leave much time, but he still managed to learn and record one of the pieces for Colin for Christmas Day, and since then he has recorded all of the music on two CDs for us. From the start he was so helpful and accommodating - meeting with me to look at the music, giving a clear time-scale and cost, and then presenting us with two very professional CDs. His playing is just beautiful, and he explained that as some pieces were songs, he'd had to record the main melody and then dub in the soloist's part on top (that's a non-musical explanation of what I understood Gareth to say!) He went to such lengths to make everything perfect, keeping us regularly informed of how things were going, and his costs were very reasonable for the amount of work involved. If we find any more music, we'll certainly ask him again."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"I still remember the day I first met him at church, when he stood in for our organist and played the most incredible piece. Since then he has shown me the widest repertoire i have ever seen! He can play almost anything you can think of. He also has done many things like helping me pass my grade 5 bass exam with distinction and get grade 5 theory over with, to helping me get a scholarship. Gareth is an amazing man with an unforgettable personality. His arrangements are always amazing and his compositions even more so. I will never forget the jazz rendition of Für Elise he wrote for my thirteenth. He is an fantastic man and i would never hesitate to recommend him to anyone."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Sam brings humour and knowledge of music to his rehearsals with an easy manner which makes learning enjoyable. He is an accomplished musician playing keyboard with great dexterity. I would heartily recommend him in any such capacity. "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"I invited Gareth to play the organ for us at our 9.15 service having not heard him play before, and I was certainly not disappointed! The congregation and choir were delighted by his playing, with lovely improvisation before the service and a splendid Wesley Choral Song at the end. I had particularly asked Gareth to accompany a special item in the service, a festive Te Deum setting (by a relative of one of our congregation) which hadn't been performed for 60 years. His playing was extremely accurate, sensitive and thoroughly musicianly, with tasteful backing for the 'unaccompanied' choir moments when it was needed! Gareth is a complete pleasure to work with and took time and trouble to consult with me about the anthem weeks in advance. His calm, generous manner and quirky sense of humour made what could have been a stressful service into a breeze. I would not hesitate to ask Gareth to play for us again!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Des played at a garden party we had last week. He brought with him a bass player and together they were absolutely perfect, playing their choice of smooth, popular jazz. The music was beautifully delivered and they made such a great accompaniment to the party, the ideal background music to create a warm and swinging atmosphere and a few people couldn't resist a dance. We all loved it, young and old. Des was also highly organised, professional and conscientious. Superb, I would highly recommend Des."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Gareth thank you for your stunning playing at our wedding last month. We were so lucky to find you at short notice and really appreciate the time, care and calming humour you brought to us in our planning coffee. Gareth Giles is a truly lovely man to work with and made all our musical dreams come true with apt suggestions and help with the detailing of the order of service. His playing is pure genius and any couples reading this looking for a highly talented, experienced church musician who also happens to be a lovely, funny man to work with should NOT hesitate to book him - you will not be disappointed. Fantastic music flows from this man Thanks again GG and keep in touch"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Gareth is a truly outstanding organist - every last request was granted and with style, aplomb, flair, enthusiasm, dynamism and utter professionalism from the start. Gareth met with us to discuss all our options and his knowledge and sense of humour is as outstanding as his virtuoso playing. Absolutely lovely guy and completely amazing musician. Thank you particularly for the Vierne - just W O W !!!!!!! Wedding couples - book this man if you can - our day would not have been the same with any lesser musician driving the organ Thanks G "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Mark was brilliant from the moment we contacted him right the way through to the end of the event. We could not have chosen a better pianist for our wedding! He was so catering towards the songs we wanted to be played, he also went above and beyond to learn a particular bollywood song that we wanted. Given that we were a covid bride and groom, Mark constantly reassured our stresses and supported us throughout. When some things did not run on time, Mark used his initiative and played such lovely music to “fill the gaps”. Not only is Mark an amazing pianist but a very kindhearted man too! We received so many compliments about the Bollywood pieces that Mark played during our canapes, everyone absolutely loved him. Mark you are so talented! Thank you so much for playing at our wedding, you made the day that much more special. We are so happy you were a part of it!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Mark, thank you so much for being a part of our special day at Hengrave Hall. We are so happy that it was you that we picked to play for us - brilliant! We hope to keep in contact in the future, and you will always be on speed dial if we need you, and I am sure we will. Lots of love, Luke and Alysha xx September 2016"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Mark is, quite simply, exceptional. When we were looking for an organist for our wedding, he was the the most responsive, enthusiastic and engaging of anyone that we contacted. He took great care to ensure that we had the pieces of music that we wanted and he surprised us with his range of musical genres. On the day of the wedding, Mark turned up early and spent a lot of time familiarising himself with the church organ. He also brought his own equipment as a back-up which we thought was a good idea. His performance during the wedding ceremony was faultless and had the whole congregation singing along! We could not have been happier with our choice of Mark as our organist. He is great!"

Reply by Mark Burton - Wedding Organist / Pianist
Thank you Brian and Nicki for such a lovely review, I'm so pleased that the music was so well received by everyone present. We really did have a variety of music didn't we, Vivaldi to Genesis! You were both a pleasure to work with, and I wish you luck with everything that you do in the future. Mark (June 2016)

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Laurence played at our Golden Wedding Anniversary and his lovely music made it a fantastic evening. He included many of my favourite songs and was really friendly and approachable...well done, Laurence!"

Rating: 9 / 10 Share this review:

"Can't thank mark enough, we forgot to book anyone to play the organ for our wedding untill 2days before the big day, I contacted mark and he went out of his way to make sure our day was perfect, if I could rate you more than a ten mark I would, you saved our day and you were amazing, thank you so much "

Reply by Mark Burton - Wedding Organist / Pianist
James - thank you for your lovely comments, I was very pleased to help you out at such short notice. Everything went as planned, and you both looked fantastic on the day! All the best - Mark.

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review: