Organist Simon Mace to perform at Whanganui's Christ Church on July 26

Organist Simon Mace will give a recital at Christ Church on Sunday, July 26. Photo / Supplied

Acclaimed organist - and professional gamer - Simon Mace will perform in Whanganui later this month.

Mace recently moved back to New Plymouth where he began his organ studies at the Cathedral 12 years ago. Since then he has spent time in England and studied in Dunedin, gaining a Masters Degree from Otago University.

He is also a choral singer and composer and is well known in the New Zealand choral scene.

Mace has performed with numerous choirs throughout the country. In 2015 he won the NZ Organ Congress competition held in Napier.

He has been Director of the Competition Choirs at Knox College 2015-16, organist to St Paul's Cathedral Dunedin 2016-17, and musical director of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament Christchurch 2018.

He is also a professional gamer affiliated to the streaming service Twitch and currently holds a world record in this field.

The Whanganui concert is Mace's first public recital after settling in New Plymouth this year, and the Friends of the Christ Church Organ are delighted to host "a first". His programme spans three centuries from Bach's Prelude and Fugue in C minor to the contemporary Norwegian composer Mons Takle's The Power of Life.

Tickets are available at the door. The cost is $25 for adults and $20 (Organ Friends); entry is free for students and children. Programme notes and refreshments are included in the ticket price.

The concert will be at Christ Church, Wicksteed St, at 2pm on Sunday, July 26.