FOR 27 years, Roy Massey and Hereford Cathedral formed a musical partnership of great distinction – he was conductor-in-chief of the Three Choirs Festival no fewer than nine times.

His organ playing reached a wide audience far beyond Hereford, and introduced many people to the glories of the cathedral organ.

On Tuesday, he returned to the cathedral to play a concert to celebrate his recent 75th birthday, and the fifth anniversary of the latest restoration of the Willis organ. The audience was a large one, with many of his old friends in evidence, and he rose to the occasion splendidly.

There is no-one around who knows the cathedral organ better than Dr Massey and his programme was planned to make the greatest possible use of the resources and colours that distinguish this instrument.

Dr Massey managed the orchestration of the music with consummate skill and, thanks to excellent video projection, the audience could see and hear that he was on top of the considerable technical demands.

At the end of the concert, the audience gave Dr Massey a warm and prolonged ovation which said much for the affection in which he is held. This was further underlined by the Dean of Hereford who announced that the Cathedral Chapter had unanimously agreed that Dr Massey should be given the title of organist emeritus.