Jean Martyn, a 59 year old parish church organist at St Mary and St Chad, Brewood rocked the house on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent.
The Church of England Newspaper writes:
It’s not often a church organist is praised as pure entertainment value. When Jean Martyn bounced up and down and her hands flew across the keyboard, no one mentioned on television that her Sunday job is playing the organ at Brewood parish church, Staffordshire.
At 59, shortly to be 60, she was the oldest of the Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalists. On ITV1 at 7 pm on Saturday night you can see and hear the boogie-woogie queen in the final.
“Jean is the main organist at St Mary and St Chad, and has been for a number of years,” says the vicar of Brewood, the Rev Charmaine Host. “She plays most Sunday mornings and is well liked.
“Her Christian faith is very important to her. She is a delightful woman and extremely gifted on the keyboard.”
Jean finally gave up teaching music, exasperated, when a pupil asked: ‘Who is Mozart?’
She has had a 30-year career in concert playing. She is the only female organist to have been recorded on the Blackpool Tower Wurlitzer organ in 50 years. She plays on Bournemouth pier pavilion’s Crompton organ. She is regarded as one of the greatest electronic organists of the generation. And she has played the organ at Lichfield cathedral.
Enjoy her performance here.