Biography

Aaron Hawthorne is a Scottish organist based in North Lanarkshire. A graduate of the University of Glasgow (MA Hons, Music, 2019), he appears regularly in performances across the United Kingdom, continental Europe and the United States, performing concert programmes and improvised accompaniments to silent cinema.

A formative visit in his early teens to the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool, sparked a lifelong passion for the theatre/cinema organ. In 2019, following an appearance at the American Theatre Organ Society’s annual convention in Rochester, New York, he won the international Young Theatre Organist Competition, having secured the UK title two years earlier. That same year, he received the Ian Sutherland Award from the Cinema Organ Society, recognising “outstanding talent and promise".” Passionate about the promotion and preservation of the theatre organ, Aaron has served on committees of both the Cinema Organ Society and the Scottish Cinema Organ Trust.

Equally active in ecclesiastical music, Aaron began playing at Motherwell Cathedral as a teenager, later serving five years as Principal Organist at St Bride’s RC Church, Cambuslang before going freelance. He was Glasgow Cathedral’s inaugural Organ Scholar (2020–2021) and has played for thousands of church services. An accomplished choral conductor too, he directed the University of Glasgow Chamber Choir for three seasons.

Since 2017 Aaron has been a house organist at Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, Glasgow, performing in the daily recital series. Renowned for his silent film work, he has toured widely since 2021 with improvised scores to The Phantom of the Opera (1925), Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923). His debut professional recording, The Most Wurlitzer Time of the Year (2024), was made on the Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ at the New Victoria Centre, Howden-le-Wear in association with the North East Theatre Organ Trust.

Aaron has appeared on television, radio and podcasts, including BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, local BBC Radio, and The Organist Encores. He is Arts Development Officer (Music) at North Lanarkshire Council and a committed advocate for the transformative power of the expressive arts.