Max Kenworthy has performed at recitals around the globe — from New Zealand, to Hong Kong to Germany.

Tomorrow the 38-year-old organist will share his gift with music lovers in Bermuda.

Mr Kenworthy, the son-in-law of Governor George Fergusson, is hoping people will be spiritually moved by the free, hour-long performance at 6pm.

“I feel playing the organ is an accurate reflection of my faith,” he told The Royal Gazette. “That’s how I feel it.

“Playing music is very central to my spirituality. The music a lot of it that I play has been written by spiritual talents like [Johann Sebastian] Bach and the music he writes really does comes from within.

“He was a very spiritual man and a lot of his music is reflective of that.”

Mr Kenworthy grew up going to church with his family in the UK. As a youngster he joined the choir at St Paul’s Cathedral in London and continued studying music when he went off to St Paul’s Episcopal boarding school.

“We had normal lessons, but it was quite a specialist environment,” he said. “We would sing every day in the Cathedral and at lots of functions during the week. We would also rehearse every day in the morning and afternoon.

“In the same way it was like being a young professional.”

By secondary school he knew he wanted to pursue music as a career.

Opportunities gradually opened up for him to perform in church and concert halls in London. Then in 2002, he accepted a role as assistant director of music at Wellington Cathedral of St Paul in New Zealand.

It proved to be a big move for his career.

Not only did he record his first solo organ album, Organum Maximum; he was also featured on several other classical CDs.

He also joined a New Zealand-based jazz trio band as a pianist — releasing another CD, Bach in Black, in December 2007.

Mr Kenworthy said jazz was something that came quite naturally to him.

“It’s something I kind of picked up myself,” he said.

“I used to play with my father when I was in school. He’s a double bass player so we used to play together. I was on the piano and he was on the bass.”

They still play together on special occasions — these days his three-year-old daughter will also chime in on the violin.

“I still dabble a little in jazz now,” Mr Kenworthy said. “Jazz and choral music are very different genres, but surprisingly there are some similarities like the art of improvisation, which is very evident in both jazz and organ music. It’s a useful skill to have.”

These days he’s back in England teaching music at Ardingly College, a boarding school in the West Sussex countryside.

He’s also the organist and director of music at St Wilfrid’s Church in Haywards Heath.

“The church I play in at the moment is in Sussex. Often when I finish playing, at the end of the service, people will tell me, ‘That was lovely, I really enjoyed it. It really moved me’. It’s nice to get that feedback.”

One of his most memorable experiences was a recent solo gig at St Paul’s.

“It was a very exciting performance because I was a chorister there as a child, so it was nice to go back and play in such in huge reverberating space and sit back and enjoy the sonic experience,” he said.

“Another memorable moment was playing at the Melbourne Town Hall to a very large audience. It was a duet recital and so nice to see the community had supported us. We played to a crowd of more than 1,000 people.

“It was a little nerve-racking. For that particular concert we weren’t aware just how many people would turn up. We were quite nicely surprised. I definitely had some pre-performance jitters, but quite often the organist has their back to the audience and that can help calm the nerves a bit.”

Mr Kenworthy said he has always been drawn to the organ because of its power — as a solo instrument and while accompanying choirs and singers.

“Mozart himself said the organ is the king of instruments and if that’s good enough for him it’s good enough for me.”

The organ at St Paul AME will be another exciting feat for the musician.

“It’s a hybrid between traditional pipe and an electric one and blends those sounds together very well. It’s also quite a loud instrument and it can make a lot of noise and make a lot of exciting sounds,” he said.

Tomorrow’s concert will be quite varied.

“I’ve named it ‘Toccata’,” Mr Kenworthy said.

“That’s a type of keyboard piece with a very rapid and quite elaborate fingerwork. I’m incorporating a number of that style of piece into the programme — some that are very famous and some lesser known ones in the middle. There will also be a variety of pieces from around the world as well. There will be something for everyone.”