20-05-2025
Meet the 'extravagant' Ribble Valley musician with cult Instagram following
A Ribble Valley musician with a sparkling social media following is inspiring a new generation of music lovers through both Instagram and in-person tuition.
Dr Rebekah Okpoti, known online as The Girly Organist, has built a cult following on Instagram for her glamorous and engaging posts as a pipe organist, where she shares behind-the-scenes glimpses of her life performing in churches and cathedrals across the UK.
With almost 7,000 followers, Rebekah has become a recognisable influencer in the classical music world, celebrated for her extravagant performance dresses and fresh, fun take on a traditionally reserved genre.
Dr Rebekah Okpoti, known as The Girly Organist online (Image: Garry Cook) 'The Girly Organist is a platform to share behind-the-scenes of being a musician in Lancashire,' said Rebekah, who lives in Wilpshire. 'My dresses have created so much space for women in the male-dominated classical music world.'
Now, through her Whalley-based Ribble Valley Music School, she hopes to develop the next generation of musical talent right here in Lancashire.
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Ribble Valley Music School offers bespoke one-to-one instrumental tuition on piano, guitar, drums, violin and singing from its studios at The Sidings in Whalley.
The school accepts students from the age of three upwards and prides itself on giving young children the opportunity to thrive through enjoying learning how to play a musical instrument.
The family-friendly music school has a team of specialist tutors who are all fully DBS enhanced checked and have completed music education safeguard training.
They offer 30-minute and 60-minute weekly music lessons in piano, guitar, singing, violin and drums.
Okpoti is known for her extravagant dresses she wears during performances (Image: Garry Cook)Rebekah said: 'While we are popular with young people from three years old who want to learn music, we also have students of all ages, even into retirement age, who have come to us eager to learn how to play a new instrument or improve skills they have had for decades.
'The Ribble Valley is fortunate to have a great live music scene, but scratch the surface and most of the musicians are coming from outside the county.
'Our music school provides music learning opportunities for all ages, which I think is really important in setting a solid foundation of music making on a local level. We have a long-term commitment to producing musicians from Lancashire.'
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Rebekah lectures in musicology at Liverpool Hope University and until recently was director of music at Lancaster Priory. She is the editor-in-chief of The Organ Manual magazine, an international specialist online magazine.
She has worked as an associate organist at Leeds Cathedral and has developed music projects for Blackburn Cathedral, Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, Lancaster Priory, Halifax Minster, Longridge Parish, and worked with Blackburn Music Service and Clitheroe Royal Grammar School.
Okpoti runs the Ribble Valley Music School in Whalley (Image: Garry Cook) Rebekah added: 'We believe in the transformative power of music and that anyone can learn to play a musical instrument. We offer a welcoming and supportive training and learning environment for students of all ages and abilities.
'Every student has a unique focus when pursuing learning an instrument. Some aim to pass graded exams to enable themselves more opportunities in their lifelong music journey, some thrive being able to perform on stages, while some simply enjoy the relaxation music brings and others want to enhance their confidence or strengthen their musical skills in relation to other pursuits such as drama/dance/musical theatre. The practical skill of learning a musical instrument is of value at every level.
'We will work with you to create a bespoke program to help you make progress and achieve your goals."
