The annual Arthur Poister Scholarship Competition in Organ Playing took place on April 12 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Syracuse, New York. Three contestants were invited to perform 30-minute programs on the basis of their preliminary-round recordings. This year’s competition was part of the Syracuse Pipe Organ Festival, a three-day event that also featured a downtown organ crawl and student and faculty concerts at Syracuse University.
First prize ($5,000, funded by the Syracuse Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and a recital engagement on the Holtkamp organ at Syracuse University’s Setnor School of Music) went to Valentina Qishan Huang, a doctoral student at the Shepherd School of Music, Rice University, studying with Ken Cowan. Huang also received the Will O. Headlee Audience Prize ($500, funded by Don Ingram in memory of Will Headlee, Syracuse University Professor Emeritus of organ and long-time Poister competition coordinator). Her program included “Cantabile” from Charles-Marie Widor’s Symphonie VI, Bach’s Sonata in G Major, BWV 530, and “Toccata” from Rachel Laurin’s Symphony for Organ, opus 36. Her winner’s recital will take place in autumn at Syracuse University.
Second prize ($3,000, funded by the Arthur Poister Endowment Fund of Syracuse University) was awarded to Jennifer Shin, a doctoral student in the studio of David Higgs at the Eastman School of Music. Third prize ($1,500, funded by the Syracuse Chapter of the American Guild of Organists) was awarded to Dale Nickell, organist and associate director of music ministries at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Nashville, Tennessee.
The judges for the final round were Monica Berney, Bálint Karosi, and Jonathan Ryan. For information: alaver@syr.edu.
Other competition news:
David Dubois High School Organ Competition
Baylor University High School Organ Competition
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