The Third Sursa American Organ Competition was held September 6–8 at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, hosted by the School of Music under the direction of assistant professor of organ Stephen Price.
The competition included six pre-professionals and two high school candidates chosen from the preliminary round to compete in the semi-final and final live rounds. Organ repertoire from the 16th to the 21st centuries was performed on the three-manual Goulding & Wood Opus 45. The events also included an Orgelkids demonstration led by Mark Herris and Darrell Bailey from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, open for the public to participate. On the final day, the judges and School of Music faculty were featured in a concert, also including solo pieces and a duet for Orgelkit instrument and the Goulding & Wood.
For the pre-professional division, first prize was awarded to Josiah Hamill; second prize to Jihye Choi; third prize to Yong Zhang; and audience prize to Josiah Hamill. All are students at Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University, Bloomington.
In the high school division, first prize was awarded to Daniel Colaner (student of David Higgs), second prize to Rebecca Lee (student of Sarah Williams).
The judges for the lives rounds were Wilma Jensen, James Kibbie, and Mark Herris. The preliminary round judges were Kirby Koriath, Yevgeniya Jaynes, and Stephen Price. Josiah Hamill will be featured in concert with the Muncie Symphony Orchestra on April 4, 2020, playing the Concerto for Organ and Orchestra by Francis Poulenc.
For information: www.bsu.edu/academics/collegesanddepartments/music.
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