Dijk who is City Organist, and organist of the Grote Sint Laurenskerk, in Alkmaar, the Netherlands, where he acts as custodian to two of the world’s most significant historic organs. As one of Europe’s most sought-after teachers, Van Dijk is Professor and Head of Organ Studies at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, a position he combines with a Professorship at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg. Together with Frank van Wijk, he is Artistic Director of Organ Festival Holland, which places the renowned Alkmaar instruments at the center of a prestigious international organ competition, organ academy and concert series.
Pieter van Dijk was a pupil of Bert Matter at the Arnhem Conservatory, before going on to further his studies with Gustav Leonhardt, Marie-Claire Alain and Jan Raas. As a performer he was awarded prizes at international competitions in Deventer (1979) and Innsbruck (1986). His many recordings on historic organs throughout the Netherlands and beyond have included the Fugue State Films DVD ‘The Organs of the Laurenskerk’, which in 2013 was awarded the Preis der Deutsche Schallplattenkritik. In 2017 he commenced the recording of a complete Bach-cycle for DMP Records. Van Dijk’s research interests have led to the publication of articles about Weckmann, Sweelinck, Bach and the playing style of the great early 20th century German organist Karl Straube. He was one of the advisors behind the much-lauded reconstruction of the organ at the St Katharinenkirche in Hamburg, on which Bach famously performed in 1720. As a performer and jury member at international competitions, Pieter van Dijk has appeared throughout Europe as well as in the USA and Japan. You can also listen to my previous interview with Pieter van Dijk (SOP Podcast #22) from 2015. Pieter came to Vilnius to teach and perform at the Summer Organ Academy which my colleague Balys Vaitkus and his team organized. We met at the restaurant of his hotel and talked about his teaching and performing experiences at the Academy as well about his project to record complete organ works of J.S. Bach on significant historical instruments of Holland, Germany and Norway. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. And if you like it, please head over to iTunes and leave a rating and review. This helps to get this podcast in front of more organists who would find it helpful. Thanks for caring. Listen to the conversation Related Link: https://www.dmp-records.nl
class, studying under Jean Le Buis. She graduated from the Conservatory in May 2011.
Francine is the recipient of many prizes and scholarships, which have allowed her to participate in the Mount Royal College Organ Academy in Calgary, Canada, and in organ courses, studying with Jean Galard in Paris and Cherry Rhodes in Los Angeles. She completed her graduate studies at the University of Southern California in December 2013. Awards include the John Goss Memorial Scholarship from the Royal Canadian College of Organists and the Irene E. Robertson Music Scholarship from the USC Thornton School of Music. She recently performed the complete organ work of Johannes Brahms at the Calgary Organ Festival and Symposium. She also played with the Calgary Civic Symphony for the same festival. She has also given recitals at venues including the Saint Joseph Oratory in Montreal, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, and the Cathedral Center of Saint Paul (Episcopal) in Los Angeles. Francine has been music director for Saint Ambrose Episcopal Church in Claremont, CA. She now lives with her husband in Belleville and they both serve as directors of music for Saint Thomas' Anglican Church. In this conversation, Francine shares her insights of how to overcome such challenges as dealing with independence of voices, performance anxiety and managing time constraints. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. And if you like it, please head over to iTunes and leave a rating and review. This helps to get this podcast in front of more organists who would find it helpful. Thanks for caring. Listen to the conversation Related Link: www.duopergulae.com
Louisiana, he is a recent graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, Ohio.
He began his piano studies at age 9 and 3 years later he began his organ studies at age 12 under Calgary native Marlene Mullenix. At the age of 14, Matthew commenced his church music career by playing voluntarily at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Lake Charles. He then became accompanist at Christ the King Catholic Church at the age of 15 in 2009, and in 2011 he returned to the Cathedral to play for the Saturday Vigil Mass in addition to holding the principal organist position at St. Michael and All Angels Anglican Church in Lake Charles. He currently serves as organist at St. Clement Catholic Church in Lakewood, Ohio, and in September 2017 he will assume the position of Director of Music at Holy Family Catholic Church in Parma, Ohio. Matthew recently graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance and a Master of Music in Organ and Historic Performance. During his undergraduate studies, Matthew studied under James David Christie, in addition to lessons with Madame Marie-Louise Langlais in the fall of 2012 during a semester in residence at Oberlin, as well for two months in the fall of 2016. He has also taken lessons with Liuwe Tamminga and Jean-Baptiste Robin in the fall of 2014, as well as with Philippe Lefebvre in the fall of 2015. In the fall of 2012, Madame Langlais returned to Oberlin for six weeks, during which time Matthew studied several pieces by Jean Langlais with her. . Matthew also studied harpsichord under Webb Wiggins for two years at Oberlin, as well as one year of fortepiano study with David Breitman. Matthew has concertized extensively throughout his hometown; at the Oratoire du Saint-Joseph in Montréal, Canada; in Appleton, Wisconsin; in Cleveland, Ohio; in Vero Beach, Florida; and participated in a student recital in Paris with his colleagues during a two-week organ tour in France. Matthew is the winner of the 2015 Dallas Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, as well as successfully competing as a finalist in the Southwest Region of the American Guild of Organists in 2015 and the University of Alabama Full Tuition Scholarship Competition in 2012. Matthew attended the 2011 Boston Advanced Pipe Organ Encounter, as well as the Oberlin Summer Academy for High School Organists and the Kansas State University Keyboard Camp in 2012, the Oberlin Summer Academy for Advanced Organists in 2014 and the McGill Summer Organ Academy in 2015, where he studied with John Grew and Olivier Latry. In this conversation Matthew shares his insights about overcoming his 3 main challenges - not giving up on a difficult repertoire, managing work and life and communicating with his team members. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. And if you like it, please head over to iTunes and leave a rating and review. This helps to get this podcast in front of more organists who would find it helpful. Thanks for caring. Listen to the conversation Related Links: Matthew Buller on Facebook and LinkedIn
and at 13 began her ongoing involvement in church music.
She's a performer at heart, and church music offered a challenging but forgiving way to develop this skill! So throughout her years at Covenant High School in Tacoma, she accompanied weekly chapel and school choir concerts. At the prodding of her piano teachers at the time, Paul Twedt and later Chris Rogers, she also competed and placed as a soloist in local MTNA competitions. In 2013 she began attending Seattle Pacific University, where she collaborated with SPU choir and solo vocal performances and recorded several student-led ensembles, while continuing private lessons with Dr. Wayne Johnson. He retired in 2014, and she joined the studio of Dr. Dainius Vaičekonis. Kae lives in Lake City, Seattle, and teaches in-home lessons. She's currently employed as pianist/organist at Haller Lake United Methodist Church, seasonally accompanies the Norwegian Ladies’ Chorus of Seattle, and have been occasionally teaching elementary piano students since 2012. She graduated from SPU in June 2017, one of just two students with a BA in piano performance. In this conversation Kae shares her insights about overcoming her 3 main challenges - developing hands and feet coordination, getting on the organ bench every day and dreaming big. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. And if you like it, please head over to iTunes and leave a rating and review. This helps to get this podcast in front of more organists who would find it helpful. Thanks for caring. Listen to the conversation Related Links: Kae Hannah Matsuda on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIjPtoQ1_bxt38oGTCLOJiw and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hannah.matsuda.39
is quickly establishing himself as a talented and engaging international performer.
We recorded this conversation before his concert at Vilnius University St. John's church which was about a month ago on July 1. On his thoughtful program - works of Felix Mendelssohn, Edwin Lemare, Arvo Pärt, Johannes Brahms, David Conte and, of course, Johann Sebastian Bach. Having first encountered the pipe organ at the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp (Michigan) at the age of sixteen, Weston later graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy. At the Eastman School of Music, Weston earned his Bachelor of Music Degree and the prestigious Performer’s Certificate. He recently completed two years in England as the Organ Scholar of Canterbury Cathedral and Chelmsford Cathedral. During this time, he was also appointed the first Organ Scholar to the Royal Festival Hall, London. Weston currently studies with Thomas Murray at the Yale School of Music and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. Former organ teachers include Michel Bouvard, Hans Davidsson, David Higgs and Thomas Bara. Following his recital debut at The Kennedy Center (Washington, DC) in 2009, he has performed across the United States and Europe, including Westminster Abbey (London), Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue (New York), The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels (Los Angeles), The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (Denver), the Chapel of the Queen’s College (Oxford), Royaumont Abbey (France), and the Berliner Dom (Germany) and St Paul's Cathedral (London). On the Newberry Memorial Organ of Woolsey Hall, Weston has performed with The Philharmonia Orchestra of Yale, The Yale Concert Band, and The Yale Symphony Orchestra. As a part of the London Handel Festival, he collaborated with the Apollo Baroque Consort in a concert of Handel Organ Concertos from Mayfair’s Grosvenor Chapel. Weston is an enthusiastic advocate for new music and has premiered compositions by Molly Joyce, Soosan Lolavar, Mark Carroll, and Allison Willis. His performances and interviews have been broadcast live on BBC Radio 3. Committed to the education of new organists, Weston presently serves as Instructor of Undergraduate and Secondary Organ at Yale College. He has served on the faculty of the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp, the Department of Music at The King’s School, Canterbury, and taught and performed at several Pipe Organ Encounters across America. Forthcoming recital engagements include St. George’s Chapel of Windsor Castle, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Moscow), Hildesheim Cathedral (Germany), and Kelvingrove Art Gallery (Glasgow). In this conversation Weston shares his insights on finding the right bench height, your favorite repertoire, and letting the instrument tell you what it wants. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. And if you like it, please head over to iTunes and leave a rating and review. This helps to get this podcast in front of more organists who would find it helpful. Thanks for caring. Listen to the conversation Related Link: http://www.westonjennings.com
from Vilnius University majoring in Chemistry but hopes to transfer to Medicine next year. He's just finished his freshman year and right away started playing the organ at our Unda Maris studio from last September and currently has chosen 3 pieces for the upcoming competition for young organists.
Arnoldas is very hardworking and motivated organ student and Ausra and I are very delighted that he came and found us in the organ studio. He substituted for me a number of graduation ceremonies and recently performed at Unda Maris organ studio concert. You can read his thought about these experiences here and here. In this conversation Arnoldas shares his insights about finding more practice time, choosing your organ repertoire wisely and expanding your musical horizons. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. And if you like it, please go over to iTunes and leave a rating and review. This helps to get this podcast in front of more organists who would find it helpful. Thanks for caring. Listen to the conversation Relevant links: Arnoldas Leleika on Facebook and YouTube
Currently he is the main organist of St. Joseph church here in Vilnius, member of the Board of National Association of Organists in Lithuania and member of the European Chapter of American Guild of Organists.
He started his musical journey in 1989 at Kaunas boys choir school "Varpelis" where he studied until 1997. In 2004 he graduated from Vilnius University with the Master of Law degree. In 2006 he began studying the organ with me privately and in 2007 became the organist at the Holy Cross church in Vilnius. In the summer of 2007 together with me and Ausra, Paulius founded National Association of Organists in Lithuania and was appointed vice-president of this organization. In 2008 he won the 3rd prize at the 2nd Jonas Žukas Organist Competition. In 2007-2010 Paulius led educational organ demonstrations "Meet the King of Instruments" in many Lithuanian churches, participated in masterclasses by Prof. Lorenzo Ghielmi (2013, Vilnius), Prof. Sophie-Véronique Cauchefer-Choplin (2014, Paris), Prof. Maris Sirmais (2015, Kaunas), and Juan Carlos Asensio (2016, Marijampolė) for organists and church musicians. Since 2014 Paulius leads the musical life at St. Joseph church in Vilnius and directs two vocal ensembles of the parish. Since 2017 he is the member of the Board of National Association of Organists in Lithuania and treasurer as well as the member of the European Chapter of American Guild of Organists and is preparing for his Service Playing Certificate test. In about 3 days, Paulius will play a recital at Vilnius Cathedral and in this conversation he shares his insights about his practice procedures and obstacles he has to overcome in order to become a better organist - finding time for practice, setting himself a challenge and discovering as many organs as he can. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. Thanks for caring. Relevant link: http://www.vargonai.lt/grigonis.htm
Daniel is a graduate of Valparaiso University where he earned his Bachelor of Music in Church Music and Organ Performance. Most recently, he served as Principal Organist for First United Methodist Church at Chicago Temple in Chicago, Organist and Cantor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Downers Grove, and Interim Cantor and Organist at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Lincolnwood. Previously, he served as the Director of Music at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Chesterton, IN. Daniel currently teaches piano, organ, and voice.
Including his work as a capable accompanist, some of his notable past performances have included the opening recital for the Pipe Organ Encounter hosted by the American Guild of Organists, guest artist for Paul Manz Organ Recital Series, and recitalist for the organ rededication service at Augustana Lutheran Church in Hobart, IN. Collaborations have included performances with Chorus Angelorum, Civitas (Chicago Symphony Orchestra chamber group), and with the Valparaiso University Symphony and LaPorte Symphony Orchestras. In 2015, he performed alongside the Valparaiso University Chorale in their summer tour of Germany where he played in Luebeck, Jueterbog, and Leipzig. While at Valparaiso University, he received the Ronald G. Reidenbach Prize in Church Music and the Signature Artist Award. He is an active member of the American Guild of Organists, the American Choral Directors of America, and the Organ Historical Society. In this conversation Daniel shares his insights about knowing your instrument, being really good at one thing and becoming an advocate for organ art. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. Thanks for caring. Relevant links: https://soundcloud.com/dsegner https://www.facebook.com/daniel.segner http://www.stmarksglenellyn.org/welcome/our-staff/daniel-segner
harpsichordist and musicologist, Felipe Dominguez. A graduate of Brigham Young University (B.M. 2010, M.M. 2012), he studied organ and harpsichord with Douglas Bush and Don Cook.
Felipe has pursued further postgraduate organ instruction in Europe with Edoardo Belotti, Hans Davidsson, Francesco Cera and Harald Vogel. He has performed as a soloist and in ensembles in Chile, Argentina, the United States and Italy. Felipe is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Musicology at Catholic University of America, in Washington, DC. Since 2011, he has been the organist and assistant music director at First Presbyterian Church of Annandale (Washington, DC Metropolitan Area). In this conversation, Felipe shares his insights about the Chilean organ culture, challenging yourself as you practice your 10000 hours to become a better organist and the importance of seeking out specialists of various historical periods and national schools of organ composition. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. Thanks for caring. Relevant link: felipedominguez.net
organist Hayo Boerema. He was born in Groningen (Holland) in 1972. At the Royal Conservatory in The Hague he studied organ with Johann Th. Lemckert, church music with Marijke van Klaveren and improvisation with Jos van der Kooy; at the Rotterdam Conservatory he studied choral conducting with Barend Schuurman.
He specialised in improvisation with Naji Hakim (Paris) and in French symphonic repertoire with Ben van Oosten. Hayo Boerema won prizes at international competitions and festivals in Vienna (1998), Nuremberg (1999), Paris (1999), St. Albans (2001), Nijmegen (2004) and Kotka (2005); as a recitalist he has toured Spain, Germany, Finland and France. In 2005 he was appointed organist of the St Laurenskerk in Rotterdam, and in 2009 he was awarded the silver medal of merit by the Société Académique d’Education et d’Encouragement ‘Arts, Sciences, Lettres’ in Paris for his services to French organ music. He is appointed as professor in improvsation at Codarts Conservatory in Rotterdam. In this conversation Hayo shares his amazing insights about the art of organ improvisation. If you're interested at all with creativity, you don't want to miss miss this episode. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. Thanks for caring. Relevant link: hayoboerema.com |
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AuthorVidas Pinkevicius' conversations with internationally renown experts from the organ world - concert and church organists, improvisers, educators, composers, organ builders, musicologists and other people who help shape the future of our profession. Archives
November 2017
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