The 32nd St. Albans International Organ Competition will take place July 3–15, 2023, in St. Albans, UK, celebrating 60 years. Applications are being accepted for both the interpretation and improvisation competitions with a deadline of March 17, 2023.
The interpretation competition will include a commissioned work by British composer Judith Weir. The improvisation competition (Tournemire Prize) has been redesigned for 2023 and will include silent film accompaniment and free improvisation with flute on literary texts.
Finalists will perform on the Harrison & Harrison organ in St. Albans Cathedral. Further competition rounds will take place on the 2006 Mander organ in St. Peter’s Church, St. Albans; the 18th-century Richard Bridge organ in Christ Church, Spitalfields, London; and the 2013 Orgelbau Kuhn organ at the Royal Academy of Music, London.
First prize of the interpretation competition is £12,000 with recital engagements. The Tournemire Improvisation Prize is £8,000 plus recital engagements. A second prize of £5,000, Peter Hurford Bach Prize of £1,000, audience prize of £1,000, and Douglas May Award of £800 will also be awarded.
The jury includes David Hill (UK), Bine Bryndorf (Denmark), Pieter van Dijk (the Netherlands), Rie Hiroe (Japan), Todd Wilson (United States), Franz Danksagmüller (Austria/Germany), and Jean-Baptiste Robin (France). For information: organfestival.com.
Pictured is the Harrison & Harrison organ at St. Albans Cathedral (built in 1962 and refurbished in 2007–2009); the photographer is Chris Christodoulou.
Other competition news:
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