The Fort Wayne First Presbyterian Church National Organ Playing Competition was to be held on March 21, 2020. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the final round of the competition was initially postponed and ultimately cancelled. Three finalists were selected and the church has honored each of them with the distinction of being a 2020 finalist and an award to each of a third of the total prize money.
The three finalists were: Andrew Morris, a master’s degree candidate at the University of Kansas studying with James Higdon; Colin MacKnight, associate organist and choirmaster at the Cathedral of the Incarnation, Garden City, Long Island, New York, and a C. V. Starr Doctoral Fellow at The Julliard School, New York City, studying with Paul Jacobs (and a member of The Diapason’s 20 Under 30 Class of 2019); and Daniel Minnick, who is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in organ performance and literature from the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York, with David Higgs, having previously studied with Nathan Laube.
First Presbyterian Church will hold the 2022 competition on March 26, 2022. The biennial competition was started in 1960 and is the longest running national organ playing competition in the United States.
For information: firstpresfortwayne.org.
Other competition news:
Augustiner Franz Kopfreiter Organ Competition
Toulouse International Organ Competition
Anton Bruckner International Organ Improvisation Competition
