The inaugural Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition has announced the first ever winner of the Pierre S. Du Pont prize. The Juilliard School master’s graduate Benjamin Sheen (age 23) impressed the judges with his repertoire and virtuosic playing. In addition to the grand prize of $40,000, Sheen also takes home a contract with Phillip Truckenbrod Concerts Artists and a guaranteed 2013–2014 Performance at Longwood Gardens.
Benjamin Sheen, 23, from London, UK, recently received his Master’s from the Juilliard School in New York and received a First Class Honors degree (BA) in Music from Oxford University. Sheen is increasingly gaining recognition as an international concert organist, having given recitals throughout the UK, including the Royal Albert Hall and Westminster Abbey, as well as the United States, Australia, New Zealand, France and Germany. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, and a recipient of the prestigious Worshipful Company of Musicians' Silver Medal for 2011. Sheen was recently appointed Assistant Organist-Designate, at St. Thomas Church in New York City. He will assume his duties in September.
The Firmin Swinnen Second Prize of $15,000 was awarded to Monroeville, PA native Adam Pajan (age 26), and the Clarence Snyder Third Prize of $5,000 was presented to French organist Baptiste-Florian Marle-Ouvard (age 31). Adam is a DMA degree student in organ with a church music emphasis at the University of Oklahoma’s American Organ Institute where he studies with John Schwandt and is both a Graduate College Research Fellow and Graduate Assistant. Baptiste-Florian is the organist at Église Saint Vincent-de-Paul in Clichy-la-Garenne (Paris). He pursues an international concert career in Europe, Russia, Canada and United States and teaches improvisation at the Conservatoire in the city of Viry-Châtillon in France.
Photo: Adam Pajan, Benjamin Sheen, Baptiste-Florian Marle-Ouvard.
The panel of judges included Paul Jacobs, Chair of the Organ Department at The Juilliard School; Thomas Murray, Professor of Music at Yale University; Oliver Condy, Editor of BBC Music Magazine; Sophie-Véronique Cauchefer-Choplin, Titular of the Grand Orgue of Saint Jean-Baptiste de la Salle in Paris; and Peter Richard Conte, Grand Court Organist of the renowned Wanamaker Organ and Principal Organist at Longwood Gardens.
The Longwood Organ is among the world’s largest concert organs, with 146 ranks and 10,010 pipes. After a seven-year restoration completed in 2011, the organ is restored to its original 1930 condition and incorporates today’s most innovative technology.
More information at www.longwoodgardens.org.
