Schoenstein Competition in the Art of Organ Accompaniment

David Spicer began as Minister of Music and the Arts at First Church of Christ in Wethersfield, Connecticut, in 1986. In 1996 he and Harold Robles founded the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival. Spicer is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Alexander McCurdy, and is a graduate of the Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

It hardly seems possible that ten years have gone by since we began the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival! We have experienced outstanding applicants who reflected superb teaching, wonderful adjudicators, and a high level of music making. Beautiful New England weather gave an idyllic setting for the festival. On Friday evening, September 7, our traditional opening concert was held. The service/choral portions were played by the writer:
Prelude: Benedictus (op. 59, no. 9), Max Reger (played at the first festival)
Psalm 150, César Franck
Hymn: Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation (Tune: Christ Church, Richard W. Dirksen)
Kyrie (from Messe Solennelle, op. 16), Louis Vierne
He Comes to Us (with text by Albert Schweitzer), Jane Marshall
Go Ye into All the World, Robert Wetzler
Hymn: Let Heaven Rejoice (text by Hal M. Helms) (tune: Rock Harbor by Alan MacMillan)
The three judges were each invited to play a selection of their own choosing. The artists’ playing from the balcony was projected onto a screen downstairs in the historic Meetinghouse. Frederick Hohman played Comes Autumn Time by Sowerby. Diane Meredith Belcher played her transcription of the Largo ma non tanto (from the Concerto for Two Violins, BWV 1043) by Bach, and the Toccata in B-flat minor (from Pièces de fantaisie, op. 53, no. 6) by Vierne. Paul Jacobs then played the Fugue (from Fantasy and Fugue on B-A-C-H, op. 46) by Max Reger.
Paul Jacobs returned as a judge to the competition in which he had won first prize ten years ago! At that competition, his mother and grandmother flew from Pennsylvania to be present at his winner’s recital. They both returned again this time, to be present as Paul served as a judge.
Saturday morning the three High School Division finalists played the required repertoire. At 2:00 pm the Young Professional Division finalists were heard. The combined repertoire of these six finalists included: hymn tunes St. Thomas (Williams), Coronation, Ein’ Feste Burg, Diademata, and Veni Creator; J. S. Bach, Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 541; Prelude and Fugue in C, BWV 531; Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, BWV 542; Trio Sonata No. 1, BWV 525, and Trio Sonata No. 6, BWV 530; Charles-Marie Widor, Adagio (Symphony No. 3), Adagio (Symphony No. 5), and Cantabile (Symphony No. 6); Simon Preston, Fantasia, The Christmas Light; Jehan Alain, Litanies; Dan Locklair: “The people respond, Amen!” (Rubrics); and Franck: Chorals nos. 1, 2, and 3.
Immediately after the competition, all finalists and judges had a chance for interaction and discussion over a delicious meal provided by Dana Spicer at her restaurant, Mainly Tea, directly across the street from the Meetinghouse. On Sunday, September 9, all finalists played portions of the 8:00, 9:15, and 11:00 am worship services. At 1:30 pm, a masterclass with the three judges was held. Many important topics were covered, and awards were presented.
The judges’ decisions
High School Division: first place, Benton Blasingame from Collinsville, Illinois, former student of Dr. John Romeri and currently studying with Thomas Bara at the Interlochen Arts Camp; second place, Wesley Hall from Spencer, Massachusetts, student of Patricia Snyder and currently studying with William Ness; third place, Chelsea Barton from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, student of Dr. Shelly Moorman-Stahlman, a professor at Lebanon Valley College.
Young Professional Division: first place, Ahreum Han from New Haven, Connecticut, student of Ken Cowan at Westminster Choir College, of Alan Morrison at the Curtis Institute of Music, and currently at Yale with Thomas Murray; second place, Christopher J. Howerter, SPC, from Emmaus, Pennsylvania, student of Stephen Williams, Michael Krentz, and currently with James David Christie at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music; third place, John Alexander from Greensboro, North Carolina, student of Robert Burns King at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
We are very grateful to Paul Fejko for serving as the screening judge for initial recorded examples of these organists and other applicants. We are also grateful to Ahlborn-Galanti Organs for the $2000 award for first prize in the High School Division, and to the Austin family, who provided the second prize of $1000 in loving memory of Donald B. Austin. The Young Professional Division first prize of $3500 was shared by J.H. & C.S. Odell Pipe Organ Builders, which provided $1500; the Helen L. Reinfrank Music Fund, which provided $1000; and Dr. Marilyn Mason, who also gave $1000. The Reinfrank Fund also made possible the $500 Creative Hymn Playing Award, while the Music Committee of First Church of Christ contributed the $500 Improvisational Hymn Playing Award, both of which went to Benton Blasingame. Bank of America provided the Judges’ Award, totaling $1500. Other prizes and gifts toward the festival—including the High School Division third prize of $500 and the Young Professional Division third prize of $750—came from Austin Organs, Inc., Connecticut River Community Bank, Patrick J. Murphy and Associates, and several individuals in the First Church family.
Special thanks go to Gordon Auchincloss, who was on hand throughout the Saturday competition to offer assistance should the organ need it, and to Bon Smith of Austin Organ Service Company of Avon, Connecticut, who graciously gave the gift of tuning for this festival. Austin Organ Service Company is the regular curator of this instrument, serviced by Alex Belair and Michael Tanguay. Thanks to Betty Standish, Music Committee Chair; Leslie Vliet, ASOF Chair; Dave Gilbert, administrative assistant; and Laurie Allen, for so ably performing the organizational work that made the festival run smoothly and efficiently.
Churches that allowed their instruments to be used for additional practice include Trinity Episcopal Church, Wethersfield, Bruce Henley, organist-choirmaster; St. John’s Episcopal Church, West Hartford, Ralph Valentine, organist-choirmaster; St. James’ Episcopal Church, also in West Hartford, Jason Roberts, organist-choirmaster; and First Church of Christ, Glastonbury, Angela Salcedo, director of music ministries.
We are pleased to announce that the 2008 Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival will have the following judges for the competition: Gerre Hancock, Marilyn Mason, and Frederick Hohman. Plans are underway to feature these organists in the opening concert of the festival on Friday, September 5, at 7:30 pm. The ASOF Committee is hoping to invite six qualified young organists to compete in the two divisions on Saturday, September 6.
The 2007 first-place winners, Ahreum Han and Benton Blasingame, will perform in recital on Sunday, June 8, 2008, at 7:00 pm at the First Church of Christ, Wethersfield, Connecticut.

Information about the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival and current requirements for the competition are available by telephone at 860/529-1575 ext. 209, by e-mail at <[email protected]>, or by viewing the ASOF website: <www.firstchurch.org/ASOF&gt;.
Photos by Scott Jensen

David Spicer began as Minister of Music and the Arts at First Church of Christ in Wethersfield, Connecticut in 1986. In 1996 he and Dr. Harold Robles founded the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival/USA. Spicer is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Dr. Alexander McCurdy, and of the Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

On Tuesday, September 6, 2005, six young organists began arriving in Wethersfield, Connecticut to participate in the eighth annual Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival/USA. This year the caliber of playing was especially high, and all who heard were greatly encouraged regarding the future of organ playing in our country.
We are grateful to the following churches for allowing these six finalists to practice on their organs: Trinity Episcopal Church, Wethersfield: Bruce Henley, organist-choirmaster; Asylum Hill Congregational Church, Hartford: Charles Miller, organist and associate minister of music; Christ Church Cathedral (Episcopal), Hartford: Canon James Barry, organist and choirmaster; and Bethany Covenant Church, Berlin: Olga Ljungholm, minister of music.
On Friday morning, September 9, the finalists were treated to a tour of St. Joseph’s Cathedral (Roman Catholic) in Hartford, conducted by Ezequiel Menendez, organist-choirmaster. The awesome architecture and the IV/141 Austin with its five seconds of reverberation were a thrill for all to experience.
On Friday evening a concert was held in the historic Meetinghouse of the First Church of Christ in Wethersfield, featuring music composed by organists. The Campanella Handbell Choir, directed by Linda Henderson, joined organist David Spicer in presenting Paean of Praise (based on Pasticcio) by Jean Langlais, arranged by Sue Mitchell-Wallace. Spicer then played Aria by Flor Peeters and led the Festival Choir in Chant Praises to God, an anthem heard for the first time at this festival, composed by Frederick Hohman and dedicated to the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival/USA. The final triumphal chords of this anthem led into the hymntune Christ Church (“Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation”) by Richard Dirksen. The Festival Choir then sang Psalm 150 by César Franck.
The father and son team Abubaker and Babafemi (Generations of Drummers) led all present in some vigorous, interactive African drumming. Alvin Carter Sr. and Alvin Carter Jr. were dressed in African garb, a reminder of Dr. Albert Schweitzer’s great missionary work in Africa. Next, the three judges for the competition played on the Austin IV/62. Benjamin Dobey, from Kohler, Wisconsin, played the Paean (from Six Pieces for Organ) by Herbert Howells. This was followed by Cortège and Litany, op. 19, no. 2 by Marcel Dupré, played by Katharine Pardee, who traveled from Oxford, England to be at the festival. Finally, permanent adjudicator of the ASOF/USA, Frederick Hohman, from South Bend, Indiana, played the Allegro (Theme with Variations), the first movement of Symphony No. 6 in G by Widor.
Anthems He Comes to Us by Jane Marshall (with text by Albert Schweitzer) and Go Ye into All the World by Robert Wetzler were sung by the Festival Choir. The concluding hymn was “Let Heaven Rejoice” (Rock Harbor), tune by Alan MacMillan and text by Hal M. Helms, which has become a tradition at these opening concerts.
High School Division finalists were Samuel Kohei Gaskin, from Beaumont, Texas (third prize), who studies with Hugh E. Thompson; Kenneth Scott Miller from Conover, North Carolina (second prize), a student of Florence Jowers; and Jacob Michael Street from North Reading, Massachusetts (first prize), a student of John Shelton.
The Young Professional Division finalists were Scott A. Montgomery from Champaign, Illinois (third prize), a recent graduate of the University of Illinois, where he is continuing his studies with Dana Robinson; Monica Alexandra Harper, from Waco, Texas (second prize), where she is a graduate student of Joyce Jones at Baylor University; and Jason Noel Roberts from New York City (first prize), studying under McNeil Robinson at the Manhattan School of Music.
Saturday, September 10, the High School Division competition was held from 9 am to noon. The Young Professional Division finalists competed from 1–4 pm. Sunday morning, September 11, all finalists played portions of the 8, 9:15 and 11 am worship services. At 4 pm awards were presented, and first-place winners Jacob Michael Street and Jason Noel Roberts were heard in recital.
The total combined repertoire represented by these six finalists included Prelude and Fugue in D Major, BWV 532; Prelude and Fugue in a minor, BWV 543; Fantasia in G Major, BWV 572; and Trio Sonata No. 6 by Bach; Andante Sostenuto from Symphonie Gothique by Widor; Choral No. 1 in E Major, Choral No. 2 in b minor, and Choral No. 3 in a minor by Franck; Méditation by Duruflé; Prelude and Fugue in g minor by Dupré; “Lebhaft” (Sonate II) by Hindemith; Wondrous Love: Variations on a Shape-Note Hymn by Barber; and hymn tunes St. Thomas, Ein’ feste Burg, Ar Hyd y Nos, Coronation, Slane and Eventide.
Special thanks go to Gordon Auchincloss, who was on hand throughout the Saturday competition to offer assistance should the organ need it, and to Bon Smith of Austin Organ Service Company of Avon, Connecticut, who graciously gave the gift of tuning for this festival.
Our thanks to Nancy Andersen, festival manager; Karen Franzen, administrative assistant; Betty Standish, ASOF/USA chair, for the organizational work that made the festival run smoothly and efficiently. A special note of thanks to Dana Spicer and Mainly Tea of Wethersfield, for providing a reception for the three judges on Friday evening and a wonderful dinner for finalists and judges on Saturday evening.
The Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival committee is preparing for ASOF/USA 2006, to be held in Wethersfield, Connecticut, September 8–10. Organists Marilyn Mason and Thomas Heywood will join Frederick Hohman as this year’s guest artists/judges. Plans are underway to feature these organists in the opening concert of the festival on Friday evening, September 8 at 7:30 pm. The committee is hoping to invite six qualified young organists to compete in the two divisions on Saturday, September 8. Awards and requirements have been changed: the High School Division first-place award sponsored in part by Ahlborn-Galanti Organs has been raised to $2000. In addition to the first-place award of $3500, provided in part by J.H. & C.S. Odell Organ Builders, the Young Professional Division first-place award winner will have the opportunity to present an organ recital during the 2006–2007 First Church Concert Series. An additional award of $500 will be given from the Helen L. Reinfrank Music Fund for the most creative hymn playing.

David Spicer began as Minister of Music and the Arts at First Church of Christ in Wethersfield, Connecticut, in 1986. In 1996 he and Dr. Harold Robles founded the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival. Spicer is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Dr. Alexander McCurdy, and is a graduate of the Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

It hardly seems possible that thirteen
years have gone by since we began the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival! We have experienced outstanding applicants, who reflected superb teaching, outstanding adjudicators, and a remarkable and consistent high level of music making. Beautiful New England weather gave an idyllic setting for the festival.
On Friday evening, September 10, the opening concert was held. David Spicer played the service/choral portions:
Prayer (Larghetto) from Serenade for Strings, Elgar, transcribed by David Spicer
Psalm 150, César Franck
Hymn: Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation (Christ Church), Richard Dirksen
Kyrie (from Messe Solennelle, op. 16), Vierne
Agnus Dei (Missa Brevis), McNeil Robinson
He Comes to Us (with text by Albert Schweitzer), Jane Marshall
Go Ye into All the World, Robert Wetzler
Hymn: Let Heaven Rejoice (Rock Harbor), text by Hal M. Helms, tune by Alan MacMillan
The three judges were each invited to play a selection of their own choosing. One of the original judges, Joyce Jones, was unable to attend. David Enlow agreed to be her replacement. The artists’ playing from the balcony was projected onto a screen downstairs in the historic Meetinghouse. Frederick Hohman played the Toccata (from Suite, op. 5) by Maurice Duruflé. Charles Callahan played Praeludium in A Minor by Clarence Eddy, and his own compositions: Prelude on a Theme of Gustav Holst (world premiere) and The Rejoicing. David Enlow then played his own transcription of La forza del destino: Overture by Giuseppe Verdi.
Saturday morning, from 9 to noon, the three high school division finalists played the required repertoire. At 2 pm, the young professional division finalists were heard. The combined repertoire of these six finalists included: hymn tunes St. Thomas (Williams), Hamburg, Ein’ feste Burg, and Slane; Bach: Fantasia and Fugue in G Minor, BWV 542, Prelude and Fugue in D Major, BWV 532, Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 541, Trio Sonata No. 4 in E Minor, BWV 528, and Trio Sonata No. 1 in E-flat, BWV 525; Widor: Andante Cantabile from Symphonie No. 4 in F, Choral from Symphonie Romane, and Prelude from Symphony No. 2 in D Major; Franck: Choral No. 1 in E Major and Choral No. 3 in A Minor; Dupré: Prelude and Fugue in B Major, op. 7, and Ave Maris Stella from Vèpres du Commun, op. 18; Vierne: Toccata in B-flat Minor; Langlais: Te Deum from Three Gregorian Paraphrases; Paulus: As if the Whole Creation Cried; and Messiaen: Messe de la Pentecôte – Communion “Les oiseaux et les sources” and Sortie “Le vent de l’Esprit.” Immediately afterwards, all finalists and judges had a chance for interaction and discussion over a delicious meal provided by Dana Spicer at the historic Solomon Welles House down the street from the Meetinghouse.
On Sunday, September 12, all finalists played portions of the 8:00, 9:15, and 11:00 am worship services. At 1:30 pm, a masterclass with judges Callahan and Hohman was held. Many topics were covered, and awards were presented.
High school division, first place: Christopher Holman from Thomasboro, Illinois, student of Dana Robinson. Second place: Janet Yieh from Alexandria, Virginia, student of Dr. John Walker. Third place: Donald VerKuilen from Appleton, Wisconsin, student of Frank Rippl.
Young professional division, first place: Simon Thomas Jacobs from Greenwich, Connecticut. Second place: Dana Steele from Washington, West Virginia, student of Todd Wilson. Third place: Brandon Santini from Weymouth, Massachusetts, previously studied with David Higgs at Eastman School of Music.
We are very grateful to Dr. John Weaver for serving as the screening judge for initial recorded examples of these organists and other applicants.
We are also grateful to Leigh and Betty Standish for the $2,000 award for first prize in the high school division. The young professional division first prize of $3,500 was given by Robert Bausmith and Jill Peters-Gee, M.D. Thanks goes to John Gorton and Richard Pilch for providing $750 for the David Spicer Hymn Playing Award, which was awarded to high school division finalist Christopher Holman. Other prizes and gifts toward the festival—including the high school division second prize of $1,000 and the young professional division second prize of $1,500—came from Marilyn Austin and the Austin family and several individuals in the First Church family. We also thank Dr. Paul Bender for his gift to this festival.
Special thanks go to Bon Smith of Austin Organ Service Company of Avon, Connecticut, who was on hand throughout the Saturday competition to offer assistance, should the organ need it, as well as his gracious gift of tuning and maintenance for this festival. Austin Organ Service Company is the regular curator of this instrument, serviced by Alex Belair and Michael Tanguay. Our thanks to Linda Henderson, festival coordinator and associate, for so ably performing the organizational work that made the festival run smoothly and efficiently.
Churches that allowed their instruments to be used for additional practice were: Trinity Episcopal Church, Wethersfield (Bruce Henley, organist-choirmaster); Rocky Hill Congregational Church, Rocky Hill (William Kanute, director of music); First Church of Christ, Glastonbury (Angela Salcedo, director of music ministries); St. James’ Episcopal Church (James Barry, minister of music); Trinity College, Hartford (John Rose, organist); Cathedral of St. Joseph, Hartford (Dr. Ezequiel Menéndez, music director); and Bethany Covenant Church, Berlin (Olga Ljungholm, minister of music). We are grateful to these churches who also made their instruments available: St. John’s Episcopal, West Hartford (Peter Stoltzfus Berton, music director); Asylum Hill Congregational Church (Dan Campolieta, organist); and St. James’s Episcopal Church, West Hartford (Jason Roberts, organist-choirmaster).
We are pleased to announce that the 2011 Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival will have the following judges for the competition: Gregory D’Agostino, Frederick Hohman, and Michael Barone. Plans are underway to feature these organists in the opening concert of the festival on Friday evening, September 9 at 7:30 pm. The ASOF committee is hoping to invite six qualified young organists to compete in the two divisions on Saturday, September 10.
Our 2010 first-place winners, Christopher Holman and Simon Thomas Jacobs, will perform in recital on Sunday, June 12, 2011, at 7 pm at the First Church of Christ, Wethersfield, Connecticut.