Pipe organ competition brings top talent to Hartford Sept 27-29

Now in its 23rd season, the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival Hartford brings some of the nation’s best young organists to Hartford to perform – and compete – on the renowned Austin organ at Trinity College Chapel in Hartford.

The 2019 Festival, scheduled for September 27-29, offers a sonic feast of concerts, recitals, and choral music. The competition, which takes place on Saturday, September 28, is book-ended on September 27 and September 29 by concerts featuring internationally-acclaimed organist Christopher Houlihan and theHartford Symphony Orchestra, Carolyn Kuan, music director. All events take place at Trinity College Chapel, 300 Summit Street, Hartford.

“The 2019 Festival features our Young Professional Division competition, one of the top three organ competitions in North America, which we offer biennially in odd years,” said Vaughn Mauren, the Festival’s artistic director. “This year we will award $28,500 in prize money, the largest single-year sum in Festival history.”

The award for the first place winner of the Young Professional Division is $15,000; the second place winner receives $7,500; and the third place winner receives $3,500. An additional award of $2,500, given in memory of Festival co-founder David Spicer, is awarded to the winner of the hymn playing competition.

“These prizes are truly artistic grants,” said Mauren, “meant to ease the burdens of student loans and living expenses, while providing our laureates the means to pursue additional musical opportunities.”

The 2019 finalists, selected by a panel of judges from an international pool of applicants, are Elena Baquerizo of New York, NY; Alexander Pattavina, also of New York, NY; and Joseph Russell of Houston.

The competition on Saturday, September 28, begins at 10:00 a.m. Each of the three finalists will perform a 45-minute solo recital before three expert adjudicators: the renowned organists Diane Meredith Belcher, Thomas Murray, and John Rose. At 4:30 p.m., the winning organist presents a 30-minute solo recital. All listeners are invited to attend choral evensong at 5:00 p.m., and to participate in the final element of the competition, a rousing hymn-playing contest, where the three finalists compete vie for the $2,500 David Spicer Hymn Playing Prize. All the events on September 28 are free and open to the public.

“Outreach is also an important component of the Festival,” Mauren added. “This year, as we seek to build an even larger audience for this exciting Festival right here in Hartford, we are thrilled to present the two concerts on September 27 and 29 with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and Carolyn Kuan, Music Director. We are especially proud to feature concert organist Christopher Houlihan, John Rose College Organist-Directorship Distinguished Chair of Chapel Music at Trinity College in Hartford, who is also a member of the Festival's Board of Directors and a local leader in the arts.”

“Many people are familiar with the pipe organ in a liturgical or church setting, but there is also a rich repertoire of concert music for solo organ and for organ with orchestra, and music of both types will be heard during the Festival,” added Mauren. “All the Festival events – the professional competition, choral evensong, and the two concerts with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra – feature the magnificent Austin Organ at Trinity College Chapel. This organ, crafted by Hartford’s own Austin Organ Company, is renowned among organists and choral musicians, and we are excited to introduce new listeners to the splendour and vast color palette of this organ as a solo instrument and in partnership with the full orchestra.”

The Festival events also offer music-lovers an opportunity to visit Trinity College Chapel, a Hartford landmark and a building of national significance noted for its pre-eminence among neo-Gothic structures in America. Despite a name that suggests an intimate space, the Chapel, with a length of some 180 feet and a breathtaking reach of 62 feet from floor to ceiling, boasts an extraordinarily resonant acoustic in a soaring, visually stunning space, and is particularly suited for performance of organ and choral music.

Tickets for the concerts with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and Christopher Houlihan on September 27 and 29 are on sale now at http://bit.ly/Grand-Organ. All other Festival events, including the competitions, are free and open to the public.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS: The 23rd Annual Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival Hartford

All events take place at Trinity College Chapel, 300 Summit Street, Hartford. Complete Festival details are at www.asofhartford.org.

Friday, September 27, 2019
8:00 p.m. Music for Grand Organ and Orchestra – Acclaimed organist Christopher Houlihan joins the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Carolyn Kuan conducting, in the Opening Concert of the 2019 Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival Hartford. The program includes the thrilling and notoriously difficult Symphonie Concertante for organ and orchestra by Joseph Jongen. Mr. Houlihan, described as “one of the brightest stars in the new generation of American organists,” will also perform music by Bach and Widor (the opening movement of the Sixth Symphony). The program includes the fourth movement of Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 5 in D Major and the Albert Schweitzer Portrait by Gene Scheer for orchestra and narrator, featuring John Nowacki of New England Public Radio. Carolyn Kuan and Dr. Lisa Wong, an expert on the life and work of Albert Schweitzer, will join Mr. Houlihan in presenting a 30-minute talk at 7:00 p.m. in the Admissions Building, near the Chapel. Tickets are $35-$55 at www.hartfordsymphony.org.

Saturday, September 28, 2019
All events on Saturday, September 28 are free and open to the public
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Young Professionals Competition – Each of the three finalists performs a 45-minute recital on the 4,429-pipe Austin organ in Trinity College Chapel, presenting repertoire of their choosing that meets the requirements of the competition. The competition will be judged by renowned organists Diane Meredith Belcher, Thomas Murray, and John Rose. Listeners may choose to attend any or all of the recitals. Elena Baquerizo opens the competition at 10:00 a.m., followed by Alexander Pattavina at 11:00 a.m. and Joseph Russell at 12:45 p.m.
4:30 - 5:00 p.m. Winner's Recital – The First Prize recipient presents a solo organ recital of selected repertoire.
5:00 - 6:00 p.m. Choral Evensong – This ancient service of sung evening prayer is open to all. Listeners will hear the organ in its traditional liturgical art form, blending with the Festival Choir to present great choral music from the English cathedral tradition. The Chapel Singers of Trinity College join the choirs of St. James's Episcopal Church and St. John's Episcopal Church (both in West Hartford) under the direction of Vaughn Mauren and Scott Lamlein, choirmasters. The service will be accompanied by Benjamin Straley, former Organist of Washington National Cathedral.
6:00 p.m. Hymn Playing Competition – The three finalists compete once more, this time for the $2,500 David Spicer Hymn Playing Prize, demonstrating their ability to inspire and lead several hundred people in song. This is an especially fun event, with lots of audience participation and opportunities for robust singing. The day concludes with a reception in the Chapel cloisters.

Sunday, September 29, 2019
3:00 p.m. Encore Presentation: Music for Grand Organ and Orchestra – An encore presentation of the Opening Concert. Acclaimed organist Christopher Houlihan joins the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Carolyn Kuan conducting. The program includes the thrilling and notoriously difficult Symphonie Concertante for organ and orchestra by Joseph Jongen. Mr. Houlihan, described as “one of the brightest stars in the new generation of American organists,” will also perform music by Bach and Widor (the opening movement of the Sixth Symphony). The program includes the fourth movement of Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 5 in D Major and the Albert Schweitzer Portrait by Gene Scheer for orchestra and narrator, featuring John Nowacki of New England Public Radio. Carolyn Kuan and Dr. Lisa Wong, an expert on the life and work of Albert Schweitzer, will join Mr. Houlihan in presenting a 30-minute talk at 2:00 p.m. in the Admissions Building, near the Chapel. Tickets are $35-$55 at www.hartfordsymphony.org.

Parking and accessibility

Parking for ASOFH events at the Trinity College Chapel is allowed in any campus parking spot, including those marked for college registered vehicles. The closest parking spaces are on Summit Street and in the lots adjacent to Jarvis and Seabury Halls. For those with mobility concerns, at the concerts on Friday, September 27 and Sunday, September 29, a complimentary golf-cart shuttle will be available from the Hansen Hall parking lot, located off Vernon Street. The shuttle will begin service 30 minutes prior to the pre-concert talks and will be available before and following the concerts. Please allow ample time to use this service. The Chapel’s accessible ramp entrance is located through the north cloister, near Downes Memorial. Accessible restrooms are located at the Admissions and Career Development Center and are not available in the Chapel. Additional parking may be found by Ferris Athletic Center, accessed through the campus entrance near 1705 Broad Street. A campus map is available at https://map.trincoll.edu.