The annual Arthur Poister Scholarship Competition in Organ Playing took place on Friday, April 4 at 7:00 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Syracuse. Three contestants were invited to peform thirty-minute programs on the basis of their preliminary round recordings. This year’s competition was part of the Syracuse Pipe Organ Festival, a three-day event that also featured a downtown organ crawl, recitals at Syracuse University, and the launch of a new documentary film projet.
First Prize ($5000, funded by the Syracuse Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and a recital engagement on the historic Holtkamp organ at Syracuse University’s Setnor School of Music) went to Alex Little, a doctoral student at the Eastman School of Music, studying with David Higgs. Alex also received the most votes for the Will O. Headlee Audience Prize ($500, funded by Eugene Tobey in memory of Headlee, Syracuse University Professor Emeritus of Organ and long-time Poister competition coordinator, and alumnus Don Ingram). Alex’s program included J. S. Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 541, Elsa Barraine’s Prélude et Fugue No. 2, and Naji Hakim’s “Final” from Hommage à Igor Stravinsky.
Second Prize ($3000, funded by the Arthur Poister Endowment Fund of Syracuse University) was awarded to Celina Kobetitsch, organist at St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church in Plymouth, Minnesota.
Third Prize ($1500, funded by the Syracuse Chapter of the American Guild of Organists) was awarded to Martin Jones, a doctoral student at the Shepherd School of Music of Rice University, studying with Ken Cowan.
The judges for the final round were Nathaniel Gumbs, Director of Chapel Music at Yale University; Colin MacKnight, Director of Music at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Little Rock, Arkansas; and Caroline Robinson, Assistant Professor of Organ at the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance.
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Photos of Cathedral console
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