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NEWS & PREVIEWS LONGWOOD ANNOUNCES 2023 SHORTLIST IARROCCO GKELLY The console of the 1930 Aeolian Opus 1726 organ at Longwood Gardens LONGWOOD INTERNATIONAL ORGAN COMPETITION has announced the shortlist for its fourth edition. The 2023 shortlist was chosen from anonymous audio submissions judged by a panel of distinguished organists. Organists to compete in the event from 20-24 June 2023 are: Bryan Anderson (USA); Amelie Held (Germany); Aidan Hill (USA); Samuel Lee (Canada); Colin MacKnight (USA); Arthur Nicolas-Nauche (France); Alexander Straus-Fausto (Canada); Ádám Tabajdi (Hungary); Ashley Wagner (UK); and Aleksanteri Wallius (Finland). The ten competitors will perform on the 10,010-pipe, 146-rank Aeolian organ (1930) in the conservatory of Longwood Gardens before an audience including an international jury comprising Peter Richard Conte, Isabelle Demers, Helmut Deutsch, Simon Johnson, Thomas Ospital, Shin-Young Lee, and Raúl Prieto Ramírez. During the preliminary round, competitors will perform three selections: a Reger transcription of a work by J.S. Bach; a piece of a melodic, lyrical nature of either original organ music or any form of transcription; and a virtuoso organ work from the 19th, 20th or 21st centuries or a major transcribed work either previously published or an original transcription. During the final round on 24 June, competitors will perform five 6 CHOIR & ORGAN APRIL 2023 selections: a major piece from the canonical organ repertoire; a major transcribed work of overture nature either previously published or an original transcription; a piece of melodic, lyrical nature – either original organ music or any form of transcription; a piece chosen by the competition judges; and an additional work of preference. The winner of the Pierre S. du Pont First Prize will receive US$40,000, the largest cash prize for any organ competition in the world; a contract with Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists; and a recital at Longwood Gardens. Tickets for the 2023 Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition are now on sale and may be purchased at bit.ly/longwood-tickets. The Longwood organ was the brainchild of staff organist Firmin Swinnen and Longwood owner Pierre du Pont. The organ that Swinnen designed was custom-built in Garwood, New Jersey, and was built with transcriptions of orchestral music – a popular form of music in the early to mid 20th century – in mind. The organ underwent a seven-year restoration in 2004-11.The Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition was launched in 2013 to help nurture the next generation of organists. longwoodgardens.org choirandorgan.com
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BOARDING REQUIREMENT SCRAPPED AT CANTERBURY THE CHAPTER OF CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL together with the director of music, David Newsholme, have announced that from September 2023 membership of the Boys’ Choir will be open to children from any school. Compulsory boarding at the Choir House in the cathedral precincts and studying at St Edmund’s School will no longer be a requirement for choir membership. The change is part of the Cathedral’s mission to progress equality and inclusion, part of which is to ensure that both the Boys’ and Girls’ Choirs are on an equal footing, and to cement the future and quality of the choir and music-making within the church. The boy choristers and girl choristers will each sing three services a week and will be able to attend any local school. The Cathedral will continue to support financially all choristers currently studying at St Edmund’s School on a full choral scholarship until their tenure with the choir has finished. The Very Reverend Dr David Monteith, Dean of Canterbury, said: ‘Music is an integral part of worship in which the Cathedral takes great pride. We have a united vision of Canterbury Cathedral that blesses and serves the people of Canterbury and the wider community. We believe that this announcement helps children across the area benefit from the life-changing experience that singing in a cathedral choir offers while ensuring the continuation of the choir for generations to come. We are extremely grateful for the support and contribution [those at] St Edmund’s School have made during the past 50 years of our close partnership. We extend our sincere thanks to them and look forward to working alongside them in the years to come.’ Director of music David Newsholme added: ‘We want music-making in our cathedral not just to survive, but to evolve and flourish, and we share the Cathedral Music Trust’s commitment to enabling children from a diverse range of backgrounds to experience the many benefits that come from being a chorister. We believe that this is the way to secure the future of the choir and we are excited to be moving forwards into this new era, building on the strengths of our two wellestablished and respected choirs.’ Canterbury Cathedral Choir consists of 12 adult singers (eight lay clerks and four choral scholars), 25 boy choristers aged 8-13, and 25 girl choristers aged 12-18. Choir alumni include the conductors Christopher Seaman, Mark Elder, Harry Christophers and Trevor Pinnock, as well as the singer Alfred Deller and pianist Roger Vignoles. From September 2023, members of Canterbury Cathedral’s Boys’ Choir will no longer need to board Harry Christophers CBE, former chorister of Canterbury Cathedral and founder and conductor of The Sixteen, said: ‘I am very much indebted to the Choir of Canterbury Cathedral for the incredible experience it gave me as a chorister back in the 1960s. It instilled in me a passion for music, and, without doubt, I would not be where I am today without that opportunity. I came from a very humble background and without the inclusive recruitment policy that was practised during my tenure, my parents would not have had the means to fund compulsory private schooling, nor would they have wished me to board, making joining the choir an impossibility. I am very much in support of this move to enable children from a diverse range of backgrounds to experience the many benefits that come from being a chorister.’ canterbury-cathedral.org/ worship/music CATHEDRAL CANTERBURY choirandorgan.com NEWS IN BRIEF Crouch End Festival Chorus (CEFC) has invited conductors aged 18-35 to apply for their 2023-24 young conductor mentoring scheme. The mentoring scheme will cover one programme season with CEFC, starting in Sep 2023 and finishing in Jul 2024. The two successful applicants will have twice monthly mentoring sessions with the CEFC’s music director, David Temple, and have the opportunity to attend choir rehearsals and work with the choir management and accompanist . cefc.org.uk Guildhall School of Music & Drama has announced that the Leverhulme Trust has awarded Research Professor Sir Barry Ife a grant of over £400,000 to undertake a large-scale study of the composer Domenico Scarlatti. Texting Scarlatti: Composition, Reception, Performance will involve the first comprehensive, in depthstudy of all 3,200 surviving 18th-century copies of Scarlatti’s keyboard sonatas, tracking their genesis, reception and performance across Spain and Europe. gsmd.ac.uk/textingscarlatti Leeds Town Hall has offered a once-ina-lifetime chance to adopt one of their historic organ’s newly refurbished pipes. The pipe project is the latest phase of landmark plans to completely revamp the historic, Grade I listed building including its organ and the Victoria Hall performance space. Each of the 50ft organ’s 6,000 plus pipes will be on offer, and each ‘adopter’ will have their name added to a special book permanently housed inside the instrument . bit .ly/3EqwTQn Scunthorpe Co-operative Junior Choir, one of the largest and longest-running community youth choirs in the UK, will open their 100th anniversary celebrations with a gala concert on 25 Mar at The Baths Hall, Scunthorpe. They will be joined by internationally acclaimed vocal group and Grammy-nominees VOCES8. scunthorpecoopjuniorchoir.org.uk APRIL 2023 CHOIR & ORGAN 7

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BOARDING REQUIREMENT SCRAPPED AT CANTERBURY

THE CHAPTER OF CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL together with the director of music, David Newsholme, have announced that from September 2023 membership of the Boys’ Choir will be open to children from any school. Compulsory boarding at the Choir House in the cathedral precincts and studying at St Edmund’s School will no longer be a requirement for choir membership.

The change is part of the Cathedral’s mission to progress equality and inclusion, part of which is to ensure that both the Boys’ and Girls’ Choirs are on an equal footing, and to cement the future and quality of the choir and music-making within the church. The boy choristers and girl choristers will each sing three services a week and will be able to attend any local school.

The Cathedral will continue to support financially all choristers currently studying at St Edmund’s School on a full choral scholarship until their tenure with the choir has finished.

The Very Reverend Dr David Monteith, Dean of Canterbury, said: ‘Music is an integral part of worship in which the Cathedral takes great pride. We have a united vision of Canterbury Cathedral that blesses and serves the people of Canterbury and the wider community. We believe that this announcement helps children across the area benefit from the life-changing experience that singing in a cathedral choir offers while ensuring the continuation of the choir for generations to come. We are extremely grateful for the support and contribution [those at] St Edmund’s School have made during the past 50 years of our close partnership. We extend our sincere thanks to them and look forward to working alongside them in the years to come.’

Director of music David Newsholme added: ‘We want music-making in our cathedral not just to survive, but to evolve and flourish, and we share the Cathedral Music Trust’s commitment to enabling children from a diverse range of backgrounds to experience the many benefits that come from being a chorister. We believe that this is the way to secure the future of the choir and we are excited to be moving forwards into this new era, building on the strengths of our two wellestablished and respected choirs.’

Canterbury Cathedral Choir consists of 12 adult singers (eight lay clerks and four choral scholars), 25 boy choristers aged 8-13, and 25 girl choristers aged 12-18. Choir alumni include the conductors Christopher Seaman, Mark Elder, Harry Christophers and Trevor Pinnock, as well as the singer Alfred Deller and pianist Roger Vignoles.

From September 2023, members of Canterbury Cathedral’s Boys’ Choir will no longer need to board

Harry Christophers CBE, former chorister of Canterbury Cathedral and founder and conductor of The Sixteen, said: ‘I am very much indebted to the Choir of Canterbury Cathedral for the incredible experience it gave me as a chorister back in the 1960s. It instilled in me a passion for music, and, without doubt, I would not be where I am today without that opportunity. I came from a very humble background and without the inclusive recruitment policy that was practised during my tenure, my parents would not have had the means to fund compulsory private schooling, nor would they have wished me to board, making joining the choir an impossibility. I am very much in support of this move to enable children from a diverse range of backgrounds to experience the many benefits that come from being a chorister.’ canterbury-cathedral.org/ worship/music

CATHEDRAL

CANTERBURY

choirandorgan.com

NEWS IN BRIEF

Crouch End Festival Chorus (CEFC) has invited conductors aged 18-35 to apply for their 2023-24 young conductor mentoring scheme. The mentoring scheme will cover one programme season with CEFC, starting in Sep 2023 and finishing in Jul 2024. The two successful applicants will have twice monthly mentoring sessions with the CEFC’s music director, David Temple, and have the opportunity to attend choir rehearsals and work with the choir management and accompanist . cefc.org.uk

Guildhall School of Music & Drama has announced that the Leverhulme Trust has awarded Research Professor Sir Barry Ife a grant of over £400,000 to undertake a large-scale study of the composer Domenico Scarlatti. Texting Scarlatti: Composition, Reception, Performance will involve the first comprehensive, in depthstudy of all 3,200 surviving 18th-century copies of Scarlatti’s keyboard sonatas, tracking their genesis, reception and performance across Spain and Europe. gsmd.ac.uk/textingscarlatti

Leeds Town Hall has offered a once-ina-lifetime chance to adopt one of their historic organ’s newly refurbished pipes. The pipe project is the latest phase of landmark plans to completely revamp the historic, Grade I listed building including its organ and the Victoria Hall performance space. Each of the 50ft organ’s 6,000 plus pipes will be on offer, and each ‘adopter’ will have their name added to a special book permanently housed inside the instrument . bit .ly/3EqwTQn

Scunthorpe Co-operative Junior Choir, one of the largest and longest-running community youth choirs in the UK, will open their 100th anniversary celebrations with a gala concert on 25 Mar at The Baths Hall, Scunthorpe. They will be joined by internationally acclaimed vocal group and Grammy-nominees VOCES8. scunthorpecoopjuniorchoir.org.uk

APRIL 2023 CHOIR & ORGAN 7

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