Pictured, left to right: Alcée Chriss, Isabelle Demers, Thomas Murray, Bruce Xu, Michelle Horsley (Hartford AGO Dean), Theodore Cheng, Christopher Houlihan, Aletheia Teague
Bruce Xu
First Prize, Audience Prize, The David Spicer Hymn Playing Award
Aletheia Johanna Teague
Second Prize
Theodore Cheng
Third Prize
After a hiatus during 2020 and a virtual competition in 2021, it was a delight to return to Trinity College Chapel on a bright, brisk October morning (Saturday the 22nd, to be exact) to listen to a series of recitals by three exceptionally talented young organists, finalists in the Young Professional Division Competition of the 25th anniversary Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival, Hartford. This year’s festival celebrated its founding by David C. Spicer (1946-2017) Minister of Music and the Arts at First Church of Christ in Wethersfield, CT. and Harold Robles (1948-2020) founder of the Schweitzer Institute, now at Quinnipiac University.
Required repertoire for each of the recitals consisted of one of the six Bach trio sonatas, one of the three Chorals of Franck and a piece by a woman or BIPOC composer in addition to a work of personal choice.
First at the console of Trinity’s versatile Austin organ was Theodore Cheng, a native of Hong Kong and currently a doctoral student at the Juilliard School studying with Paul Jacobs. Performing next was Sloatsburg, N.Y. native, Bruce Xu, a student of Ken Cowen at Rice University. A break for an enjoyable luncheon in the cloister of the chapel preceded the final recitalist, Aletheia Teague of Southern California, an undergraduate at the Juilliard School, also a student of Paul Jacobs. Members of the jury were Alcée Chriss III, Artist-in-residence at Wesleyan University, Isabelle Demers, Professor of organ at McGill University, and Thomas Murray, University Organist and Professor Emeritus at Yale University. Following the recitals, attendees were invited to sing the hymn “Let all mortal flesh keep silence” to the tune “Picardy” led successively by Cheng and Xu, finalists for the David C. Spicer Hymn Playing Award. This award was established in memory of the founder whose passion for hymn-singing and playing was well-known.
The celebration then continued across the city at the Bushnell Center for Performing Arts where a special 25th anniversary celebration Organ Extravaganza concert was preceded by an entertaining and informative talk with Hartford Symphony Conductor Carolyn Kuan, guest soloist, Paul Jacobs and ASOFH artistic director, Christopher Houlihan. Paul Jacobs, now head of the organ dept of the Juilliard School was the first winner of the Albert Schweitzer Competition in its inaugural year 1997. Joining him on the program was the most recent ASOFH young professional winner from 2019, Alexander Pattavina, a former pupil of Jacobs at Juilliard and currently Associate organist and Choirmaster at St. Bartholomew’s in New York.
The 2799 seat Mortensen Hall, a fine example of art deco, houses the extraordinary Austin organ of 1929, op.1627. The pipe work of this rarely heard instrument is housed entirely within the walls on both sides of the proscenium arch, and for the concert the curtains, which normally cover the chambers, were pulled aside.
The Hartford Symphony Orchestra under Carolyn Kuan opened the program with Saint-Saens “Organ” Symphony with Pattavina as organist. This always effective and stirring work was an excellent introduction to the organ with the 32 foot pedal stops seeming to shake the entire building in the Finale. A further delight was to hear Pattavina on his own in a brilliantly played encore: the Fugue from Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue in c minor.
After intermission a film, “The Story of the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival Hartford” produced by filmmaker Kent B. Golden was screened. (This excellent film as well as further information on the festival may be accessed at www.asofhartford.org.)
Immediately following, members of the jury and the competition finalists were introduced and the competition prizes presented. First prize was awarded to Bruce Xu whose recital program had consisted of Ride of the Valkyries - Wagner-Lemare-Xu, Bach’s c minor Trio Sonata, “Joshua Fit the Battle ob Jericho” by Fela Sowande, Franck’s Choral No. 2 in b minor and the Toccata, from Suite op. 5 of Duruflé. Aletheia Teague received second prize and Theodore Cheng, third. Both the audience prize and the hymn playing prize also went to Bruce Xu. Despite the need to assign places to these finalists, it must be said that the playing of all three was of an exceptionally high standard. Along with Xu’s dazzling Duruflé Toccata, Cheng’s Prelude “Vision in Flames” (1996) by Akira Nishimura was a striking work, deftly executed. Ms. Teague’s final selection: “Dieu parmi nous” from “La Nativité du Seigneur” of Messiaen provided a moving and fitting close to the recitals.
As a grand finale to the festival, Paul Jacobs took to the console, first for Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in a minor, BWV 543 followed by the premiere of the revised version of Once Upon a Castle (2003/2015) for organ and orchestra by Michael Daugherty, b. 1954. Amusingly, Jacobs informed the audience that he had forgotten to pack his organ shoes and would be performing in his socks! If that made a difference, I’m sure it was undetectable as his pedal virtuosity seemed unimpeded. The Daugherty work was indeed a showpiece for both organ and orchestra replete with pedal solos and scintillating orchestration. The castle referenced in the title of the four movement work is the Hearst Castle on the California coast. Vignettes from scenes of its history, both real and imagined, are conjured by shifting styles, moods and musical ideas all the while giving ample opportunity for organ pyrotechnics brilliantly dispatched by Jacobs and well-matched by the orchestra.
The Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival Hartford is pleased to announce the finalists of the 2022 young professional division competition. The competition is at Trinity College, Hartford, on Saturday, October 22nd beginning at 10:00 a.m. Each finalist will present a 45-minute recital including a J.S. Bach Trio Sonata and one of César Franck’s Three Chorals. In addition to other repertoire of the competitor’s choosing, the performance includes at least one work by a woman or BIPOC composer. All performances are free and open to the public. Those attending all three recitals in-person are invited to vote for the coveted “Audience Prize.”
The prizes (totaling $29,000) will be announced during the Organ Extravaganza! concert at The Bushnell later in the day. Jurors for the competition are Alcée Chriss III (Wesleyan University), Isabelle Demers (McGill University), and Thomas Murray (Yale University).
Each 45-minute recital will be live-streamed from the ASOFH YouTube Channel. See links to individual performances below. A PDF of the program is available for download here.
Theodore Cheng (10:00 am recital) is a Hong Kong-born organist and composer with a cosmopolitan upbringing and a diverse range of interests and projects that extends well beyond the realm of music. Theodore is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Organ Performance at the Juilliard School, studying with Paul Jacobs under full funding as a C.V. Starr Doctoral Fellow. Prior to arriving at Juilliard, he attained an M.M. at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, studying organ with Craig Cramer. He has held positions as the Peter B. Knock Intern in Sacred Music at Rye Presbyterian Church, and Co-Organist and Choir Director at the Berkeley Divinity School. Theodore is a prizewinner at the 2022 Fort Wayne National Organ Playing Competition, and has performed across three continents, specialising in the pre-baroque and contemporary repertoire. As a composer, his choral and organ works have been performed by choirs and ensembles in the U.S. and in Hong Kong. In his spare time, Theodore enjoys singing Gregorian chant, writing poetry, and visiting art museums.
Bruce Xu (11:00 a.m. recital), 19, is from Sloatsburg, New York. He attends Rice University in Houston, TX, where he studied with professor Ken Cowan. He was introduced to the grand pipe organ and the Protestant Church in his local Sloatsburg Methodist Church. Within a month, he started organ lessons with Jimrae Lenser at age 9, and then went on to study with Craig Williams. Bruce continued his studies at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts high school, where he studied organ performance with Dr. Timothy Olsen and sang with the Cantata Singers (of UNCSA). Bruce was also Music Intern at Augsburg Lutheran Church. At age 14 alone, Bruce won First Prize in six organ competitions: UNCSA/Salem College High School Organ Festival & Competition (Winston-Salem, NC); Greater Columbia AGO Chapter Young Organist Competition (Columbia, SC); East Carolina University Young Artist Organ Competition (Greenville, NC); L. Cameron Johnson Memorial Organ Competition (Storrs, CT); AGO Quimby/RCYO Chapter Competition (Atlanta, GA); and AGO Quimby/RCYO Regional Competition (Jacksonville, FL). As the medalist of the regional, Bruce appeared in a “Rising Star” performance during the 2018 National Convention of the American Guild of Organists (Kansas City, MO). He’s won a couple more competitions since then. A few of the concert venues at which Bruce has played include Basilica Santa Maria in Mataro, Spain; Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine in FL; Balboa Park Spreckels Organ Pavilion in San Diego, CA; Wanamaker Organ in Philadelphia, PA; Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, NYC; and Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. Bruce thoroughly enjoys playing classical piano in solo and chamber settings and singing all styles. He also enjoys reading, playing team sports, and fitness.
12:00 p.m. A light lunch will be provided by Trinity College
Aletheia Johanna Teague (12:45 p.m. recital) is a BM at The Juilliard School where she is completing her undergraduate degree in Organ Performance under Mr. Paul Jacobs. A native of Southern CA, Aletheia grew up in a musical family and began piano lessons with her mother at age 5. Several years later, after hearing the Hazel Wright organ performed at the former Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, CA, she was inspired to begin learning the organ. While in CA, Aletheia competed in local AGO Study Grant programs, winning scholarships for four consecutive years. As part of the program, she also took part in masterclasses with organists such as Steven Tharp and Simon Johnson. In 2019, she was a featured performer in the LA AGO President’s Day Organ Festival. Aletheia has held several full-time church positions in CA, and from 2019-2020 was organ scholar at Christ (formerly Crystal) Cathedral in Garden Grove, CA. under her former teacher David Ball, director of music and former Juilliard alum. Currently, and in addition to extensive freelance substitute and collaborative work throughout the city, she serves as Assistant Organist at Christ Church on the Upper East Side under Dr Steve Pilkington. Aletheia is the recipient of the Jerome L. Greene Fellowship at the Juilliard School. In her off time, Aletheia enjoys baking, mixing cocktails, playing tennis, and hanging out with friends.
1:45 p.m. The Annual David Spicer Hymn Playing Competition (in-person only)
4:00 p.m. Organ Extravaganza! (in-person only) featuring Grammy® Award-winning organist Paul Jacobs – the first winner of ASOF Hartford’s Young Professional Competition – and the full Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Carolyn Kuan conducting. The performance will highlight The Bushnell’s rarely heard Austin organ, with its 5,409 pipes installed into the mammoth sidewalls of Mortensen Hall. Tickets are available at www.bushnell.org or by calling The Bushnell Box Office at (860) 987-5900. Competition prize winners will be announced at intermission.
The 25th Annual Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival Hartford concludes with an “Organ Extravaganza!” concert featuring Grammy® Award-winning organist Paul Jacobs – the first winner of ASOF Hartford’s Young Professional Competition – and the full Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Carolyn Kuan conducting. The performance will highlight The Bushnell’s rarely heard Austin organ, with its 5,409 pipes installed into the mammoth sidewalls of Mortensen Hall.
Crafted by Hartford’s Austin Organ Company in 1929 and fully restored in 1988, it is one of the finest instruments this world-renowned firm ever built. The October 22 concert includes the beloved Organ Symphony by Camille Saint-Saëns, featuring the 2019 winner of ASOF Hartford’s Young Professional Competition Alexander Pattavina, and Once Upon a Castle, a symphonie concertante in four movements for organ and orchestra by American composer Michael Daughterty, inspired by the William Randolph Hearst Castle in San Simeon, CA.