About the Festival

The mission of the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival Hartford is to support and encourage young organists in the earliest stages of their education and careers, and to increase appreciation of organ music in the general public. At the heart of the Festival is an annual, national competition for young organists hosted at Trinity College, Hartford. Alternating biennially between a High School and Young Professional Division (up to age 23), competitors earn significant cash prizes so support their education and career endeavors. The Festival also regularly presents workshops, lectures, and major performances, frequently in collaboration with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.

Now over 25 years old, the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival is proud to be one of the top competitions for young organists in North America. The festival’s third artistic director, Christopher Houlihan, was appointed in 2022.

History

Click here to explore the 20th Anniversary booklet.

In 2015, Trinity College, Hartford, became the official home of the Festival after eighteen years at the beautiful and historic First Church of Christ in Wethersfield, Connecticut. John Rose, who retired in 2017 after forty years as organist and director of Chapel music at Trinity College, was one of the competition's first judges. “When David Spicer invited me to be a judge at the first Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival Competition,” Rose said, “I could hardly have imagined its ongoing successes and influence among young organists. When he inquired about the possibility of moving the ASOF Hartford to Trinity College, we were honored and enthusiastically opened our doors. The ASOF Hartford encourages exceptional young organists and is an important mission worthy of widespread support.”

The Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival in the Netherlands, founded in 1979 by Dr. Harold Robles, founder and former president of the Albert Schweitzer Institute, enabled many young European organists to become leaders in their field. The U.S. version, founded by Dr. Robles and David Spicer, has energized organ musicianship in North America. Many prizewinners over the Festival’s history have since become leaders in the fields of organ performance and education, including Paul Jacobs, Nathan Laube, and Christopher Houlihan. Residents of the Greater Hartford region and supporters from across the country enjoy this annual opportunity to hear and support the talent of some of the country’s most promising young organists.

The Story of the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival Hartford

This video celebrates the remarkable 25-year history of the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival Hartford, established in Wethersfield, Connecticut and in residence at Trinity College, Hartford since 2016. The mini-documentary includes interviews with three former first-prize winners (Alcée Chriss, Monica Berney, and Alexander Pattavina), Sean Duffy (executive director of the Albert Schweitzer Institute at Quinnipiac University), Dana Spicer (honorary board member of ASOFH and wife of co-founder David Spicer), and Vaughn Mauren (ASOFH former artistic director).

It also features a preview of the festival concert at Hartford’s Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, featuring Paul Jacobs and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Carolyn Kuan, conducting.

Albert Schweitzer

Photo of Schweitzer: Bundesarchiv, Bild 145 Bild-00014770 / CC-BY-SA

Albert Schweitzer was a physician, theologian, musician and philosopher. His writings on the music of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) have been an invaluable resource and inspiration for organists and musicologists. A Nobel Peace Laureate, his ethic of “Reverence for Life” emphasized each human being’s responsibility to all forms of life on our planet. This philosophy is the foundation of the programs of the Albert Schweitzer Institute at Quinnipiac University, Hamden, Connecticut.

“Albert Schweitzer: My Life is My Argument,” a production of the Albert Schweitzer Institute at Quinnipiac University.

David Spicer

Founding Artistic Director (1996–2017)

David Spicer was Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival, and Minister of Music and the Arts at First Church of Christ in Wethersfield, where he directed a multiple vocal and handbell choir program and produced a monthly concert series. A native of Austin, Texas, Spicer received his first musical training from his parents. He first played the organ in church at the age of eight. Childhood organ teachers included Donald Firnhaber, Eleanor Page, Henri Pantillion and Esma Beth Clark. Spicer was a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he was an Artist-Scholar under the renowned Dr. Alexander McCurdy. Graduate studies were completed at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, also in Philadelphia. Further organ study was done under Dr. Robert Elmore. Spicer acknowledged Dr. Virgil Fox as a source of inspiration for his own style of organ playing.

As a recitalist, David Spicer always involved his audience and liked to feel that they “walk away with a greater understanding of the king of instruments.” He was known for his transcriptions, included in every recital. A gifted conductor, Spicer presented several area premier performances. As a teacher, he had the distinction of having had three of his students win full scholarships to his alma mater, the Curtis Institute of Music. In 1996, he co-founded the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival / USA with Harold Robles, former director of the Albert Schweitzer Institute at Quinnipiac University in Hamden.

He was dedicated to the idea that Christianity and music, two of the greatest forces in our world, can effectively merge to wash away “the dust of everyday life” from our souls.

For the Festival’s 20th Anniversary, the ASOFH Board of Directors commissioned Philip Stopford to compose a new setting of Psalm 150 in memory of David Spicer. The Trinity College Chapel Singers and choirs from St. James’s and St. John’s Episcopal Churches, West Hartford, sang the new anthem during the closing event of the Festival. The choirs reunited to record the new piece. Below, you may enjoy the recording as well as a short video (“Choirs in Perfect Harmony”) documenting the process of making the recording.

Documenting the recording of Philip Stopford’s “Psalm 150.”