National Young Artists Competition in Joby Bell, dma, director The 2008 competition is now in progress. 24 competitors were chosen in an initial recorded round held earlier this year. From this group, the 7 semi-finalists below were chosen to compete at the semi-final round, to be held at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, May 14, 2008. The 3 finalists from Knoxville will compete in conjunction with the 2008 National Convention in Minneapolis.
Prizes: First Place, the Lilian Murtagh Memorial Prize $2,000, funded by Karen McFarlane Artists; Second Place $2,000, funded by John-Paul Buzard Pipe Organ Builders; Third Place $1,000, funded by The Noack Organ Company Inc.; Audience-Choice Prize $500, funded by Martin Ott Pipe Organ Company Inc. First place winners receive career development assistance from Karen McFarlane Artists, Inc.
Report from the 2006 Convention On Sunday, July 2, 2006 three outstanding organists competed in the final round of the National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance held in conjunction with the 2006 AGO National Convention in Chicago and hosted by St. Pauls United Church of Christ. Finalists were, in alphabetical order, Robert Horton, of Glencoe, Illinois, Balint Karosi, of Oberlin, Ohio, and Scott Montgomery, of Champaign, Illinois. Each performed Johann Sebastian Bach’s Fantasy and Fugue in G Minor, BWV 542, Georg Böhm’s Vater unser im Himmelreich, a 2 Clav. e Ped, and Max Reger’s Fantaisie and Fugue on “Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern,” Opus 40, No. 1. For the first time competitors were allowed to complete their program with a contemporary work of their choice. These were: Cinq versets sur le "Victime Paschali" by Thierry Escaich, performed by Dr. Horton; Two Portraits for Organ: I György Ligeti, II. Béla Bartók by Balint Karosi, performed by the composer, and Olivier Messiaen’s “Les deux murailles d’eau” and “Prière après la communion” from Le Livre de Saint Sacrament performed by Mr. Montgomery. Judges for the final round were Christa Rakich, Chair of the Organ Department at New England Conservatory, Charles Tompkins, University Organist and Professor of Music at Furman University, and Christopher Young, Associate Professor of Music, Indiana University School of Music. All competitors played with technical control and musical insight and were rewarded by the audience with enthusiastic applause at the conclusion of the afternoon. The results were: First Place: Scott Montgomery Second Place: Balint Karosi Third Place: Robert Horton Audience-Choice Prize: Scott Montgomery The Reger Prize: Robert Horton
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