2026 COMPOSITION CONTEST WINNERS ANNOUNCED

The AGO IDEA Committee has named the winners of the 2026 Woman Composer Sunday composition contest for new and unpublished works for organ. (Click the link to view and download the winning scores.)

  • Commission, Concert Work – Mary Beth Bennett – When the Morning Stars Sang Together Score  Video
  • 1st Place, Short Work – Katherine Wright - Nocturne on Conditor Alme Siderum  Score  Video
  • 2nd Place, Short Work – Pamela Robison - Fanfare and Celebration  Score  Video
  • 1st Place, Hymn Tune – Jennifer Page Kess Velázquez - Known by God Score  Video
  • 1st Place, Hymn Text – Laurel Sanders - Come, everyone, to worship God  Text
  • Young Composer Prize – Maggie Johns - Search for a New Land Score  Video

More than 50 entries were received. The winning compositions will be published in January – March issues of The American Organist magazine and/or posted on the AGO website. Performances can also be viewed on the AGO YouTube channel and social media accounts.

Bennett received a $1,000 prize, donated by Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, for her commissioned concert work. Wright received a $500 prize, also donated by Dobson Pipe Organ Builders. Robison received a $300 second prize from the Women’s Sacred Music Project, for her second-place short work, while Velázquez and Sanders received the $250 each from Billie Busby Smith, former Denver chapter Dean, and Sid Smith for their hymn tune and text. Johns received a $500 prize, donated by Christian Mucha. Guidelines for the 2027 Woman Composer Sunday composition contest will be posted next summer.

Woman Composer Sunday, observed on March 8, 2026, is a global event originated by the Society of Women Organists and Royal College of Organists in the U.K., and adopted by the AGO, to encourage the use of music by women composers in worship services and concerts on the Sunday nearest International Women’s Day.

 

 

COMPOSER BIOGRAPHIES

Mary Beth Bennett is a recognized performer, composer and improviser living in Richmond, Va., where she recently completed 23 years on the music faculty of the University of Richmond, and is Organist of Second Baptist Church. She received degrees from Stetson University, the Eastman School of Music, and the University of Southern California, and her organ teachers have included Paul Jenkins, David Craighead, Paul Manz, Michael Schneider, and Ladd Thomas and Cherry Rhodes. Her principal composition teacher has been James. F. Hopkins. Bennett’s performances and compositions have been featured multiple times on APM's Pipe Dreams with Michael Barone. Her compositions are published by E. C. Schirmer, Augsburg-Fortress, Concordia, Morning Star, Broadman, National, Hope, World Library, GIA, Selah, and Oxford University Press publishing companies.

Katherine Wright serves as Organist and Director of Music at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Chesapeake, VA. Her broad artistic background includes collaborations with singers, choirs, instrumentalists, schools, and churches. She especially enjoys ecumenical work. Katherine holds an MM in Piano Performance from Wright State University, degrees in Theatre Arts and Music from the University of Puget Sound, and the certificate of Colleague of the American Guild of Organists. Her compositions have been performed at Brigham Young University, at Temple Square, and by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints around the world. Katherine is originally from Colorado Springs. She and her husband, Lee, are the proud parents of three teenage sons.

Pamela Robison is a native of Missouri, where she has been a member of the organ staff at Community of Christ International Headquarters since 1968. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in composition from the University of Central Missouri as well as a Master of Arts in Religion from the Community of Christ Seminary at Graceland University. While she composes primarily for organ, she has also written compositions for voice and choir. Her compositions are currently available from Tim Knight Music and Sheet Music Press at SheetMusicPlus.com.

Jennifer Page Kess Velázquez serves on the Boston AGO Executive Committee and is active as a recitalist and freelance organist/director. Recent performances include recitals at King’s Chapel, Trinity Church, and Old West Church in Boston and St. John’s Catholic Church in Bangor, Maine. Prior to moving to the Boston area in 2021, Jennifer served as Associate Director of Music and Worship and Organist at Independent Presbyterian Church (IPC) in Memphis, TN for 25 years. Her composition experience has primarily focused on creative hymn playing and creating instrumental parts for worship. During her tenure with IPC’s robust music program, Jennifer accompanied numerous masterworks and collaborated with musicians such as Alice Parker, Dan Forrest, and the Westminster Brass. She also played organ and celesta with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Mei-Ann Chen and Robert Moody and has performed in England, Scotland, and Ukraine. She may be heard on A Christmas Legacy and This Light So Fair, two albums published by Ligonier Ministries. In 2008, Jennifer released a solo album, Lauda Anima, with collaborative trumpeter David Spencer. Jennifer holds a Master of Music in organ performance from Eastman School of Music as well as a Bachelor of Music from Houghton College. She also studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Her teachers and mentors include Susan Klotzbach, Graham Elliott, Russell Saunders, Michael Farris, and Peter Sykes.

Laurel Sanders is an award-winning composer, organist, and mezzo-soprano. She is the organist of Westwood Presbyterian Church, where she supports the excellent choir in services and concerts. She is also an adjunct organist and professional chorister at St. Andrew Catholic Church in Pasadena and was formerly the organist at Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church. Laurel has performed with many prestigious ensembles throughout southern California, including the Grammy winning Pacific Chorale. A native of Wisconsin, Laurel now makes her home in Los Angeles, where she lives with her partner and two cats. For more information, visit her website, laurelsandersmusic.com.

Maggie Johns is a Doctor of Musical Arts student in Piano Performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studies with Kathryn Brown. Maggie holds degrees in Piano Performance from the University of Maryland (B.M., Summa Cum Laude, Presser Scholar) and from the Cleveland Institute of Music (M.M., Piano Pedagogy Concentration, William Kurzban Prize in Piano, Gilbert M. Brooks Dean’s Award). Maggie is a pianist, teacher, and organist in the Cleveland area. She has been composing since she was a young girl and is deeply invested in bringing new music to life both as a composer and as a performer. As an undergraduate student, she premiered her own piano and woodwind quartet alongside works by eight other composers. Her current compositional focus is on works for organ and the piano; she recently performed her work Those Who Follow on piano, as well as her work Zeitgeist III for trombone and organ alongside trombonist Micah Kroeker. Maggie is currently working on composing a series of service voluntaries for organ.