AGO Young Organists (AGOYO)

To meet the developmental needs of organists under the age of 30, cultivate the future of the AGO by fostering community, support education, and promote equity and diversity.

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Young Organists: Remember to renew your membership!

Click here to watch a 1-minute video with Emily Amos, Councilor for Young Organists, about the importance of renewing your membership.

AGOYO 2022–2023 Events

AGOYO 2021–2022 Events

AGOYO 2020–2021 Events

Committee for Young Organists

The Committee for Young Organists is an AGO board comprised of six young organists to benefit those across the United States and foreign chapters. Through online resources, social media, and some in-person events, a community of young organists who are members of the AGO are connecting in this mostly virtual community to establish networking opportunities and generate innovative web-based programming.

Councillor for Young Organists (AGOYO)

Emily Dawn Amos

Emily Dawn Amos is a young organist whose passion for music has taken her across the nation and beyond. She started studying organ at the age of eight, and at nine years old was the youngest ever admitted into a Pipe Organ Encounter (POE). Since then, she has attended a total of twenty summer intensives. Emily was an assistant organist in both Alexandria, La., and Traverse City, Mich., and most recently was the organ scholar at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Chestnut Hill, Pa. Emily is also an assistant at the Wanamaker Grand Court at Macy’s. She has participated in masterclasses with professors such as James David Christie, Daniel Roth, Alan Morrison, and Johann Vexo. Emily participated in and won the 2015 and 2016 Young Artists Competition on NPR (Red River Radio). She also won third place, audience prize, and the hymn prize at the 2018 Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival and second place at the AGO Quimby Regional Competition (Grand Rapids Chapter). Emily studied with Scott Dettra as her primary organ teacher from 2015–2017, attended the Interlochen Arts Academy from 2017–2019. Emily graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia in 2023, obtaining a Bachelor of Music, where she studied with Alan Morrison. At Curtis, Emily holds the Stephanie Yen-Mun Liem Azar Fellowship.

Laura Bottei completed her MM in Organ Performance at Indiana University in 2023, studying with Chris Young. A native of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Laura began studying piano at the age of 5, and 14 years later fell in love with the organ. Prior to graduate studies at IU, she graduated from Loyola University Chicago with degrees in music and psychology. At Loyola, she studied organ with Steven Betancourt, voice with Sarah Ponder, and piano with Anthony Molinaro. Laura had the joy of serving two years as the organ scholar at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago and spent two summers as the resident organist on Squirrel Island in Maine. She currently serves as the organist of First United Methodist Church in Columbus, Ind. Her additional professional interests include psychology, music education, mental health, and mindfulness. Outside of organ and church music, Laura enjoys fitness, gymnastics, dogs, and vegan food.

Clayton Farmer serves as the Assistant Director of Music and Organist at Christ Church Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills, MI, where he accompanies the choirs and assists in all playing duties. He is also an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he is working towards a dual-degree in organ performance and sacred music along with computer science. He regularly works as a professional piano accompanist, and his musical background also includes experience as a conductor and music educator. In 2021, Clayton was the second-place winner of the AGO Great Lakes Regional Competition for Young Organists. Clayton is a passionate fan of classical music of all types, and is committed to inspiring the next generation of organists, musicians, and audiences.

Lindsey Johnson is an organist from Fort Worth, Texas. She began piano studies at age 4 with Elsa Cañizares and continued with Dorla Price-Aparicio, Zuleca Savignon, Elena Bulgakova-Abel and Dr. Lerie Dellosa. While studying with Dr. Dellosa, Lindsey became interested in the organ, eventually pursuing a Bachelors’s degree in Organ Performance at Southwestern Adventist University in Keene, TX, with Dr. Devon Howard. In addition to her organ studies, she was a cellist in the Southwestern Symphony Orchestra, sang in the auditioned University Singers traveling choir, and served as department student accompanist for a variety of instrumentalists, vocalists, and ensembles. She has traveled and performed with the University Singers throughout the United States and abroad, including France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Spain, and Portugal. Most recently, Lindsey has graduated from the Master’s program in Organ Performance at Arizona State University, in the studio of Dr. Kimberly Marshall.

Michelle Kardos is an organist, pianist, and music therapist. She is currently the Assistant Organist at Pasadena Presbyterian Church. Alongside this, she is the Program Assistant for the Thornton Community Engagement Program and a grader for the University of Southern California. Through the involvement of her local chapter, Michelle has been a member of the American Guild of Organists since 2014. From 2018-2021, she served as the Secretary for the Seton Hill University Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. She is currently serving as a member of the AGO Task Force for Gender Equity. Michelle has received both her Service Playing and Colleague Certification from the AGO. She is also a member of SWO, AMTA, and MTNA. She obtained her Master of Music in Sacred Music at Duquesne University. While at Duquesne, she was accepted into the National Music Honor Society, Pi Kappa Lambda. At graduation, she was presented with the Jean Langlais Award, awarded to a graduating organ student with the highest academic standing in Sacred Music. She obtained her Bachelor of Music in Music Therapy along with the Sacred Music Certificate, Pastoral Ministry Certificate, and psychology minor at Seton Hill University. There she studied organ with Mr. Edgar Highberger and piano with Mr. Edward Kuhn. During her studies, Michelle was named the Presser Scholar, based upon her merit and achievement in the music program, and was accepted into the International Psychology Honor Society, Psi Chi. Michelle is currently attending the University of Southern California to pursue a Doctor of Musical Arts in Organ Performance studying under Professor Cherry Rhodes.

Connor Larsen is an organist from Alpine, Utah. He began organ and piano study at the age of 9 with the late Dr. Parley Belnap after falling in love with the organ at a Christmas Concert by the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. Since then, Connor has studied with Dr. Clay Christiansen and recently graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in organ from Campbell University in Buies Creek, NC studying with Dr. Daniel Hester. While at Campbell he also accompanied Campbell’s choir and dabbled in conducting with Dr. Phillip Morrow and composition with Dr. Ran Whitley. Connor has played in many local congregations, most recently playing at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Dunn, NC and Snyder Memorial Baptist Church in Fayetteville, NC. He’s also taught at Snyder Memorial Baptist Church’s Music Academy teaching a small army of teenagers and youth. During his time in NC Connor also served as the Sub-Dean of the Fayetteville-Sandhills Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Connor is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree in organ at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Connor loves sharing his passion of the organ and music with others and hopes to continue to bring the rich history of the organ as well as helping make it more approachable to those interested. When Connor isn’t playing or teaching he enjoys spending time with friends, sipping a cold Fresca, and trying to remain as socially ‘in the loop’ as one can as an organist.

Jason Steiner is a music minister currently serving Christ Congregation in Princeton, New Jersey. He was previously the inaugural Music Resident at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Dayton, Ohio, where he apprenticed under the Reverend John Neely and worked with the church’s two-hundred participant music program. He holds a B.A. in Music from Westminster Choir College, where he studied primarily with Jim Goldsworthy and Alan Morrison; he completed part of his coursework at Princeton University, studying queer theory, Asian religions, and the intersection of those fields. He is a passionate music educator and maintains a private piano studio. In his free time, Jason loves reading, trail running, and seeking out his favorite bird, the American Coot.