Year of the Young Organist Recruitment Contest Winners
- Hong Kong (small size chapter) achieved a net growth of 20 new young organists members.
- Denver Rocky Mountain (medium size chapter) achieved a net growth of 22 new young organist members.
- Los Angeles (large size chapter) achieved a net growth of 17 new young organist members.
The AGO wishes to congratulate and thank you for all of your hard work in recruiting and engaging the new young organists in your chapters.
Young Organists: Remember to renew your membership!
AGOYO Bach-a-thon
All AGOYO online events may be found here.
AGOYO Online Workshops and Webinars
The Year of the Young Organists presents the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach played by members of the American Guild of Organists under the age of 30. This premiered in June of 2022.
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
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, and is currently attending the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she studies with Alan Morrison. At Curtis, Emily holds the Stephanie Yen-Mun Liem Azar Fellowship.
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.
Email
Facebook
Instagram
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 been accepted to the Master’s program in Organ Performance at Arizona State University, in the studio of Dr. Kimberly Marshall.
Ethan Neal is a native of Georgetown, Ohio, and is an active performer at the organ and beyond. Ethan is studying Voice, Choral Music Education, and Organ at the University of Kentucky under the tutelage of Dr. Everett McCorvey, Drs. Lori Hetzel & Elizabeth Wilson, and Dr. Schuyler Robinson. Ethan also serves as the Director of Music at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Trinity and on faculty at Georgetown College in Georgetown, KY. When not working as an organist, Ethan performs regularly as a collaborative pianist and vocalist, recently with the Santa Fe and Kentucky Operas, OperaLex, and the American Spiritual Ensemble. A recipient of the “Charlie H. Mitchell” McCracken Award, Ethan performs throughout central Kentucky and beyond.
Samantha Scheff serves as Assistant Organist at St. John’s Church, Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C. An active performer, recent recital appearances include Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan, the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land and National City Christian Church in Washington, D.C., Christ Episcopal Church in New Brunswick, NJ, and the Hall of Philosophy in Mount Gretna, PA. Samantha was awarded 2nd place in both the 2019 Brooklyn AGO Competition and the 2019 West Chester University International Organ Competition. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland, College Park where she studied with Dr. Theodore Guerrant and a Master’s degree from Rutgers University where she studied with Renée Anne Louprette.
