2025 CompetitionCompetitors
Peter Bayer,
FAGO, holds a BA in Organ Performance and Classics from The Catholic
University of America. He has been the Bevan Organ Scholar at Trinity
College of the University of Toronto since the fall of 2022 whilst
writing his PhD dissertation on the notion of the inner teacher in
Clement of Alexandria, Augustine of Hippo, and the Platonist tradition.
At The Catholic University of America, he studied with Prof. Ronald
Stolk, and he spent the fall semester of 2016 in Rome studying the
Italian baroque organ repertoire under the instruction of Maestro
Armando Carideo, performing a recital at Santa Barbara dei Librai on the
restored Renaissance instrument there. In 2018, he passed the
fellowship examination of the American Guild of Organists, winning the
FAGO prize and Lewis Elmer Award for academic excellence. He has
performed recitals in several churches around the Washington, DC area
and in Toronto, including St. Matthew’s Cathedral in DC, St. James
Cathedral, and for the Organix series in Toronto. Further, he has
participated in masterclasses at the Oberlin Summer Organ Academy, the
McGill Summer Organ Academy, and The Organ Scholar Experience, a
week-long program at Oxford run by the Royal College of Organists.
Maria Gajraj
is a Montréal-based organist and Doctoral Candidate at McGill
University. Her research focuses on 20th-century Caribbean organ
repertoire. She is the co-founder of Sapphonix Collective, which
promotes women, queer, and racialized classical musicians, and has been
featured on CBC Radio. Maria has performed internationally, at venues
like Blackburn Cathedral (UK), Maison Symphonique (Montreal), and in
series such as Cal Performances and Bergen Orgelsommer. A recipient of
the Godfrey Hewitt Scholarship (2022) and other awards, her doctoral
research is funded by the FRQ (Fonds de Recherche du Quebec). In her
concert programs, Maria is passionate about highlighting women and
composers of colour. As Deirdre Piper wrote in “Pipelines”, Maria’s
“spirited, clean, and colourful performance lent real meaningful
significance” to this music. By creating engaging concert programs, and
by featuring the organ in innovative and multidisciplinary contexts,
Maria strives to break stereotypes, and to make the organ more
accessible to everyone.
Completing a BMus at the University of British Columbia this spring, Isaac Howie
is an organist and lifelong Vancouverite. Entering UBC at 15, he
studied organ with Michael Dirk and harpsichord/improvisation with
Alexander Weimann, after studying Forestry and alongside a major in
Classics; clinicians have included David Briggs, David Palmer, Marc
D’Anjou, Denis Bédard and Edoardo Belotti. Since 2021, he has been
organist at Holy Family Vancouver (FSSP), and holds an ARCT in piano. A
sought-after collaborator, recent highlights include improvised Silent
Movie Mondays at the Orpheum Theatre, Stainer’s Crucifixion at St.
Mary’s Vancouver, Rutter’s Gloria at the Chan Centre, Saint-Saëns’ Organ
Symphony at Christ Church Vancouver, and Mozart’s Requiem at Holy
Rosary; he also appeared in the 2nd Internationaler Feith
Orgelwettbewerb last year in Blieskastel, Germany. Isaac has been
President of the RCCO Vancouver Centre from 2024 - 25, and his choral
work has been premiered by the Vancouver Chamber Choir. Besides playing
organ, Isaac enjoys building computers, brewing coffee and selling real
estate.
Samuel Lee
is an organist and a pianist who loves exploring transcribed music
written for other instruments. He is currently a doctoral candidate at
McGill University studying organ performance with Isabelle Demers,
receiving twice the Graduate Excellence Fellowship, and lately the John
Grew Award. Samuel was finalist in the Longwood Gardens International
Organ Competition in 2023. In 2021, placed third in the RCCO National
Organ Playing Competition, Samuel was awarded the Muriel Gidley Stafford
Prize. He received the Healey Willan Prize and the Heather Spry Prize
on completing the FRCCO, while at the same time completing his
Bachelor’s Degree in Piano Performance with David Jalbert at the
University of Ottawa. Samuel also obtained an ARCT diploma in piano.
Samuel has previously served at Montreal West United Church, and Christ
Church Cathedral Montreal.
Originally from Budapest, Hungary, Áron Sipos
is currently an undergraduate student at McGill University, where he
studies organ with Isabelle Demers. Previously Áron studied organ with
László Stachó and Ferenc Monostori, and music theory and composition
with Boglárka Terray and Márton Levente Horváth. Since his arrival in
Canada, Áron has been organ scholar at The Church of St. Andrew and St.
Paul in Montréal. Áron has won multiple awards and scholarships,
including the Hugh Brock and Schulich scholarships from McGill
University, the Undergraduate Trust from Cambridge University, and The
Donald and Helen Mackey memorial award. Áron is the recipient of third
place and a special distinction for sight-reading in the 2022 National
Hungarian organ competition. Áron has appeared in solo recitals in
Montréal and Budapest, including a concert at The Church of St. Andrew
and St. Paul as part of their Organ Intermezzi Summer Organ Concert
series. In the 2024-2025 academic year Áron also had the privilege of
accompanying the combined McGill choirs in Vierne’s Messe Solennelle, as
well as performing as a soloist with the McGill Baroque Orchestra. A
student with varied interests, Áron is also profoundly interested in
history, mathematics and philosophy.
Qing Xu
is now a doctorate student at McGill University, where she studies with
Isabelle Demers. Prior to commencing her studies in Montreal, she
completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the China Central
Conservatory of Music in Beijing in the class of Yuan Shen, a leading
Chinese organist. Her professional career in organ performance began in
2018 when she was selected for the Haarlem International Organ
Festival’s “Young Talent” program. The same year, she also won the
second prize in Concours International d’orgue de Versailles Jeune
Talent (Versailles International Young Concert Organist Competition). In
2021, she won the Special Jury Prize at the 12th International M.
Tariverdiev Organ Competition. Ms. Xu has performed the Chinese premiere
of numerous works and has given recitals in several cities in China.
She worked with composer Chang Qi on her piece Micro-carving, which won
the International Kajia Saariaho Organ Composition Competition prize and
was performed at the inauguration of the Helsinki Music Centre’s new
organ in 2024. As a specialist in late Romantic repertoire, several of
Ms. Xu’s articles on this topic have been published in Chinese academic
journals.
JurorsPRELIMINARY JURORS
Lottie Enns-Braun
is currently music director and organist at Young United Church and an
active member of the Royal Canadian College of Organists. She began her
musical training as pianist and chorister in rural Manitoba. She holds
undergraduate and graduate music degrees from the former CMBC, the
University of Manitoba and the University of Western Ontario.
Lottie is heard regularly as soloist and accompanist in Winnipeg and
beyond. She has toured in Eastern Canada and played summer Evensong
services in collaboration with the Winnipeg choral group All the Kings
Men in many cathedrals in the UK including St Paul’s in London, St.
Alban’s, and Exeter. She has performed with the Winnipeg Symphony
Orchestra; collaborated with many choral ensembles including: the
Winnipeg Singers and the Da Capo Choir in Kitchener, Ontario. She has
performed in several Canadian cities with saxophonist, Allen Harrington.
They released a CD “Vanishing Point” of music for Saxophone and Organ
on the Parma label in 2016.
Andrew Henderson
is Director of Music & Organist at Madison Avenue Presbyterian
Church in New York City, where he oversees an extensive liturgical and
choral program, including the 40-voice Saint Andrew Chorale, the
180-voice New York City Children’s Chorus, in addition to the Saint
Andrew Music Society’s Music on Madison concert series. He also serves
as the chair of the organ department at the Manhattan School of Music,
as the organ instructor at Teacher’s College, Columbia University, and
as Associate Organist at New York City’s Temple Emanu-El. Dr. Henderson,
a native of Thorold, Ontario, holds degrees in music from Cambridge and
Yale Universities, and in 2007 he was awarded the Doctor of Musical
Arts degree at The Juilliard School. He was a finalist in the
international competition Grand Prix de Chartres in France in 2002, and
won first prize in the Royal Canadian College of Organists’ biennial
National Organ Playing Competition the following year. Recent
performances include organ and continuo playing with the New York
Philharmonic, American Symphony Orchestra, Musica Sacra, Voices of
Ascension, The Oratorio Society of New York and The Collegiate Chorale,
and solo recitals in Poland, Canada, and throughout the USA. His
performances have been featured on the nationally-syndicated public
radio programs Pipedreams and With Heart and Voice. He has been featured
as a recitalist and workshop leader at national and regional gatherings
of the Presbyterian Association of Musicians, the Fellowship of United
Methodists in Worship and Music Arts, the Royal Canadian College of
Organists, and the American Guild of Organists. His first solo CD,
Andrew Henderson at St. John’s, Elora, was recorded and released in
2010. A Fellow of the Royal Canadian College of Organists, his teachers
have included John Tuttle, Barrie Cabena, David Sanger, Thomas Murray
and John Weaver.
Hailed for his “unalloyed musicality”, organist, harpsichordist, conductor, chamber musician and arranger Jonathan Oldengarm
loves to colour outside the lines. Passionate about repertoire from the
16th to 21st centuries, he is equally at home as a soloist and ensemble
player.
His recording credits include discs on the ATMA Classique, Klanglogo and
Analekta labels with Les Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal; saxophonist
Claudia Tesorino; the Ottawa Bach Choir (Lisette Canton, director); the
A&P Choir (Jean-Sébastien Vallée, conductor); and Buzz Brass. Recent
performance collaborations include Hammer Baroque, the 2023 and 2025
RCCO National Conventions, KW Symphony Brass Quintet, Toronto Symphony
Orchestra, Trinity Bach Project, the Elora Festival, the Toronto
Mendelssohn Choir, Gallery Players, North Winds Concerts and Cappella
Intima.
Jonathan is Minister of Music and Organist at Toronto’s Metropolitan
United Church, home to multiple ensembles, two concert series, and a
treasury of instruments that include Canada’s largest pipe organ and
Canada’s oldest tuned carillon. He also teaches harpsichord at the
University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music.
He holds degrees in organ and harpsichord performance from Wilfrid
Laurier and McGill Universities; the Fellowship diploma of the Royal
Canadian College of Organists; and studied at the Hochschule für Musik
in Stuttgart, Germany. From 2008 until 2022 he taught organ,
harpsichord, keyboard skills, and liturgical improvisation at the
Schulich School of Music of McGill University, while serving as Director
of Music and Organist at the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul,
Montreal.
2023 CompetitionCompetitors
Joshua Ehlebracht
Joshua
Ehlebracht is 23 years old and pursuing a master’s degree in organ from
the Yale School of Music in the studio of Prof. Martin Jean. Joshua has
always had a passion for music and his previous studies include a
Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance from the Eastman School of music
studying with Professors Nathan Laube and Anne Laver, as well as a
Colleague diploma from the Royal Canadian College of Organists. Joshua
is currently serving as interim organist at St. Paul’s on the Green in
Norwalk, Connecticut, and has previously worked in Lutheran and
Presbyterian churches with his first church position at the age of 15.
Joshua is from Kitchener, Ontario, Canada and began his musical journey
at the age of six with piano lessons, followed by organ lessons with Dr.
Peter Nikiforuk at the age of 10. Joshua holds second place prizes from
the Albert Schweitzer organ festival in 2017 and the RCCO run
Fairclough competition in 2016. He also spent time performing solo
recitals around Ontario in London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Brantford, and
Toronto at St. Paul’s Bloor Street and Metropolitan United Church, as
well as several performances around Rochester, NY, and New Haven, CT,
including performances at Woolsey Hall, Dwight Chapel, and the United
Church on the Green.
Isaac Howie
Vancouverite
Isaac Howie has always loved making music. A student of piano and
composition since early childhood, his musical career has included
founding a jazz trio; composing and performing for concert bands;
publishing electronic music; and winning awards for solo piano. He
entered the University of British Columbia at 15, where he currently
studies organ under the mentorship of Professor Michael Dirk. Alongside
his pursuit of a BMus, Isaac is Organist at Holy Family Parish in
Vancouver; he holds an ARCT in piano and studies harpsichord with Alex
Weimann. In 2021, Isaac was division winner of the Vancouver Chamber
Choir's Young Composers' Competition. In his spare time, Isaac enjoys
building computers and translating Ancient Greek texts.
Martin Jones

Martin
Jones is in his second year of study with Professor Martin Schmeding
for a Master’s degree in organ performance at the Hochschule für Musik
und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" in Leipzig, Germany. In 2021
he was the winner of the Sir Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation Prize
and the Godfrey Hewitt Memorial Scholarship. Martin also won the 2018
AGO Southwest Regional Competition for Young Organists, and he won third
prize and the audience and hymn prizes in the High School Division of
the 2016 Albert Schweitzer Organ Competition. He has played in
masterclasses with many notable performers including Alan Morrison,
Nathan Laube, Paul Jacobs,Daniel Roth, David Higgs, Pieter Dirksen, and
Jürgen Essl. Martin holds a Bachelor of Organ from Rice University in
Houston, Texas where he studied with Ken Cowan. He is graduate of
Interlochen Arts Academy, where he studied with Thomas Bara, and a
former American Boychoir chorister.
Owen Spicer

Owen
Spicer is an organist and accompanist based in Montreal, Quebec. An
Associate of the Royal Canadian College of Organists and Conservatory
Canada (Organ and Piano), Owen has won numerous awards and scholarships,
including the D.F Cook medal, the Paul Westermeyer Hymn playing Award
and The Donald and Helen Mackey memorial award. Owen has held positions
as Organist at Montreal West United Church and Organ Scholar at Christ
Church Cathedral Montreal, First St. Andrew's United Church London (On),
and St. Martin's in the Fields London (On).
As
a recitalist, he has performed at numerous venues in Quebec and
Ontario, including Redpath Hall Montreal, St. Andrew's Church Ottawa and
St James Cathedral Toronto. Owen accompanies ensembles in Ottawa and
Montreal, such as the Caelis Ensemble, directed by Matthew Larkin and
the Christ Church Cathedral choir, directed by Nicholas Capozzoli.
In
April, Owen will graduate from McGill University with a bachelor's in
organ performance, where he studied with Hans-Ola Ericsson and Jonathan
Oldengarm. He is currently in the studio of Isabelle Demers. In addition
to the organ, he studied choral conducting with Jean Sébastien Valée
and obtained a minor in music theory.
Alexander Straus-Fausto

Working
on his master’s degree in organ performance at the Yale Institute of
Sacred Music, Alexander Straus-Fausto from Kitchener, Ontario is
thrilled to be studying under the direction of Dr. Martin Jean and
playing on Yale’s Newberry Memorial Organ. He completed his Bachelor of
Music at McGill University Schulich School of Music and his secondary
school studies at Michigan’s Interlochen Arts Academy. While still a
teenager, Straus-Fausto undertook a Canada Council-funded summer 2019
concert tour of the UK, playing in historic churches and cathedrals. In
fall 2019, he was appointed Titular Organist at Église du
Très-Saint-Nom-de-Jésus in Montréal, whose four-manual, 120-rank
Casavant organ is acclaimed as one of Canada’s finest. Straus-Fausto was
named a member of The Diapason’s “20 under 30” class of 2023,” which
recognizes young artists under the age of 30 who have made significant
contributions to the field of organ performance. Straus-Fausto was also
named a competitor in the Longwood Gardens International Organ
Competition 2023.
Click the links below to hear Alexander perform:
Jurors
David Palmer (Preliminary Round)
David
Palmer has performed from coast to coast in Canada, and has given
recitals in such American centres as San Francisco, Washington and New
York. In Europe, he has played in England, Germany and France, including
recitals in the cathedrals of Chartres and Notre Dame in Paris. CBC
Radio has broadcast nationally many of his performances, both solos and
appearances with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra. He has been a judge for
several organ playing competitions, among them the nationals of the
Royal Canadian College of Organists, and the semi-final round of the
Second Calgary International Organ Festival. In 2012-13, he served as a
Travelling Clinician for the RCCO, giving recitals and workshops in
Victoria, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Hamilton and for the
Grey-Bruce Centre.
David
has developed a specialty in the keyboard music of Olivier Messiaen,
having given many recitals and workshops devoted to his music. In
October 1990, he gave the first Canadian performance of Livre du Saint
Sacrement at St. James’ Cathedral in Toronto, broadcast on CBC FM, and
was invited to perform excerpts of the work at the Fifth International
Congress of Organists in Montreal in July 1993. His CD of Méditations
sur le mystère de la Sainte Trinité, recorded in the Cathedral-Basilica
Mary Queen of the World in Montreal, was released in 1999. In 2005,
Canadian Music Centre released his CD, Canadian Organ Showcase, recorded
in the Jack Singer Concert Hall in Calgary, Alberta. Double Exposure, a
CD of music for organ and piano with colleague Gregory Butler, recorded
in Yorkminster Park Baptist Church in Toronto, appeared in 2008.
A
native of Victoria, British Columbia, David holds degrees from the
University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he studied with Robert
Glasgow. Past-President of the Royal Canadian College of Organists, he
is a Professor Emeritus in the School of Creative Arts at the University
of Windsor, and was Organist and Choir Director of All Saints’ Church,
Windsor, Ontario, for 52 years. He and his wife Lonnie now live in
Victoria, BC, where he is Music Director of St. Michael and All Angels’
Anglican Church.
Michelle Rae Martin-Atwood (Preliminary Round)
Michelle Rae Martin-Atwood,
originally from Unity, Saskatchewan, Canada, holds a Doctor of Musical
Arts, a Master of Music in organ performance, and a Sacred Music Diploma
from the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with David Higgs.
She earned a Bachelor of Music (1999) in organ from the University of
Alberta under the tutelage of Dr. Marnie Giesbrecht.
Since
2010, Michelle has taught music theory, aural skills, sacred music
history, and organ at the Crane School of Music (SUNY Potsdam). She has
served as organ faculty for Canada’s Summer Institute of Church Music
and judge for multiple organ and chamber ensemble competitions.
Dr.
Martin-Atwood has performed as a soloist at events such as the XXI
International Organ Festival of Guanajuato, Mexico, the Inauguration of
the 16th President of SUNY, Aspects of American Organ Building in the
20th Century (EROI), and a memorial concert in Göteborg, Sweden.
Michelle was a semifinalist in the Royal Bank Calgary International
Organ Competition, a competitor in the National Young Artists
Competition in Organ Performance, and a finalist in the International
Bach Organ Competition.
Significant
awards include the Johann Strauss Scholarship for the Advanced Study of
Music in Austria, Canada and Saskatchewan Arts Council Grants, annual
Eastman School of Music Graduate Fellowships, University of Alberta
Universiade, Peace River Pioneer, Beryl Barns, and University of Alberta
Alumni Academic Excellence Scholarships, as well as the SUNY
Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching and multiple SUNY
Emerging Leaders “Favorite Professor” awards.
She
has worked with world-renowned conductors including Duain Wolfe
(Carnegie Hall), Kent Tritle, Hart Godden, Dr. Nils Klykken, and Dr.
Jeffrey Francom. She has also performed with the Elizabeth Clark Dance
Ensemble and for events such as the Nadia Boulanger Symposium and Women
in Music Festivals.
Wendy Markosky (Preliminary Round)
Dr.
Wendy Markosky is chair of the Department of Music at Burman
University, and serves as organist of the College Heights SDA Church on
campus. As a faculty member she has taught undergraduate courses in
music theory, musicianship skills, and music history; applied lessons in
organ, piano, and harpsichord, and is involved in coaching early music.
She is an active solo and collaborative performer, is
organist/harpsichordist with the Alberta early music ensemble Rosa
Barocca, and serves on two RCCO committees, and is involved with music
in her community. She is currently completing a solo recording project
at the University of Calgary, on its North German-style Ahrend organ.
Dr.
Markosky holds graduate degrees (DM, MM) from the School of Music at
Indiana University-Bloomington, where she also studied carillon and
harpsichord, was an associate instructor of undergraduate and graduate
music theory for five years, and served as university chapel organist.
She also served as Director of Music/Organist at Presbyterian and
Lutheran churches. Her holds undergraduate degrees in music (BMus) and
biology (BSc).
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