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Competitors and Jurors

2025 Competition

Competitors

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.


Jurors

PRELIMINARY 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 Competition


Competitors


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).

Address

The Royal Canadian College of Organists

20 St Joseph St

Toronto, ON M4Y 1J9


Contact
Phone: 416.929.6400
Email: info[at]rcco.ca
Adresse

The Royal Canadian College of Organists

20 St Joseph St

Toronto, ON M4Y 1J9


Contact
Téléphone : 416.929.6400
Courriel : info[
à]rcco.ca

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