National Organ Competition Results

We are excited to announce the following results of the 2023 National Organ Competition:

1^st place (Godfrey Hewitt Memorial Fund $5,000)

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.

2^nd place (Helen Murray and Family Prize $2,500)

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.

3^rd place (Muriel Gidley Stafford Prize $1,000)

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.

Left to right: Joshua Ehlebrecht, Alexander Straus-Fausto, Martin Jones; Elaine Graham (Godfrey Hewitt Foundation); judges Chelsea Chen, Christa Rakich, Kola Owolabi, Aaron James, Aaron Tan. Back row: Joachim Segger, Marnie Giesbrecht, Competition Chairs. (National Organ Competition Committee members Adrian Foster and David Simon absent from photo)

Congratulations to all of the National Organ Competition Semi-Finalists! The performances on Saturday were truly inspiring.

A special congratulations to the three finalists:

Alexander Straus-Fausto

Martin Jones

Joshua Ehlebracht

Hear all three compete in the Finals at Lawrence Park Community Church on Wednesday July 5 beginning at 2:00pm.

We gratefully acknowledge the support of BMRBPIPEORG INC., The Berriman Bailey Foundation, and our many loyal donors, who have made this competition possible.

Day 6 - Today was the last day of the Summer Organ Academy 2023. The Student Recital offered an opportunity to see the growth and development of the students after only a week at the Academy! A reception followed where the students had a chance to reminisce about the week and have their final goodbyes. Thank you to all the students, faculty and instructors for making this year's Academy such a success!

Day 5 - It's the final countdown!  Today's the last full day of activities at the Summer Organ Academy.  We have a lecture by John Paul Farahat and a masterclass with Aaron Tan.  Students also go about their last day of private and improvisation lessons.  Come to our Student Recital, tomorrow, July 1, at Rosedale United Church at 1:00 pm to watch some of our talented students perform!

The Semi-finals are TOMORROW - Saturday July 1st at Rosedale Presbyterian Church, Toronto from 10:00 am and 1:30 pm. Admission is free (donations to the RCCO accepted at the door). Don't miss this opportunity to hear five phenomenal young emerging performing artists!

Day 4 - Whew, it's been a full day at the Summer Organ Academy, beginning with a Lecture from Jonathan Oldengarm about the secret code of registering early 20th-century Casavants, and ending with a Masterclass with Isabelle!

Day 3 - That's a wrap of day 3!  Some participants got to play in masterclass with Chelsea Chen today. We got some diverse repertoire featuring many different styles.  It's not too late to register to audit for the remaining Lectures and Masterclasses at https://rcco.ca/event-5193392!  We hope to see you there!

Day 2 - After a full day of lessons and an amazing Lecture by Aaron James, participants got to enjoy themselves in a at the Jazz Bistro, having food, chatting, and watching our own Faculty's Jeff McLeod do a superb job in performance with his ensemble - The Donnybrook Trio!

Celebrate the brilliance and musicianship of five outstanding Canadian organists who will pull out all the stops on Saturday, July 1^st at Rosedale Presbyterian church.  Competing for three coveted positions in the finals of the Royal Canadian College of Organists National Organ Competition, the young emerging performing artists hail from Vancouver to Leipzig, and were selected by a panel of experts. Hear, see and experience organ music at its best performed on the Karl Wilhelm tracker-action pipe organ. Don’t miss this prequel to the Toronto Organ Festival as these five competitors dazzle five international judges in front of a live audience. Rosedale Presbyterian Church sponsors the semi-finals in honour of the late Mary Legge, their esteemed longstanding organist. Performances 10:00 am to noon; and 1:30 to 3:00 pm. The lucky three finalists compete in the finals on July 5^th at Lawrence Park Community Church from 2:00 to 5:00 pm, a luminous and poignant highlight of the Toronto Organ Festival. Generously sponsored by Lawrence Park Community Church in tribute to the late Mark Toews, their revered, well-loved organist and music director, all three performances comprise the premiere of a work by Toronto-based rising star Rashaan Allwood.  Allwood’s “Miniatures for Mark” was commissioned specially for the competition by David and June Weind. Mark Toews was a distinguished and cherished member of the Royal Canadian College of Organists, a former national president who took particular interest in the development of RCCO competitions. A reception following the final competition performances is sponsored by the RCCO Toronto Centre. 

Admission is free to both competition events, thanks to the generous sponsorship of both churches.

Day 1 - The Summer Organ Academy has just begun! Participants got a chance to have an orientation and group dinner with the Faculty.  Then, the students immersed themselves in beautiful music performed by our very own Faculty - a very exciting start indeed!