JAN LIEBERMANN WINS NORTHERN IRELAND INTERNATIONAL ORGAN COMPETITION 2024
Jan Liebermann, aged 18, from Germany, has won the 2024 Northern Ireland International Organ Competition (NIIOC), which took place in Armagh on 12–14 August.
Thirteen organists selected by MP3 recordings competed in the Senior Category of the competition, for post-Grade 8 players aged 21 and under, on Monday 12 August in St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, Armagh. Jan Liebermann wins £4,000 awarded by the John Pilling Trust, five international recitals and a trophy presented by Neiland & Creane Organ Builders. He is a student of Professor Gerhard Gnann at the Johannes Gutenberg University School of Music in Mainz, where he also studies organ improvisation with Lutz Brenner, having previously studied in Frankfurt with Professor Carsten Wiebusch. His competition recital programme consisted of the Concert Overture in C minor by Alfred Hollins, the Adagio from J S Bach’s Toccata, Adagio and Fugue BWV 564, and the Prelude and Fugue in G minor, Op. 7 iii by Marcel Dupré.
Commenting on the experience, Liebermann said: ‘It is such a great honour to be awarded the first prize at this wonderful competition. I experienced the competition as very open minded, and it was so great to have this cultivating exchange with all the different participants from all over the world, which is really enriching. I really like the organ, it's a great instrument in Armagh [Church of Ireland Cathedral] and of course it is also a great pleasure to meet the jury and to have their feedback [on your performance] … I can highly recommend participating at the competition, even if you're not winning a prize … it's not always about the prize or the prestige, but to get to know a lot of different people. I think that this Northern Ireland International Organ Competition is the perfect place for widening your horizon.’
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Competition winner Jan Liebermann at the console of St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, Armagh
Jan Liebermann, winner of the senior category of the Northern Ireland International Organ Competition 2024
Competition Chair Richard Yarr speaking at the final of the Northern Ireland International Organ Competition 2024, photographed with the competition jury: (left to right) David Hill, Anna-Victoria Baltrusch and Jury Chair Thomas Trotter
Competition winner Jan Liebermann at the console of St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, Armagh
Daniel Colaner, second prize winner in the senior category of the Northern Ireland International Organ Competition 2024, with Nora Whitaker, representing the McElderry family, who supported his £1,000 prize in memory of local organ builder David McElderry
Jury and prize winners in the senior category of the Northern Ireland International Organ Competition 2024. Left to right David Hill; Thomas Trotter (Chair of the Jury); Daniel Colano (second prize winner); Jan Liebermann (first prize winner); Eben Eyers (third prize winner) Adam Suk (winner of the Dame Gillian Weir Medal); Anna-Victoria Baltrusch; and Richard Yarr (Chair of NIIOC).
All images Copyright © 2024 Liam McArdle
Second place (The David McElderry Award) was awarded to Daniel Colaner (19) from the United States, a student at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, who wins £1,000 awarded by the McElderry family, and three public recitals. Colaner also won the Bach Prize and £300 for the performance of J S Bach’s Fugue in G minor, BWV 54 ii which opened his programme. He went on to perform the Andante Sostenuto from Widor’s Symphonie gothique, and Danse Dabolique by George Baker. Third Place of £500 awarded by Wells-Kennedy Organ Builders and three public recitals went to Eben Eyers (20) from the UK, an undergraduate at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, for his performance of J S Bach’s Fugue in E minor, BWV 548 ii and works by Gaston Litaize and Maurice Duruflé. The Dame Gillian Weir Medal and £300 for the most outstanding performance of a single work was awarded to Adam Suk (19) from the Czech Republic, for his performance of the Finale from Petr Eben’s ‘Sunday Music’. Tingshuo Yang, Joseph Hyam and Miriam Reveley, all from the UK, were Highly Commended.
Ludwig Emanuel Haenchen (16) from Germany, a student of the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy University of Music and Theatre in Leipzig, won the Intermediate Category, for players of Grades 6-8 standard who have not yet gained an organ diploma. He performed Jean Guillou’s 7ème Saga and the Pièce Héroique by César Franck. Seven organists played 12-minute recitals in St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral on Tuesday 13 August. The First Prize of £500 was awarded by Mr John Miley (London Organ Competition). Second Prize of £300 awarded by The Pipe Organ Preservation Co went to Pascal Georges (15) from Germany, who played works by J S Bach, Widor and Thierry Escaich. Third Prize of £200 donated by Mr John Miley went to Chamberlain Ofosu (14) from the UK and Gavin Phelps (15) from the UK was Highly Commended.
Martin Droppa (15), from the Czech Republic, won the First Prize of £300, sponsored by Alasdair MacLaughlin, in the Junior Category, for players of Grades 4-5 standard, which took place on Tuesday 13 August in St Malachy’s Church, Armagh.
The competition jury was chaired by the British concert organist Thomas Trotter. He was joined by the German organist Anna-Victoria Baltrusch, herself a winner of many prestigious competitions and currently Professor of Organ at the Evangelische Hochschule für Kirchenmusik in Halle, and by regular jury member David Hill, artistic director of the Bach Choir, London, the Yale Schola Cantorum, Connecticut and of the Charles Wood Summer School, which runs concurrently with the organ competition. The Principal Funder of NIIOC was the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, through it’s National Lottery Fund. It was also funded by the Eric Thompson Trust for Organists and Organs.
Commenting on the standard of performing and on the jury’s decisions, Thomas Trotter said: ‘The NIIOC is a wonderful showcase for young organists and provides an effective entry point to the world of organ competitions without the stringent repertoire requirements. Apart from some general stipulations about repertoire it had no set works, so making comparisons between players could be challenging. But it was precisely for that reason that the sessions were so entertaining and at times very inspiring.
‘Jan Liebermann, winner of the Senior Category, displayed a maturity way beyond his years and was technically in command of everything he played. Second prizewinner Daniel Colano impressed us with his sensitivity and insightfulness coupled with a virtuoso technique. The Intermediate Category included a 12-year-old playing Bach’s fiendish Toccata in F! The winner, Ludger Emanuel, played from memory with impressive technique A close second was Pascal Georges who played with such elegance and feeling for style. The winner of the Junior Category, Martin Droppa, presented a beautifully articulated and rhythmic performance of a Bach concerto movement. Long may the NIIOC continue to thrive.’
Prizewinners’ recitals in the Senior Category of the competition will be arranged at venues including Saint Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue, New York; Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral and St George’s Church, Hanover Square, in London; King’s College and Trinity College, Cambridge; New College, Oxford; the ‘Bach Corner’ at the St Albans International Organ Competition 2025; Glasgow Cathedral; Christ Church Cathedral Dublin; St Michael’s Church, Dun Laoghaire; the Portico of Ards, Northern Ireland; and a European recital yet to be announced. All competitors in this category will receive professional recordings of their performances made on the day.