NIIOC 2024 SENIOR COMPETITION SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED
Thirteen young organists representing six countries on both sides of the Atlantic have been selected to participate in the senior category of the Northern Ireland International Organ Competition (NIIOC) 2024, which takes place in Armagh 12–14 August. Four are from Germany, five from the UK, and one each from Canada, the Czech Republic and Latvia.
NIIOC is for players aged 21 and under and is aimed at giving them a first experience of the competition environment. All the entrants in the senior category have achieved advanced organ qualifications. Six performers will be competing in the intermediate category, for players of Grades 6–8 standard, and one in the junior category, for players of Grades 4–5 standard.
Richard Yarr MBE DL, founding chairman of NIIOC, said: ‘I’m delighted that NIIOC has become the go-to competition for young organists, world-wide. The competition to be shortlisted in the Senior Category is considerable, so I know that in our winner, audiences will come face-to-face with a top recitalist of the future. The repertoire that has been programmed will also make it an exciting listening experience – from JS Bach, to Romantics like Vierne, Widor, Duruflé and Reger, and virtuosic showpieces by Alfred Hollins, Patrick Gowers and George Baker. It’s set to be a very special few days.’
The list of competitors in the senior category of NIIOC 2024 is as follows:
Daniel Colaner (US)
Amiel Elfert (Canada)
Eben Eyres (UK)
Joe Hyam (UK)
Oskars Kalnins (Latvia)
Jan Liebermann (Germany)
Jack McCabe (UK)
Miriam Reveley (UK)
Ivo Schwinn (Germany)
Lukas Schulze (Germany)
Adam Suk (Czech Republic)
Tingshuo Yang (UK)
Laurin Zeissler (Germany)
The senior and intermediate rounds of NIIOC take place in St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral and the junior competition in St Malachy’s Roman Catholic Church. This year’s jury is chaired by the British organist Thomas Trotter. The other two jurors are the German organist Anna-Victoria Baltrusch, Professor of Organ at the Evangelische Hochschule für Kirchenmusik in Halle, and David Hill MBE, a patron of NIIOC since its inception in 2011 and artistic director of the Charles Wood Festival and Summer School, which runs concurrently with the organ competition in Armagh.