Organ at Stratford Summer Music - 2004

Wednesday July 21 to Sunday July 25, 2004 - Stratford, Ontario, Canada -

Download Program Booklet 2004

The elder statesman of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's organists, John Longhurst has spent more than two decades mastering the complexities of the Tabernacle organ and its 11,623 pipes. The sonority of that magnificent instrument under his command is extraordinary, and is inextricably linked to the unique sound of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

As one of the Tabernacle organists, Longhurst performs, tours and records with the Choir. He also plays for the weekly Music and the Spoken Word broadcasts and joins with his fellow organists in presenting daily 30- minute organ recitals in the Tabernacle. He works alongside Music Director Craig Jessop, the associate choir directors and the other organists to ensure perfect harmony among the singers' voices, the organ, and the Orchestra at Temple Square. These elements, working together, produce the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's distinctive sound. Additionally, Longhurst performs widely as an organ recitalist and has recorded on the Tabernacle organ for several record labels.

Before his appointment as Tabernacle organist, Longhurst was an Associate Professor at Brigham Young University, where he taught courses in organ and music theory. He received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the University of Utah, studying with Alexander Schreiner, who was a Tabernacle organist at the time. Longhurst then received his Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.

Longhurst is a Fellow in the American Guild of Organists (AGO) and has served in various positions for the AGO, including state chairman for Utah. He is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers as well as the Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies. He is married to Nancy Meldrim. They have four children.

ORGAN ACADEMY AT STRATFORD SUMMER MUSIC
- STUDENTS 2004 SESSION

SATOMI AKAO holds a Bachelor of Music from Kobe College in Japan, where she studied with Keiko Inoue, one of the leading organists in Japan. At her graduation she was chosen to perform the “graduate concert” for the College. She has performed concerts in Osaka and Tokyo, under the sponsorship of The Japan Association of Organists, and represented Kobe College after graduating. After graduating from Kobe College, she entered the Theological Seminary and received a diploma in theology. She has just completed Masters studies in Performance at University of Toronto under the direction of John Tuttle. During Satomi’s time in Canada she has also had the opportunity to travel with the U of T Symphony Orchestra to Montreal to perform, has sung in the Choir of Saint Thomas’s Anglican Church, and played for services at Deer Park United Church.
Academy Repertoire:
   BACH: Toccata and Fugue (F, 540)
   DURUFLE: Choral variations on "Veni Creator" from Prelude, Adagio et Choral varie sur "Veni Creator", op. 4
   WIDOR: Symphony #5, f 1st movement, Allegro

JILL MINGO studied piano and flute as a child in Africa. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Social Anthropology at Edinburgh University and then, after a 22-year break, recommenced piano studies and passed the Royal Conservatory of Music Performer’'s ARCT in 1998. Her organ studies began when she won a scholarship from the Royal Canadian College of Organists Scholarship in 2000. She lives in Kingston, where she studies organ with Dr. Robert Hunter Bell and where she has served as Assistant Organist to St. Mary's Cathedral since 2001.
Academy Repertoire:
   BACH: Fantasia and Fugue (c, 537)
   GIGOUT: Scherzo (Dix Pieces)
   BACH: Allein Gott in der Hoh sei Ehr (676)

 

DANIEL NORMAN is presently attending the Don Wright Faculty of Music, University of Western Ontario, where he studies with Larry Cortner, and where he is pursuing an Honours Bachelor of Music Music with focus on Theory and Composition. He is the Don Wright foundation organ scholar at St. John the Evangelist Anglican church in Strathroy, Ontario, and is an associate organist at St. John the Evangelist Chapel of Huron University College in London, Ontario. Daniel is the recipient of the 2004 Sherwood Fox organ scholarship and the 2004 Lilian Forsyth Scholarship. Daniel is also an accomplished composer and choreographer.

Academy Repertoire: 
   FRESCOBALDI: Selections from Fiori Musicali
   BEDARD: Fantasie
   SAINT-SAENS: Fantasie in E flat pour orgue
   CONTE: Soliloquy

ANDREI STRELIAEV was born in Riga, Latvia. He holds Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from J.Vitols Latvian Academy of Music, where he has also studied Organ Performance. As pianist and organist Andrei has performed in Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Sweden and France, participated in festivals and competitions including B.Dvarionas International Competition for Young Pianists in Vilnius, Lithuania (Diploma) and Concours International de Piano Maryse Cheilan in Hyeres, France (First Award)In 2002 Andrei moved to Canada, and shortly won 1st Prize in Organ Category of Canadian Music Competition and 2nd Prize at RCCO Toronto Centre Competition for Young Organists. Currently Andrei studies with John Tuttle in the Masters program in Organ Performance at University of Toronto, and is organist at Willowdale United Church.
Academy Repertoire:
   BUXTEHUDE: Praeludium in D major (D, 139)
   BACH: Fantasia and Fugue (g, 542)
   FRANCK: Fantaisie in A major (Trois Pieces, 1878)
 

 

AARON TAN began taking piano lessons at the age of five, under the tutelage of Mrs. Ethel Wright. At twelve, he received his ARCT (Associateship) in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Canada. He then went on to earn his LTCL (Licentiate) diploma in Piano Performance from Trinity College of Music (London, England) when he was fourteen years old. At fifteen years old, he successfully completed his FTCL. (Fellowship) diploma, also from Trinity College. In January 2004, he completed his ARCT diploma in Violin Performance. Aaron performs regularly in the Greater Toronto Area, and has also given concerts in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland. He is the pianist and organist for Grace Presbyterian Church in West Hill, Ontario. This year, he was one of the recipients of the Barwell Piano Student Scholarship of the Royal Canadian College of Organists, and is studying organ with Mr. John Tuttle. Aaron is eighteen years old and in the Engineering Science program at the University of Toronto.

Academy Repertoire:
  
BACH: Trio Sonata #3 (d, 527)
   MENDELSSOHN: Prelude & Fugue in C minor, op.37 #1