The 20th annual Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival Hartford, Connecticut, (ASOFHartford) awarded its top performance competition prizes on October 1 to Grant Wareham of Houston, Texas, in the Young Professional division, and to Aaron Patterson of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the High School division. Both organists also won the Prize of the Audience in their respective divisions. Evan Cogswell of Bloomington, Indiana, was awarded second prize and Daniel Segner of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, won third prize in the Young Professional division. Second prize among the High School division went to Joshua Ehlebracht of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, with third prize to Reilly Xu of Suffern, New York. Winners of the hymn playing competition were Reilly Xu and Daniel Segner.
The festival’s 2017 season was dedicated to the memories of David Spicer, founder and artistic director of ASOFHartford, and Robert Clement, a founding board member. Competition judges were Diane Meredith Belcher, David Hurd, and Christian Lane.
Beginning in 2018, ASOFHartford will hold its High School and Young Professional competitions in alternating years. Next year’s festival will be held September 28–30 September at Trinity College in Hartford and will feature the High School division competition. For information: www.asofhartford.org.
Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival competitors and judges, left to right: Daniel Segner, Evan Cogswell, Reilly Xu, Aaron Patterson, Katherine Johnson, Joshua Ehlebracht, Vaughn Mauren, Diane Meredith Belcher, and Colin MacKnight. Not pictured: Grant Wareham, David Hurd, and Christian Lane. (Photo credit: Nathan Lively)
