Pro Organo announces a new CD, Improvisations at St. Ignatius (7286), the first disc in the Pro Organo catalog to feature a winner of the American Guild of Organists (AGO) National Competition in Organ Improvisation (NCOI).
Kalle Toivio was named the NCOI winner at the 2018 national convention of the AGO.
The recording was made on the Mander organ of St. Ignatius Catholic Church, New York City.
In addition to improvisations, works of Georg Muffat and McNeil Robinson are included, as well as the performer’s transcription of a Vivaldi concerto. Toivio improvises on themes supplied by David Briggs.
Kalle Toivio received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Manhattan School of Music in 2017, and serves as organist and director of music at the Church of Notre Dame in New York City. He is the founder and sub-dean of the Finland Chapter AGO, and a member of the organ faculty at the Manhattan School of Music Precollege. For more than seven years Toivio studied with the late McNeil Robinson. In the Summer of 2019 Kalle Toivio toured Finland and Sweden with recitals at the Turku and Helsinki Cathedrals, at the Mänttä Music Festival, at Mörrum Sweden and at the renowned Lahti Organ Festival.
For information: www.proorgano.com.
