The National Competition in Organ Accompaniment was held January 8 at St. Paul’s Church, K Street, Washington, D.C. The event was jointly sponsored by the District of Columbia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, Schoenstein & Co., and St. Paul’s Church.
Four finalists were chosen to compete on the Schoenstein organ of St. Paul’s in the final round. The first-place winner received $5,000, and the second-place winner $2,500. Candidates chose from a variety of repertoire, including accompanying two hymns (sung by an audience), a vocal solo, a choral selection, and an unmetered psalm. Each finalist received a three-hour session to register and practice the program on the organ, then a half-hour rehearsal with the competition choir, under direction of Jeffrey Smith, St. Paul’s music director, and fifteen minutes with a soloist. The hymns received no rehearsal. The judges for the competition were Michael McCarthy, Thomas Murray, and John Walker. On the morning of the competition, Murray gave a lecture on accompanying Benjamin Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb.
The four finalists were Jerrick Cavagnaro, assistant director of music for Christ Church, Charlotte, and recent graduate of the Yale Institute of Sacred Music; Rees Taylor Roberts, former music for St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Little Rock, and presently a Master of Music degree student at Indiana University; Jordan Prescott, organist/choirmaster of Grace and St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Baltimore, and a member of The Diapason’s 20 under 30 Class of 2019; and Davids Heinze, associate director of music at Grace Church, Providence, and a past student at the University of Cambridge.
Heinze was the winner of the competition, with Cavagnaro named second-prize winner. Jack Bethards, president of Schoenstein & Co., presented the awards.
For information: saintpaulskstreet.org.
Shown in the photo:
Jeffrey Smith, Davids Heinze, Michael McCarthy, Jordan Prescott, Jerrick Cavagnaro, Rees Taylor Roberts, John Walker, and Thomas Murray (photo credit: Gabriel Rhys Simerson)
Other competition news:
International César Franck Competition
