Northern Ireland International Organ Competition
The 2026 Northern Ireland International Organ Competition (NIIOC) took place August 17–18 in St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, Armagh, Northern Ireland.
Tingshuo Yang (Luxembourg) was named winner. Since 2023 he has been organ scholar at St John’s College, Cambridge, UK, graduating this summer with a starred First Class Bachelor of Arts degree in music. Yang will study for a Master of Music degree in organ performance under Paul Jacobs at The Juilliard School, New York City. He won NIIOC’s John Pilling Trust First Prize of £4,000; the winner’s trophy awarded by Neiland and Creane Organ Builders; a $100 Leupold Foundation gift certificate; and the inaugural Dunleath Scholarship of £1,000 introduced for this 14th edition of the competition. He will perform five public recitals, hosted by Saint-Sulpice, Paris; Westminster Abbey; King’s College, Cambridge; St. Michael’s Church, Dun Laoghaire in the Republic of Ireland; and the Portico of Ards, Portaferry, in Northern Ireland.
Second prize in the senior category of the competition, the David McElderry Memorial Award of £1,000, went to Abigail Crafton, 18 (United States), a student at the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York, who also won the Dame Gillian Weir Medal for the outstanding performance of a single work by a composer other than Johann Sebastian Bach. The Weir award includes £300 and a recital at Waterford Cathedral.
Anton Matters, 20 (Germany), a student at the University of Music and Theatre Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Leipzig, won the third prize of £500 awarded by Wells Kennedy Pipe Organ Builders & Restorers. He will perform three recitals hosted by St. George’s, Hanover Square, London; Glasgow Cathedral; and Galway Cathedral.
The Bach Prize of £300, a $100 Leupold Foundation gift certificate, and a Bach Corner Recital at the St. Albans International Organ Festival 2027 went to Michael Chesters, 20 (UK), as well as Kirsten Eilhoff, 21 (Germany).
The John Pilling Trust First Prize of £1000 in the intermediate category of the competition went to Pascal George, 17 (Germany), currently studying at the Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Musikgymnasium, Berlin. He also wins a $100 Leupold Foundation gift certificate. Second Prize of £500 awarded by The Pipe Organ Preservation Company went to Theo Mountford, 16 (UK), organ scholar at Tewkesbury Abbey and a pupil of the Cotswold School, Cheltenham. He also won the new prize in this category of £200 for the standout performance of a single work, awarded by Wilsons Auctions. Third Prize of £300 also awarded by The Pipe Organ Preservation Company went to Junzhe He, 14 (China), and Kevin Ge, 15 (UK).
Thirteen organists from the Czech Republic, Latvia, France, China, and Canada, as well as the UK, United States, Luxembourg, and Germany competed in the senior category of the competition, which is for players aged 21 or under, and ten representing the UK, Ireland, China, and Hungary in the intermediate category. This year’s NIIOC jury consisted of Liesbeth Schlumberger, David Hill, and Peter Holder.
For information: niioc.com.
