Seventh Canadian International Organ Competition
The Seventh Canadian International Organ Competition (CIOC) will take place in Montréal, Québec, Canada, October 10–23, 2027. The competition is open to organists of any nationality born on or after October 24, 1991.
First Prize is $25,000 CAD, a recording project with distribution, and three years of North American career management with Karen McFarlane Artists. Second and third prizes are $15,000 CAD and $10,000 CAD, respectively. The Antoine Leduc Prize, worth up to $5,000 CAD, will be awarded to the organist who wins first prize in the competition and will be paid in the form of concert fees for performances in Québec and across Canada from 2028 through 2030. Other special prizes range between $2,500 CAD to $5,000 CAD to recognize interpretations of works by Bach and by Canadian composers, as well as the best-constructed overall program. In addition, the Sir Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation Prize of $6,000 CAD will go to the best performance of MacMillan’s Cortège académique. This prize is open to Canadian citizens and permanent residents, and to non-Canadians pursuing or having completed advanced musical studies at a Canadian institution in 2026 or 2027. In all, the 2027 competition will award more than $100,000 CAD in prizes, including more than $80,000 CAD in cash.
Application deadline is January 31. Recordings will be anonymized and judged in March, and up to ten candidates will be invited to Montréal. There they will perform on three pipe organs before an international jury of eight, and before Montréal’s audiences. The CIOC covers competitors’ travel, accommodation, and a per diem for the full two weeks.
Rules, repertoire requirements, and jury details are available at ciocm.org/en/2027-competition.
Other competition news:
2026 IAO-RCO organ competition
