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The International Organ Festival(IOF) is a biennial music festival and organ competition held in St Albans, England since 1963. Originally held annually, it was changed to every two years in 1965 due to the complexity of organising the increasingly ambitious programme. The festival is run mainly by volunteers.
The festival was conceived by the organist and choirmaster of St Albans Cathedral, Peter Hurford, to celebrate the building of a new organ at the cathedral by Harrison & Harrison. The main competitions are still conducted on this instrument, its eclectic style and modern electropneumatic action now complemented by another self-contained tracker action instrument which the International Organ Festival Society, the charity which runs the Festival, has had built for its own use and sited at St Saviour's Church, St Albans. This was built by Peter Collins in the style of, and in homage to, the early 18th century German organ builder Andreas Silbermann. There is a new (2005) organ in St Peter's Church, St Albans by Mander Organs, which has played a role in the festival and competitions since 2007. Recent competitions have also visited London, with competition rounds regularly held at Christ Church Spitalfields and, in 2017, a concerto final at St John's Smith Square.
There are two main competitions, the interpretation competition and the improvisation competition (formerly known as the Tournemire Prize). Judges have included Piet Kee, Marie-Claire Alain, Anton Heiller, Ralph Downes, Harry Croft-Jackson, Thomas Trotter, Ton Koopman, Naji Hakim, Daniel Roth and David Sanger. The competition is considered prestigious, as may be judged by the list of past winners (starting with Susan Landale in 1963 and Gillian Weir in 1964), and judges have occasionally decided not to award first prize.
The Artistic Director and Executive Director since 2007 is David Titterington, professor of organ at the Royal Academy of Music.
The 2023 festival and competitions, marking the festival's 60th anniversary, took place from 3 to 15 July.
The festival's associated concert series includes large orchestral and choral works, chamber music and solo performances, as well as evening jazz. The Three Choirs concert is an audience favourite, in which over the years the choristers of St Albans Cathedral have been joined by many of England's most celebrated cathedral choirs (for instance, in 2013 Salisbury Cathedral & York Minster, in 2015 Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford and Westminster Cathedral, and in 2017 St Paul's Cathedral & Temple Church).
Many of the great orchestras (the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and others) have played in the Festival, and there have been recitals and concerts from performers such as John Williams, Sarah Walker, Musica Antiqua Köln, Evelyn Glennie, Emma Kirkby, James Bowman and Julian Perkins. Concerts have sometimes been broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Many concerts take place in the Cathedral, but the Festival takes place all over St Albans with other regular venues including St Peter's Church and St Saviour's Church.
The 2021 Festival was one of the first events to take place after Covid-19 restrictions were partially relaxed in the UK. Performers included Nicola Benedetti with Aurora Orchestra, Tenebrae, Jess Gillam, Steven Osborne and Roderick Williams.
The IOF Fringe presents community-focused performances in a wide range of formal and unconventional venues.
Events were mostly outdoors in historic parts of the City such as in front of the Clock Tower and in the Tudor streets of St Michael's or in the Alban Arena. Artists taking part included Seth Lakeman, The Swanvesta Social Club and Isla St Clair.
Previously, cabaret events and other entertainment had been run as part of the festival, including performances from Richard Stilgoe, Jake Thackray, Instant Sunshine and others.
The following individuals have won prizes at the festival. [1]
Naji Subhy Paul Irénée Hakim is a Franco-Lebanese organist, composer, and improviser.
Prague International Organ Festival is a festival for organ lovers, held annually in Prague, presenting a series of concerts by well-known organ virtuosos from all over the world. The inaugural edition was in 1996. The venue where the concerts are held is the stunning baroque St. James Basilica right beside Prague's Old Town square.
Peter John Hurford OBE was a British organist and composer.
Peter Collins was an English pipe organ builder based in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire. He specialised in tracker action organs. Collins was an advocate of computer-aided design, using it to produce compact instruments and to control material costs.
Thomas Andrew Trotter is an English concert organist. He is Birmingham City Organist, organist of St Margaret's, Westminster, visiting Fellow in Organ Studies in the Royal Northern College of Music and president of St Albans International Organ Festival.
David John Briggs is an English organist and composer.
Andrew Parnell is an organist and harpsichordist.
Christopher Wrench is an organist and lecturer.
Dong-Ill Shin won first prize in the national competition for piano sponsored by The Korea Times at the age of ten. When he was eleven he made his debut with the Pusan Philharmonic Orchestra playing Mozart's Concerto in d minor No. 20. Attracted by J.S. Bach's Music and the orchestra-like colors produced by the organ, he began his studies with Dr. Sun-woo Cho at the age of 14. Later at Yonsei University in Seoul he studied with Dr. Tong-soon Kwak and completed his Bachelor of Music degree in 1997. He then studied in France with Jean Boyer and received the Diplome Nationale Superieur de Musique from the Conservatoire Nationale Superieur de Musique de Lyon in Organ, Harmony, Fugue, Analysis, Improvisation & Basso-Continuo. His dissertation at the Conservatoire was on the study of Tabulatura Nava by Samuel Scheidt which focused on J.P. Sweelinck's influences. His studies continued with Olivier Latry and Michel Bouvard at the Conservatoire Nationale Superieur de Musique de Paris in the prestigious Cycle de Perfectionnement program, which is the highest program in the French National Conservatory system. He also undertook private studies with Mme. Marie-Claire Alain for Organ and Mme. Françoise Marmim for Harpsichord. During his years of study in France he won several scholarships including awards from the Darazzi Foundation, the Meyer Foundation and Mécèn de Société Générale. In 2004 he completed his Artist Diploma at The Boston Conservatory on a full scholarship studying with James David Christie.
The Southern Cathedrals Festival is a five-day music festival held in rotation among the English cathedrals of Chichester, Winchester and Salisbury, in the penultimate week of July. The festival was restored in 1960 after initial attempts to create the annual occasion were followed by 28 years without it. The respective director of music acts as festival director when it is that cathedral's turn to host the event.
Kalevi Ilmari Kiviniemi is a Finnish concert organist. He has given over 2000 concerts, and his discography includes nearly 200 titles, many of them featuring significant and unique organs across the US, Japan, the Philippines, Australia, Italy, France, Switzerland and Germany. Kiviniemi is also considered to be a distinguished improviser, especially in the tradition of a French line that runs from Charles Tournemire through to Pierre Cochereau.
Bálint Karosi is a Hungarian organist and composer.
The Manchester International Organ Competition was part of the biennial Manchester Festival. The Organ Competition ran from 1978 until 1986.
Sarah Baldock is an English organist and choral conductor, formerly the Organist and Master of the Choristers of Chichester Cathedral. She is notable as one of the earliest women to be appointed to the senior music post at a Church of England cathedral. She was married to counter-tenor David Hurley. Baldock has become known as a popular soloist in the UK and abroad.
St Albans Cathedral Choir is an English cathedral choir based in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. It is made up of around 20 boy choristers aged 7–14 and 12 adult lay clerks. In 2003 it appeared in the coronation scene of the film Johnny English.
Ignace Michiels is a Belgian organist, choral conductor and organ teacher. He is internationally known as a concert organist.
Anthony W. Hammond is a British concert organist and author.
Rogers Henry Lewis Covey-Crump is an English tenor noted for his performances in both early music and contemporary classical music. He has sometimes been identified as an haute-contre tenor. He has performed for over 50 years in choirs and ensembles such as the Hilliard Ensemble, and as a soloist. He has been especially in demand for the part of the Evangelist in Bach's St Matthew Passion and St John Passion. He also specialises in vocal tuning, and has written articles on the subject.
Diane Meredith Belcher is an American concert organist, teacher, and church musician. She has given a large number of solo recitals throughout the United States and abroad, is a teacher, and has served as Director of Music at Bach Vespers/Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in New York City, Lecturer in Music Theory and Organ at Dartmouth College, in Hanover, New Hampshire, Music Director at Saint Thomas Episcopal Church, Hanover, Co-Organist/Choirmaster at Saint Mark's Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, and head of the Organ Division at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey.
David Titterington is a British organist, educator and artistic director.
