Organ Competition Finalists To Play On April 27
Seven young organists will compete before a live audience on Friday, April 27 when the 2012 Rodgers North American Classical Organ Competition concludes with Level 2 performances at Kutztown University in Kutztown, Pennsylvania.
The Level 2 event is for advanced organ players. The seven will compete for prizes ranging from $1,000 to $3,000 as well as additional performance opportunities throughout the United States.
Level 1 of the competition, intended for younger players, was held on March 13 in St. Louis, Missouri. First place went to Jennifer Shin, a 15-year-old organist from Newport Beach, Calif., who won a $1,000 prize and an invitation to perform as a guest artist in Kutztown.
All competition events on April 27 are open to the public. Individual performances are scheduled from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM in the Georgian Room in the university’s Old Main building. Then the top three performers and Ms. Shin will play a concert at 7:30 PM in the Georgian Room, followed by the awards ceremony.
Rodgers established the competition in 2011 to identify and encourage the next generation of emerging organists. It is open to organists who are 35 and younger. The competition is adjudicated by Dr. Ina Slater Grapenthin, chair; Dr. Robert Tall; and Mr. Dan Miller. All performances are on a Rodgers Masterpiece Signature 356 organ.
The Level 2 competitors are:
Joshua Dumbleton of Raleigh, NC, age 33. M.M. in Organ Performance from the University of Texas at Austin, 2006. B.M. in Organ Performance from Oklahoma Baptist University, 2002.
Jung Jin Kim of Austin, TX, age 32. D.M.A. in Organ Performance at the Butler School of Music, University of Texas at Austin. M.M. in Organ Performance from Butler School of Music, 2010. Previously earned B.M. and M.M. in Organ Performance at Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea. Studied with Dr. Judith Hancock and Dr. Myung-Ja Cho.
Samuel Nelson of Lynn, MA, age 24. Graduated from Gordon College in 2011. Studied with Roy Brunner and Douglas Marshall.
Brenda Portman of Cincinnati, OH, age 31. M.M. from Northwestern University, 2003. B.M.E. from Wheaton College, 2002. Studied with Doug Cleveland and Ed Zimmerman.
HyoJin Song of Austin, Texas, 31. D.M.A. at the University of Texas at Austin. M.M. and B.M. from Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea. Studied under Drs. Gerre & Judith Hancock and Dr. Frank Speller, Dr. Myung-Ja Cho and Dr. In-Sook Park.
YangSun Yu of Fort Worth, TX, age 34. M.A. in Organ Performance from Texas Christian University. B.A. in Church Music from Seoul Theological University in Korea. Currently enrolled in artist certificate program at the University of Texas at Arlington. Studied with Dr. Joseph Butler and Dr. Linton Powell.
Gregory Zelek of New York, age 20. Currently attending The Juilliard School as a second-year undergraduate student of Paul Jacobs.
Rodgers Instruments Corporation is a premier builder of classical digital and pipe combination organs with church, home and performance installations that span the globe. Rodgers is a member of the Roland Group, headed by Roland Corporation, a world leader in electronic musical instrument technologies and electronic musical instrument sales and manufacturing.
