
We are devoted to promoting "the King of Instruments" as a solo instrument in its own right as well as an instrument capable of performing in a variety of musical contexts.
The Festival is staged every two years - predominantly in the magnificent historic Norman St Albans Cathedral - attracts artists, musicians and performers of the highest calibre from all around the world.
St Albans, England is 30 kilometres north of London.
The 2011-2012 Saturday Organ Concert series began on 17th September. Click here for more details.
Click here to listen to the 2011 Prizewinners' Concert, Saturday 16th July 2011, St Albans Cathedral: David Baskeyfield, Paul Goussot, Ka Young Lee, Simone Weber.
The 2011 Prizewinners:
Interpretation competition:
First Prize and Audience Prize
David Baskeyfield (UK)

David
Baskeyfield is a doctoral
student at
the Eastman School of Music in Rochester,
New York. He was organ scholar at St John’s
College, Oxford, where he read Law. After a
year as organ scholar at both Anglican
cathedrals in Dublin, he began a Master’s at
Eastman and now continues in the studio
of David Higgs, studying improvisation
with William Porter. In 2010 he won first
and audience prize at the Miami International Organ Competition, first
prize at the Mader organ competition, Los Angeles, and first and
audience prize at the AGO National Competition in Organ Improvisation.
Active as an accompanist and continuo player, he also enjoys frequent
access to the large Wurlitzer organ in
the
Auditorium Theatre downtown and has been elected to the Board of
the Rochester Theatre Organ Society.
Second Prize and John McCabe Prize
(The McCabe Prize was awarded for the best performance of the commissioned work Esperanza.)
Ka Young Lee (South Korea)
Ka
Young Lee was born in Seoul.
She
completed her Bachelor’s degree under
Tong-Soon Kwak at Yonsei University. After
further studies in Germany, she gained her
Concert Organist Diploma with Excellence
under Wolfgang Rübsam in Saarbrücken
and Concert Diploma Solistenklasse
under Professor Martin Sander in
Heidelberg. She is now studying Organ
Performance with Christophe Mantoux in Strasbourg. Ka Young has
won second prizes in the Chang Chon-Klais Organ Competition
(Seoul, 2001), the Horst Dieter Veeck Organ Competition
(Saarbrücken,
2006) and the International M.K. Ciurlionis Piano and Organ Competition
(Vilnius, 2007). She was a semi-finalist in the Canadian International
Organ Competition in Montreal (2008), and came third in the
International Organ Competition in Korschenbroich (2011). Ka Young
has participated in international organ masterclasses, gives regular
recitals, and serves as a church organist.
Improvisation competition:
First Prize
Paul Goussot (France)

Paul
Goussot is titulaire of the
Dom Bedos
organ at the Abbey of Ste-Croix, Bordeaux.
He entered the Paris Conservatoire at 16
and has won prizes at international organ
competitions in Bruges, Saint-Maurice and
Luxembourg. He gives recitals in France and
abroad, including in prestigious venues
such as Notre-Dame, Paris, and Chartres
Cathedral. He enjoys improvising with other
artists and appeared with Olivier Latry in Notre-Dame in May 2010. A
harpsichord professor at the Conservatory of Chaville, he teaches
regularly
with Louis Robilliard at the Academy of Granville. In 2009, as part of
a joint
programme between the Cathedral-Basilica in New Orleans and the Paris
Conservatoire, he was named the cathedral’s first artist in
residence.
Peter Hurford Prize
(The Peter Hurford Prize was awarded for the best performance of J S Bach in any round)
Simone Vebber (Italy)
Simone Vebber graduated in
Organ and
Organistic Composition, and Piano (cum
laude) from the Conservatoire F.A.
Bonporti, Trento. He was awarded the
Diplome de Concert (Hons) by the Schola
Cantorum of Paris and a diploma in organ
with Lorenzo Ghielmi by the Accademia
Internazionale di Musica in Milan. He won
first prize in Pierre Pincemaille’s organ
improvisation class at the CNR of Saint-Maur (Paris); other studies
have
been with Roberto Antonello, Esa Toivola and Jan Lehtola. He has
taken part in interpretation and improvisation masterclasses with
internationally renowned exponents, including Ludger Lohmann, Jean
Guillou and Naji Hakim. Simone has won first prize in a number of
international organ competitions, including the J.S. Bach Organ
Competition (Saint Pierre lès Nemour, 2005) and the J.J. Fux
Organ
Competition (Graz, 2010). He has given concerts in music festivals
around Europe, and has made several recordings.
Douglas May Award
(The Douglas May was awarded for the best performance of a competition work in either the Quarter or Semi-Final rounds: awarded for Thierry Escaich's Ground II)
Kyle Babin (USA)
Kyle Babin
holds a Bachelor of Music
degree (summa cum laude) from the
Shepherd School of Music of Rice
University, a Master of Music degree from
the Yale University School of Music, a
certificate from the Yale Institute of Sacred
Music, and a Doctor of Musical Arts
degree from Manhattan School of Music.
His organ teachers have included Clyde
Holloway, Martin Jean, and McNeil Robinson. He has also studied
improvisation with William Porter. At Yale, Kyle was awarded the
Charles Ives Prize in organ and the Richard Paul DeLong Prize in
Church Music; he was also the recipient of the Bronson Ragan Award
from Manhattan School of Music. Kyle lives in Washington, DC, is
director of music at Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church in Bethesda,
Maryland, and teaches organ improvisation at the Peabody Institute of
The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
The
International Organ Festival Society Ltd
Registered
Office: Spinney Corner, Green Lane, Aspley Guise, Milton
Keynes MK17 8EN
Also trading
as The International Organ Festival at St Albans, PO Box
80, St Albans AL3 4HR United Kingdom
Tel: +44
(0)1727 844765 E-mail: info@organfestival.com Web Site:
www.organfestival.com
Company Registration No: 2644149 VAT Registration No: 198 2626
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The
International Organ Festival Society Ltd is a Registered Charity No:
1006151
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Festival Archives
Can you help identify some of the photographs in the IOF Archives? We have pictures taken from social events, concerts and rehearsals which we cannot name. Do have a look at the first batch of pictures - click here
If you can't remember names, you can search the on-line files from the Archives for artists and ensembles, etc.
We would still be glad to hear about any papers, photographs etc particularly from the early Festivals which we might copy, or even keep for the archives. If you have any material, or wish to make an enquiry about past Festivals, please contact our Archivist, Jill Bennett
Contacts
Click on these links to contact the Artistic Director
or the Chairman.
| This site is maintained by Mike Bennett . If you have any comments or questions about the site you can email him here. |


