The East Carolina University Young Artist Competition for Pre-College Organists is an innovative outreach program designed to inspire young musicians in our region to strive for the highest level of musicianship and technical accomplishment piano and organ performance.  The competition is open to any pre-college student in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Florida.  In addition to generous monetary prizes, the first place winner will also receive invitations to return to perform at East Carolina University in the 2008-2009 season.

The competition will be staged in a festival-like atmosphere in tandem with a Pre-College Piano Competition.  From the initial application round three organists will be chosen to compete live on April 19.  All three will receive prizes and will be considered for two special prizes: the Bach Prize and, new this year, a Hymn playing Prize.

Organists arrive for practice on Friday, April 18 and may elect to attend the Festival Piano Recital that evening at the ECU School of Music. Saturday morning Guest Adjudicator and Recitalist James David Christie will coach ECU organ majors in a masterclass at First Presbyterian Church, Rocky Mount, followed by the organ competition in the afternoon on the Perkins and Wells Memorial Organ, C.B. Fisk, Opus 126 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church which borders the ECU campus. Dr. Christie will conclude the weekend with a recital on the Fisk, Opus 126 on Sunday, April 20 at 5 pm.

All recitals, master classes and competitions are free and open to the public.
Full organ competition details can be found below. Visit the piano competition page for details of that division.

Download organ competition application (PDF file)

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Friday, April 18, 2008 - Organ finalists practice at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
   
Saturday, April 19, 2008 
10 am – noon Organ masterclass:  James David Christie coaches ECU organ majors on the Richards, Fowkes organ at First Presbyterian Church, Rocky Mount, NC
9 am-2 pm: Finalists practice at St. Paul’s
2:30-5 pm:  Organ competition followed by prize giving

Sunday, April 20, 2008
5 pm: Recital by James David Christie, St. Paul's

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Eligibility:
The competition is open to pre-college students between the ages of 13-18 who are residents of North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia or Florida. Current students of the judge and previous first place winners are ineligible to compete.
Competition Requirements:
Competitors must submit three copies of a recording (high quality cassette or compact disc) postmarked no later than March 7, 2008, of the following repertoire for solo organ. The recordings must contain no speaking, and each piece must be continuous and unedited; recordings must not be marked with the name of the competitor.

1. One work by Johann Sebastian Bach.
2. One piece composed between 1850-1940 in a Romantic style.
3. One piece composed after 1950 in a style contrasting with the second work.

Performance from memory is optional.
Total performance time of the repertoire should not exceed forty minutes.

Compositions to be performed at the final round are to be the same as those on the recording with the following addition: 
 
All finalists will be sent a competition hymn packet and should be ready to play an introduction and designated stanzas of all hymns contained therein. On Friday, April 18 all finalists will be notified of the two hymns chosen and all will play the same two hymns on the competition day.
 
Not more than three persons will be chosen for live competition. Each will receive an equal amount of practice the day before and of the competition. Teachers or other assistants provided by the competitor may help with registration choices and turn pages; however, each competitor must accomplish his or her own registration changes (i.e. piston changes) during the competition. Both the preliminary recorded round and final competition will be judged with complete anonymity and judges’ comments will be given to each competitor. Performers must use legal scores. The judge’s decisions will be final. The competition will be open to the public.
 
Awards:

First place: The Fisk Prize, donated by C.B. Fisk, Inc, in memory of Charles Brenton Fisk.$1000, plus an invitation to return as a recitalist at the 2008 competition.

Second place: The Gladys and John Fishell Award, donated by Janette Fishell and Colin Andrews in memory of Dr. Fishell’s parents. $500

Third place: The American Guild of Organists Prize, donated by the Eastern Carolina Chapter of the AGO.  $300

Special prizes:
The Bach Prize: donated by the North Carolina Bach Society, recognizing the outstanding performance of a Bach work. $100

The Hymn Prize: recognizing the day’s most outstanding hymn playing.
  
All finalists will be awarded a compact disc of their performance and free registrations to the 2009 East Carolina Religious Arts Festival.