Prof. Michio Akimoto, includes a long tenure as a professor at Tokyo University of Fine Arts & Music (“Geidai”) and a period as Chairman of Japan Association of Organists.
Today, he ranks among the “elders” of Japan’s pipe organ community. Though now of an advanced age, he continues to enjoy good health and lead an active life.
He has just recently completed the pipe organ study published in a new book : “The Pipe Organ : Its History and Mechanism”.
Ablitzer was born in Grandvillars in the Territoire de Belfort, in which department he has lived almost all his life. At first self-taught, he later studied with Pierre Vidal at the Strasbourg conservatory. Since 1971 he has been the organist of Belfort Cathedral, with its historical Valtrin/Callinet/Schwenkedel organ officially classed as a Monument historique. From 1971 until 2007 he was also professor of organ at the Belfort conservatory. He initiated the construction of an Italian baroque type organ by Gérald Guillemin (1979) and of a Northern baroque type instrument by Marc Garnier (1985), so that Belfort, which already had romantic instruments, became an ideal place to teach the organ.
His interest in historical instruments of the northern type, which led him to Germany (including East Germany before die Wende, which he regularly visited between 1976 and 1984), culminated in his efforts on behalf of the reconstruction of the organ David Beck built for the chapel of Gröningen castle in 1596 and on behalf of the restoration of its case; at present this organ is in Saint Martin’s in Halberstadt. It was he who alerted the authorities to the deplorable state of this famous instrument, described by its one-time organist Michael Praetorius in his Syntagma Musicum. He is still among the driving forces behind “Organum Gruningense Redivivum”, the action group campaigning for the restoration of the Beck organ, although he is now its honorary president.
The music of Praetorius is particularly important for Jean-Charles Ablitzer. In 2005 he recorded Praetorius’s complete organ works on the Hans Scherer organ in St Stephen’s in Tangermünde (published by Alpha in 2008). On the Compenius organ in the Frederiksborg Palace, he also recorded a cd entitled Auch auff Orgeln with transcriptions for organ (by himself as well as by others) of vocal and instrumental music by Praetorius (Musique et mémoire productions). He often plays Praetorius in his recitals, and in 2006 he even made a slide show of a trip he made that took him In the Footsteps of Michael Praetorius to Wolfenbüttel, Halberstadt, Gröningen and Creuzburg, Praetorius’s native city.
In addition to Praetorius, Ablitzer’s discography includes the complete organ works of Buxtehude (Harmonic Records) and Brahms (Harmonic Records), as well as works by Bach, Georg Böhm, François Couperin, Jean-François Dandrieu, and others.
He has performed as a soloist all over France, where festivals like the Festival d’Avignon, Toulouse les Orgues, Musique et mémoire, and the Festival international de piano de La Roque-d’Anthéron (which accommodates organists and harpsichordists besides pianists) have invited him. He has also played in numerous European countries, including Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, and Italy; in Denmark he participated in the celebrations around the 400th anniversary of the Compenius organ (1610–2010) in Frederiksborg. His concert tours have also taken him to Japan.
Besides playing solo recitals, he likes to work with singers, notably with the Catalan baritone Josep Cabré, and with ensembles like Gérard Lesne’s Il Seminario Musicale, in which he played continuo for fifteen years. Among the numerous radio and television broadcasts featuring Jean-Charles Ablitzer, his regular invitations to France Musique’s Organo pleno programs deserve special mention.
“The performance of Balázs Szabó combines deep musicality, irreproachable technique and unmistakable sense” (Neue Musik Zeitung)
Over the past several years he has succeeded to wipe off the dust from the organ, and establish a new reputation for this instrument. He enjoys a hugely varied performing career on a diverse spectrum of keyboard instruments including, organ, piano, harpsichord and his special instrument: the harmonium d’art.
Balázs Szabó began his musical studies at the age of 15, graduated from the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest and went on to continue his studies in Germany and Italy.
In 2010 he received the master organist title from the University of Music Wuerzburg with the mentoring of Prof. Dr. Christoph Bossert, and also concluded the only existing International Master for OrganExperts in Rome and Trossingen.
He won first Prizes at three renowned international organ competitions: in St. Maurice (2007 Swiss), Biarritz (2009 France) and 2011 the most prestigious and longest running organ festival in Germany: the Internationale Orgelwoche Nürnberg ION. He received the City of Miskolc Standard of Excellence Award, and the Junior Prima Prize.
In November 2014, he gains the second equal prize of the international competition of Chartres.
Since 2011 he holds a teaching position at the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest and since 2013 also at the Béla Bartók conservatory.
More informations about Balázs SZABÓ can be found at his website.
As the winner of the Grand Prix d’Interprétation at the 24th Concours International d’Orgue de Chartres, Dexter Kennedy has established himself internationally as a leading organist of his generation. Praised for his “prodigious technique and grand style musicality” in The American Organist, his concert programs present performances that are fiery, spontaneous, and historically informed, exciting both music connoisseurs as well as people who have never experienced the organ in concert setting. In addition to concertizing, Dexter Kennedy currently serves on the music faculty of the College of Wooster as Instructor of Organ and Harpsichord.
Dexter Kennedy is an active recitalist throughout both Europe and North America, having performed at several celebrated venues including Washington National Cathedral ; St. Thomas Church 5th Avenue, New York City ; Old West Church, Boston ; The Cathedral of St. Joseph, Columbus ; Myers Park Methodist Church, Charlotte ; The Community Church of Vero Beach, Florida ; the University of Calgary ; Berlin Cathedral ; Hallgrimskirkja, Reykjavik ; the Basilica of St. Nazaire, Carcassonne, France ; Narbonne Cathedral ; Santa Rita da Cascia, Turin, Italy ; St. Willibrordus Basilika, Echternach, Luxembourg ; Auditorio Manuel de Falla, Granada ; Hospital de los Venerables, Seville ; Chichester Cathedral ; St. Andreas Kyrka, Malmö, Sweden ; and Slovak Philharmonic Hall, Bratislava. His performances have been heard recently at two regional conventions of the American Guild of Organists, the Aosta Valley Organ Festival, the Calgary Organ Festival, and the 51st Bratislava Music Festival.
A devoted church musician, Kennedy currently serves as the Assistant Organist of Christ Church Grosse Pointe (Michigan) where he serves as the principal organist for all choral services and concerts and directs the training of the novice boy and girl choristers. He traveled with the Christ Church Choir of Men and Boys to England and Wales in the summer of 2014, performing in Exeter, Wells, Bristol, Brecon, St. David’s, and Bangor Cathedrals. Additional choir tours as a freelance accompanist have taken Kennedy to the organ benches of St. Peter’s Basilica, La Sagrada Familia, and St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. Kennedy’s previously held positions include Director of Music and Organist for Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University, Organ Scholar at St. Paul’s on the Green Episcopal Church, Norwalk, CT, and Organist for Marquand Chapel, Yale Divinity School.
Dexter Kennedy is currently pursuing the prestigious Artist Diploma at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of James David Christie. He holds a Master of Music Degree from the Yale School of Music and Institute of Sacred Music, where he was a recipient of the Robert Baker Award, as well as the Mary Baker Prize for Excellence in Organ Accompaniment. Kennedy has also studied under Olivier Latry, Martin Jean, Jeffrey Brillhart (improvisation), Arthur Haas and Webb Wiggins (harpsichord), and has attended several international organ festivals where he has coached with many distinguished European artists. In his spare time, he enjoys golfing and vigorously rooting for the professional sports teams in his native Detroit. More information about Kennedy and his schedule can be found at his website :
Originally from New York City, American organist John Walthausen obtained his Master’s Degree in the class of Olivier Latry and Michel Bouvard at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris in 2013. Before coming to France, John did his undergraduate studies with James David Christie at Oberlin Conservatory, USA.
In 2009, he won the first prize of the Regional Competition for Young Organiste of the American Guild of Organists, and then in 2012 the first prize of the Pierre de Manchicourt competition in Béthune, France.
John Walthausen performs regularly in France and the United States (in 2009 Oberlin Messiaen festival ; in 2012 hommage to composer Xavier Darasse ; “Nuit de l’Orgue” at the Festival Toulouse Les Orgues). He also played in the orchestra of the Conservatoire de Paris at Notre Dame de Paris and the Salle Pleyel.
On obtaining his Bachelors degree, he was elected to membership in Pi Kappa Lambda, the American National Honors Society for musicians.
John WALTHAUSEN – Chartres 2013
http://www.johnwalthausen.com/
Raphaël TRARIEUX was born in Bordeaux in 1965. In his early childhood he already develops a strong sense of music. Later he decides to learn to play the piano, and then the organ, while continuing secondary cycle studies in his home town.
He takes lessons with the most demanding teachers, in particular with Susan Landale, who is well-known in France, in Great Britain or in the United States, not only as an excellent organ teacher, but also as an internationally acknowledged concert performer.
At the age of 20, Raphaël Trarieux is appointed supply organist of the great organ of St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Bordeaux, one of the most important instruments in France. Regularly, he returns to St. Andrew’s to accompany the services.
Furthermore he is studying with Patrick Delabre, the titular organist of Chartres Cathedral ; in this prestigious cathedral Raphaël Trarieux also plays during services.
In 2010 Raphaël Trarieux has been bestowed the title of “chevalier des arts et des lettres”.
Despite of his intensive piano, harpsichord (with Françoise Lengellé and Béatrice Martin) and organ training as well as his concerts in France and abroad, Raphaël Trarieux has made, since 1993, a professional career as a magistrate : today he fills the office of advisor at the Paris Court of appeal.
Raphaël TRARIEUX – Chartres 2012
Born in 1990, Thomas Ospital began his musical studies at the Conservatoire Maurice Ravel in Bayonne (France). While in Bayonne, his organ studies were with Esteban Landart. He completed his studies with Landart in 2008 (Mention Très bien à l’unanimité).
From 2008 until 2015, he was a student at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris. His teachers included Olivier Latry, Michel Bouvard, Thierry Escaich, Philippe Lefebvre, Laszlo Fassang, Isabelle Duha, Pierre Pincemaille and Jean-François Zygel. He got five first place prizes in this conservatoire in organ, improvisation, harmony, counterpoint and fugue.
In 2012, he served as Young Artist in Residence at the Cathedral-Basilica of Saint Louis King of France in New Orleans.
He was the First prize winner at the International Competition of Organ in Saragossa (Spain) in 2009, Durufle-Prize and Public Prize at the International Chartres Competition in 2012, Second Prize at the International Xavier Darasse competition in Toulouse. In may 2014, he obtained the Grand Prix Jean Louis Florentz and the Public Prize at the International organ competition of Angers under the direction of the Académie des Beaux-Arts. In November of the same year, he was awarded Second Prize, the Public Prize and the Florentz Prize at the International Chartres competition.
He frequently performs in different countries as a soloist or with choir or orchestra.
In March 2015, he was appointed as titular-organist of Saint-Eustache church in Paris.
Improvisation plays an important part in his professional activities. Anxious to perpetuate this art in all its forms, he makes use it whilst accompanying silent films.
Thomas OSPITAL – Chartres 2013
Keiko NAKATA starts her organ studies in Japan, first with Keiko Utsumi, later under the direction of Hatsumi Miura.
In 2004, she is admitted to Geidai University of Arts in Tokyo studying organ with Tsuguo Hirono and Rie Hiroe, and harpsichord with Naoya Otsuka and Masaaki Suzuki.
In 2008, she obtains the BA degree in organ and is admitted to take part in the Master cycle, to perfect interpretation until February 2011. She obtains the master degree presenting a dissertation on the Bach Toccata in C major (BWV 564), dissertation published in edition n°38 of the JAPAN ORGANIST.
As appointed organist at the Reformed Church in Kamakura Yukinoshita, she is a member of the Japanese organists’ association and she has given many concerts in Japon.
Since October 2011, she continues her training at the CRR in Paris , studying organ with Christophe Mantoux and harpsichord with Noëlle Spieth.
Keiko NAKATA – Chartres 2013
Françoise Dornier began studying music at Draguignan in her adoptive Provence region, before attending the Gabriel Fauré Conservatoire in Paris where she obtained first prize for the piano as well as first prize for organ awarded by the city of Paris.
After working with Michel Chapuis (Conservatoire National de Musique de Paris), she was awarded first prize for the organ. This was later followed by a period of advanced special study with Marie-Claire Alain, organised by the CNR in Paris to prepare candidates for international competitions. She took part in masterclasses in Belgium with Jean Ferrard, Bernard Foccroulle, Joris Verdin and Daniel Roth, as well as in Holland with Bernard Bartelink and Pierre Cogen.
In 1994 Françoise Dornier obtained first prize at the international César Franck Competition and the Charles Tournemine Performer’s Prize at Harlem (Netherlands). She holds the coveted Certificat d’aptitude (teaching qualification) for organ and the theory of music, and her teaching commitments are divided between her organ students at the Gabriel Fauré Conservatoire in Paris and teaching musical theory at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional (Rueil-Malmaison) near Paris.
Françoise Dornier was awarded a silver medal by the city of Paris and has recently recorded a CD of organ music from the French romantic school.
Françoise DORNIER – Chartres 2012
A passionate artist, more attentive to his job at the media coverage of his career, Michel Robert has always been attracted by the diversity in his Art.
Disciple of the masters Vlado Perlemuter, Jaques Coulaud, René Saorgin, Pierre Cochereau, Stéphane Cardon, Pierre Dervaux, he is a pianist, organist, conductor, pedagogue, and his intense activity can be justified by an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, a concern permanent communication for sharing music.
His activity as a soloist, rich to date more than 700 concerts and recitals led him to play and manage in many countries worldwide.
Hosted regularly in major festivals in Paris (Notre-Dame, La Madeleine, Notre-Dame d’Auteuil, St Germain-en-Laye, Auditorium Marcel Dupré in Meudon, etc…), he is the guest of the International Festivals “Saou sings Mozart”, Roquevaire, Chartres, St. Donat, Nevers, Nolay, Lausanne, Turin, Ghent, Ottobeuren… Winner of the Concours International d’Improvisation de Lyon, Professor at the Conservatory of Valence, organist of the Cathedral of Autun, Michel Robert is, since December 2006, organist of the Collegiale Church St Peter & St Paul in the city Saint-Donat where he developed an intense artist and educator. He is since March 2012 co-artistic director of the International Bach Festival of St. Donat
Michel ROBERT – Chartres 2012
