Texter och CV om årets gästande organister! (på engelska förutom de svenska organisterna)
Alcee Chriss III
A featured star in the PBS documentary Pipe Dreams (2019), Alcee Chriss III is an organist and keyboardist from Fort Worth, TX. Alcee is the winner of the 2017 Canadian International Organ Competition and the Firmin Swinnen Silver Medal at the 2016 Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition. He has been celebrated for his “grace, skill and abundant proficiency” by the Journal Assist News, Albuquerque. And of his most recent solo recording at Montreal Symphony Hall, Art et Rhapsodie (2019), the American Record Guide wrote that “he plays with clarity, imagination, musicality, virtuosity, and yes, personality.”
Alcee has performed throughout North America and Europe. Recent and upcoming performances include the International Orgelsommer (Stuttgart, Germany), Stockholm City Hall, and as soloist with the Montreal Symphony in a performance of Copland’s Symphony for Organ and Orchestra. Other engagements include the Princeton University Chapel, Spreckels Organ Pavilion and International Organ Summer Karlsruhe, Germany.
In July 2019, Alcee was appointed as University Organist and Artist-in-Residence at Wesleyan University, where he teaches courses in organ and keyboard skills. In October 2019, he was awarded his Doctorate of Music degree from McGill University, where he studied with Hans-Ola Ericsson. He previously studied at Oberlin Conservatory of Music where he received his Master’s degree in historical keyboard and a Bachelor’s degree in Organ Performance, studying with Olivier Latry, Marie-Louise Langlais, and James David Christie.
Alcee is active as a church musician, guest lecturer, and remains engaged with his lifelong love of gospel and jazz music. He serves as the Minister of Music at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Ridgefield, CT. He also serves on the editorial board of Vox Humana magazine.
Mathias Kjellgren
Mathias Kjellgren föddes 1973 i Stockholm. Efter Mathias Kjellgren är en svensk konsertorganist och orgelpedagog, född 1973 i Stockholm. Förutom konsertverksamheten är han även verksam som organist vid Sigtuna församling, framträder regelbundet som organist i Kronprinsessan Märthas kirke i Stockholm och som orgellärare vid Musikskolan Lilla Akademien. Han var tidigare organist i Maria Magdalena kyrka i Stockholm under 20 år samt under en 10-års period verksam som orgel och metodiklärare vid Kungliga Musikhögskolan. Mathias finns dokumenterad på många inspelningar och har framträtt i såväl nationell som internationell radio och television.
Ben van Oosten
Ben van Oosten was born in The Hague in 1955. He studied organ and piano at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam and in Paris. Since 1970 his numerous highly successful concert tours have taken Ben van Oosten to the foremost international organ venues, where he has emerged as one of the most remarkable organ virtuosos of our time. In addition to his concert career he gives organ masterclasses in many countries and is Professor of Organ at Rotterdam Conservatory.
Ben van Oosten has dedicated himself exhaustively to French symphonic organ music. His recordings of the eight organ sonatas of Alexandre Guilmant and the complete organ works of César Franck, Camille Saint-Saëns, Louis Vierne, Charles-Marie Widor and Marcel Dupré have been awarded many international prizes (including the Echo Klassik, Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik, Choc du Monde de la Musique and Diapason d’Or). In 2019 his recording of the complete organ works of César Franck has won the prestigious German music prize Opus Klassik.
Ben van Oosten is also author of the comprehensive Widor biography, Charles-Marie Widor – Vater der Orgelsymphonie(Charles-Marie Widor – Father of The Organ Symphony).
Because of his services to French organ culture Ben van Oosten was honoured on three occasions by the Société Académique Arts, Sciences, Lettres in Paris. The French government created him Chevalier (1998) and Officier (2011) dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres,and in 2010 H.M. the Queen of The Netherlands appointed him Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion.
Ben van Oosten is Titular Organist of the Grote Kerk in The Hague and Artistic Director of the international organ festival that takes place annually in this church.
Matthias Geuting
Matthias Geuting is an organist and musicologist. He studied church music in Essen, where the influential organist and composer Gerd Zacher (1929–2014) was one of his most formative teachers. He then received his doctorate in musicology at the Ruhr University Bochum with a dissertation on the chamber music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Geuting teaches at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen and at the Robert Schumann School of Music in Düsseldorf. He has published articles on the history of organ music in the 19th and 20th century and was the editor along with the organ expert Hermann J. Busch of the Lexikon der Orgel [Dictionary of the Organ] (Laaber 2007). 2016 saw the release of a two-volume collection on the composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, for which he served as the editor.
As a soloist as well a member of the internationally renowned Ensemble E-MEX, Geuting has toured across Europe and the US and has been invited to perform at major festivals for new music. Always looking for new and fresh perspectives on the organ, Geuting regularly commissions composers (especially those from the younger generation). The numerous world premieres he has been entrusted with—many of which have been documented in CD productions and radio broadcasts—occupy a special place in his work as a performer. Geuting’s work has also been informed by long-running collaborations with artists from other disciplines, and he enjoy a close working relationships with the actress Maria Neumann (Theater an der Ruhr, Mülheim) and the dancer and choreographer Henrietta Horn (Folkwang University of the Arts Essen) that focus on interdisciplinary projects, especially in the area of improvisation.
Björn Gäfvert & Anna Dahlqvist
Björn Gäfvert studerade orgel och cembalospel vid Kungliga musikhögskolan i Stockholm.
Det främsta lärosätet har varit inspirerande samarbeten med många framstående musiker, sångare och dirigenter. Samarbetspartners finns det gott om: Drottningholms barockensemble (där Björn är ständig tangentspelare sedan 1989), Sveriges Radios symfoniorkester, Radiokören, Kungliga filharmoniska orkestern, Musica Vitae och Svenska Kammarorkestern, för att nämna några. Sedan hösten 2013 är Björn huvudansvarig organist i Immanuelskyrkan, Stockholm. Han ingår också i en trio med sopranen Barbara Hendricks. Han har konserterat i, i stort sett, hela världen, samt finns representerad på ett sjuttiotal CD-inspelningar.
Anna Dahlqvist är skådespelare och clown och är utbildad på “École International de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq” i Paris.
Hon har arbetat med barn- och ungdomsteater i 20 år med grupper som bl.a. Teater Barbara, Circonova och senast med Dotterbolaget.
Anna arbetar som sjukhusclown sedan 2015 i Stockholm på bl.a. Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset i Solna och Huddinge, med gruppen Clownmedicin, och på Akademiska Sjukhuset i Uppsala med gruppen Clownjouren. Där kan man träffa på hennes clown Hjördis som genom åren träffat och glatt många barn och vuxna. Hjördis är nyfiken och glad men blandar oftast ihop saker och ting så att det blir lite annorlunda.
Under spelåret 2021/2022 är hon även med i föreställningen “Hunden” som turnerar runt om i Sverige i produktion av Dotterbolaget. Anna gör rollen som hunden.
Edoardo Bellotti
Internationally renowned organist and harpsichordist, Edoardo Bellotti performs as a soloist and with ensembles and orchestras in Europe, USA, Canada, Japan, and Korea. He is frequently invited to give seminars and master classes as an expert of Renaissance and Baroque repertory, performance practice, and improvisation. In addition to his musical studies (organ and harpsichord), he studied humanities at the University of Pavia, Italy, completing laurea degrees in philosophy and theology.
In addition to teaching and performing, he has devoted himself to musicological research, publishing articles, essays and critical editions of organ music and presenting his work in many international conferences and symposia. He has edited the first modern edition of two of the most important Baroque treatises on organ playing: Adriano Banchieri L’ Organo suonarino (Venice 1605), and Spiridion a Monte Carmelo Nova Instructio pro pulsandis organis (Bamberg 1670).
He has made more than thirty recordings on historical instruments, which have obtained critical acclaim.
From 2012 to 2018 Edoardo Bellotti served as Asssociate Professor of Organ, Harpsichord and Improvisation at the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester (USA). He is currently Professor of Organ and Improvisation at the University of Arts Bremen (Germany).
Els Biesemans
She is a pianist, an organist, a chamber musician, and the initiator and director of Zurich’s “Flügelschläge” fortepiano festival: Els Biesemans has explored many facets of music in the course of her career. After studying in Leuven, the Belgian artist further developed her specialization in the multidimensional 18th- and 19th-century keyboard music at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. With a performance repertoire ranging from medieval to modern music, Els Biesemans has won numerous international awards. She has won the Ciurlionis Competition in Vilnius and was awarded the Arp-Schnitger Prize at the Bremen Music Festival. Both in Switzerland and abroad, she performs as a soloist on the fortepiano, on the organ, and with her chamber music ensemble Elsewhere. Els Biesemans is celebrated as a brilliant interpreter of famous composers, but also as a discoverer of forgotten music.
Jean-Baptiste Dupont
Jean-Baptiste Dupont enjoys a musician international career. He performed in several European countries, in the USA and in Russia, in prestigious venues (Cathedrals from Paris, New-York, Berlin, London, Köln, Copenhague, Wien, Mariinsky concert hall, Bolchoï Theatre, Berlin Philharmonie, etc…). He has a broad repertoire ranging from the Renaissance to the present days, including many transcriptions. Jean-Baptiste Dupont has been hailed as one of the greatest young improvisers on the organ. He is a frequent guest performer at international festivals, radios, etc. As a specialist of improvisation, he’s regularly invited to give Masterclasses and Workshops on that field. He has been a Jury member in competitions in France, USA, Sweden and Germany.
He was finalist and laureate in many organ competitions, both in interpretation and improvisation. He won the 1st prize (improvisation) in St-Albans international competition in July 2009 ; the 2nd prize, audience prize, Glinka and De Boni Arte foundations prizes in “Mikael Tariverdiev” competition in Kaliningrad, Russia, 2009 ; and the 3rd prize in “Xavier Darasse” international competition (Toulouse, France) in October 2008. Jean-Baptiste Dupont’s organ, improvisation, harpsichord and piano teachers included Michel Bouvard, Louis Robilliard, Philippe Lefebvre, Jan Willem Jansen and Thérèse Dussaut.
He is recording the complete Max Reger’s organ works for Hortus Editions. The volumes released so far have been acclaimed by international press. His work on Max Reger gained an international recognition, and subsequently, Jean-Baptiste Dupont was invited in several symposium and international events about the composer. Latest releases include an improvisation recording for the label Hortus, and Widor symphonie n°8 for the label Audite which was praised by music critics.
Jean-Baptiste Dupont was appointed organist at Bordeaux Cathedral after a competition which took place in April 2012. He was founder and artistic director of Cathedra (sacred music at Bordeaux Cathedral) from 2014 to 2019, and speaks up for the rebuilding of the cathedral organ.
He also acts as an independent organ consultant since 2018.
Sarah Kim
Born in Germany, Sarah Kim is an Australian organist of Korean origin, who is now based in Paris.
She began her musical studies (piano and violin) at an early age in Cologne and had her first organ lessons with Miriam Gaydon at the age of eleven in Sydney. After finishing high school, she studied organ with Philip Swanton at the Sydney Conservatorium Music, where she graduated from a Bachelor of Music Performance course with First Class Honours and the Sydney University Medal. During her student days at the Conservatorium, Sarah held several organ scholar positions at the University of Sydney, St Paul’s College and St James’ Anglican Church.
She performed with numerous ensembles including the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Youth Orchestra and the Sydney Chamber Choir. As a soloist she performed in major concert venues including the Sydney, Perth and Melbourne Town Halls and the Sydney Opera House.
On completion of her studies, Sarah was awarded a University of Sydney overseas travelling scholarship and became the first Australian organist ever to be accepted into the ‘Cycle de Perfectionnement’ and Master course at the Paris Conservatoire, where she studied under the tutelage of Oliver Latry and Michel Bouvard.
She subsequently pursued further studies with Wolfgang Zerer, Andrea Marcon, Lorenzo Ghielmi and Jörg-Andreas Bötticher at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, where she gained a specialised Masters degree in early music. .
Prize-winner of the Sydney, Newcastle and Paris International Organ Competitions, Sarah has given masterclasses at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the Oundle International Summer Academy in the UK.
She has performed at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, Westminster Abbey, Mont St Michel, the Royal Chapel in Versailles, Stavanger Concert Hall, the Musikverein in Vienna and in the Berlin Philharmonie. Sarah has featured as soloist with the Swedish Baroque Orchestra, the Oxford Band of Instruments and the Bordeaux Orchestra and has given duo concerts throughout Italy and Paris with her mentor, Jean Guillou. She also plays regularly with the Parisian ensemble ‘le Balcon’ and the l’Orchestre National de France.
Sarah is currently organist at l’Oratoire du Louvre in Paris.