{"id":48422,"date":"2017-10-05T12:31:00","date_gmt":"2017-10-05T16:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/montreal\/?p=48422"},"modified":"2017-10-05T13:38:11","modified_gmt":"2017-10-05T17:38:11","slug":"news-cioc-celebrates-10-years-with-new-features-traditional-quality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/montreal\/2017\/10\/05\/news-cioc-celebrates-10-years-with-new-features-traditional-quality\/","title":{"rendered":"NEWS | CIOC celebrates 10 years with new features, traditional quality"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The
The Canadian International Organ Competition (CIOC) opens this Friday, October 6 with a genre-bending concert at the Maison Symphonique: renowned organists Christian Lane and Jean-Willy Kunz will share the stage with Montr\u00e9al singer-songwriter Leif Vollebekk, an artist more likely to be found onstage at Pop Montr\u00e9al. (Cr\u00e9dit: Joseph Yarmush)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Canadian International Organ Competition<\/a> (CIOC) opens this Friday, October 6 with a genre-bending concert at the Maison Symphonique: renowned organists Christian Lane and Jean-Willy Kunz will share the stage with Montr\u00e9al singer-songwriter Leif Vollebekk, an artist more likely to be found onstage at Pop Montr\u00e9al.<\/p>\n

The competition\u2019s 10th<\/sup> anniversary programming contains some pleasant new surprises, such as beer tents and a signature cocktail, in its diverse program, but above all, audiences can expect an intense competition featuring twenty extremely talented young organists.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to stress that the level is higher every year,\u201d said artistic director John Grew, describing the candidate selection in March. \u201cIt was very difficult to choose \u2013 there were supposed to be 16 [candidates] but we went up to 20 because the level was so high. I have served as a judge for at least 14 competitions in Europe, and the level this year is the highest I\u2019ve ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a tight competition, to be followed every day,\u201d says general director Thomas Leslie. \u201cIt\u2019s really the best of the best performers in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The candidates<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of those performers is Nicholas Capozzoli, originally from the USA but currently studying with Hans-Ola Ericsson at McGill. He got the organ bug as a young child in church.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just remember seeing how loud the organist could get at the church, especially at the end, and I thought, \u2018I really want to do that, I want to shake the rafters.\u2019\u201d He came to McGill because of his teacher and because, \u201cThe city itself has an amazing array of instruments \u2013 it\u2019s really like the organ capital of North America.\u201d He sees the CIOC as a chance to meet and mingle with talented peers from around the world as well as renowned organists.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always knew that the CIOC was a really big deal in the organ world \u2013 it\u2019s probably one of the largest competitions of its kind. And I wanted a good challenge of seeing how well I can prepare a set repertoire under a lot of pressure, under the supervision of my teachers as well, but just really pushing myself to see what it\u2019s like to perform on a world stage, with other competitors who are also very, very talented, and to get a lot of feedback.\u201d<\/p>\n

As if 20 talented young competitors aren\u2019t enough, audiences can also expect to hear the world\u2019s best established organists, as the competition\u2019s three rounds are only some of more than 30 events planned over the next two weeks.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Shen
Shen Yuan, 33 ans, repr\u00e9sente la Chine au CIOC.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThere are people who travel to hear our musicians,\u201d says Leslie. \u201cYou need to take advantage of the chance to see the great organists who are here on the jury while they\u2019re in town. It\u2019s logical to ask them to perform some concerts to demonstrate their talent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lynne Davis, David Briggs, and Bine Bryndorf are just a few of the distinguished organists who will perform concerts at some of Montr\u00e9al\u2019s many excellent organs in programs such as \u201cFrench Flavour,\u201d \u201cSymphonic Organ,\u201d and \u201cDanish Delights\u201d.<\/p>\n

Organs in Montreal<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many free concerts will take place at the Grand S\u00e9minaire, as well as every Sunday at St. Joseph\u2019s Oratory. A tour of four of the city\u2019s most prominent organs will allow audiences to get up-close and personal with some of the instruments they can hear.<\/p>\n

Jean-Willy Kunz, the OSM\u2019s organist in residence, has no trouble rhapsodizing about Montr\u00e9al\u2019s organs. Speaking about the Maison Symphonique\u2019s Grande Orgue Pierre-B\u00e9ique, he says:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a huge instrument; it has almost 6500 pipes and 83 stops, so it can be compared to an orchestra of 83 instruments. It\u2019s my favourite organ in town. I can practice any time I want.\u201d Kunz goes on to describe the organs that the competitors will play.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Jean-Willy
Jean-Willy Kunz, the OSM\u2019s organist in residence, has no trouble rhapsodizing about Montr\u00e9al\u2019s organs. (Cr\u00e9dit: Koralie Woodward)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThere are three other organs used for the competition that are really great. Immacul\u00e9e-Conception for the first round: I like this organ very much. It\u2019s a new Baroque organ, so it\u2019s really great for playing Baroque music, Bach and Buxtehude, and these are the composers that will be played during the first round. Saint-Jean-Baptiste for the second round: it\u2019s a marvelous Casavant organ, the same builder as the one here. I have lots of great memories of this organ; it was one of the first organs I discovered when I moved here in 2004 and I had lots of lessons when I was a student at the Conservatoire and at McGill with John Grew, the artistic director of the CIOC. And the Basilique Notre-Dame, for the final round, is also a great instrument. The instrument itself is also a Casavant, one of the oldest ones. The venue itself, that\u2019s really something, to practice and perform there. It\u2019s a real honour, and I\u2019m sure the candidates of the competition will experience this honour too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leif Vollebekk<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was Kunz who proposed that Vollebekk be featured in the opening concert, after \u201cfalling in love\u201d with the pop musician\u2019s songs at a concert at La Tulipe. \u201cWe wanted to give a different view on what the organ can sound like,\u201d says Kunz, echoing Leslie\u2019s statement that it\u2019s important for the festival to do something out of the ordinary to attract new listeners.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a different, refreshing view both for pop music, and for the organ world. I really like that kind of experience, where you don\u2019t know what it will sound like in the end. There\u2019s a lot of live improvisation on stage. I like this approach to organ music, and to music in general.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJean-Willy is really kind of amazing and has a really incredible sensibility,\u201d says Vollebekk. \u201cA lot of classical musicians, their first instinct isn\u2019t to improvise, where Jean-Willy\u2019s is, so it\u2019s kind of exciting to work with someone who can bridge the gap.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vollebekk, who claims to like both Sibelius and Bob Dylan, confesses that he was briefly a classical musician as a child. \u201cI did classical for seven years on the violin, and then quit. I hated it. I preferred playing my own songs. I kind of got derailed by how easy it is to play guitar,\u201d he laughs.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then I lost all my chops \u2013 I didn\u2019t have very many on the violin, and now it\u2019s just painful. I can\u2019t go back.\u201d Despite his modesty, his flexibility as a musician gave him the opportunity to play, and even write for, the organ. \u201cI just happened to have written [a piece for organ] when I was in the Netherlands a few years ago, because I had access to a church organ.\u201d<\/p>\n

He describes his composing residency abroad and how he was given access to a local organ, which he would play at night. The result was a work for organ that has languished \u2013 until Friday\u2019s concert. \u201cWe\u2019ll just be kind of playing, keeping it loose. I\u2019m excited to come and see how it all comes together, with this huge piece of equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCome Friday night and hear the organ in a different way,\u201d says Leslie. \u201cThere will be plenty to satisfy purists, and plenty to initiate newcomers.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ALSO READ:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Elisabeth Gallat-Morin et la d\u00e9couverte du Livre d’orgue de Montr\u00e9al<\/a>, par Caroline Rodgers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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