Miami International Organ Competition
name
The Miami International Organ Competition
The final round of the Miami International Organ Competition was played to a record crowd on Friday evening, February 26th. Enthusiastic applause rang through the sanctuary at Church of the Epiphany in Miami as the three contestants put the three-manual, 61-rank Ruffatti organ through its paces. This year, the Miami competition was a part of a National Public Radio Pipedreams Live! weekend. Host Michael Barone was on hand to record the performance and cheerfully entertain and enlighten the audience while the judges were making their final decisions.
From left, judges Peter Sykes and Cristina Garcia Banegas, contestants Clayton Roberts, David Baskeyfield and
Jared Ostermann, Pipedreams host Michael Barone, and judge Brian Neal.
 
  First prize and the Audience prize went to David Baskeyfield, a Doctoral student at the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York, in the studio of Professor David Higgs. He also holds a degree in Law from Oxford University. A native of Macclesfield in the north of England, he went up to St. John's College Oxford in 2002 as organ scholar, directing the college choir. Receiving organ instruction from John Wellingham and David Sanger, he gave regular recitals in the college chapel as part of a series sponsored by the college Music Society and was active as an accompanist in college and across the university. While nurturing an interest in a scholarly approach to the performance of early music and contrapuntal improvisa-tion, he could often be found in disheveled black tie in the President's office at the Oxford Union playing ragtime and cabaret songs on a battered upright piano. He subsequently spent a year as organ scholar of both St Patrick's and Christ Church Cathedrals in Dublin. Under the instruction of Professor William Porter, he has further developed his interest in improvisation and has
been accepted to compete in the 2010 AGO National Competition in Organ Improvisation, to be held in Washington, DC. David enjoys frequent access to the large Wurlitzer organ in the Auditorium Theatre in down-town Rochester. He also cooks and enjoys heavy red wine.
Salve Regina • Raffaele Manari (1887-1933)
Largo (Trio Sonata, BWV 529) • J. S. Bach (1685-1750)
Naïades (Pièces de fantaisie, op. 55/4) • Louis Vierne (1870-1937)
Final: Allegro molto (Symphony 6, op. 59) • Louis Vierne
Second prize went to Jared Ostermann, a Doctoral student in Organ and Church Music at the University of Kansas, where he studies organ with James Higdon. He received his Master of Sacred Music from the University of Notre Dame, where he studied with Craig Cramer. He also studied for one year with Peter Planyavsky at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria. He has played in master classes for Pieter van Dijk, Lynne Davis, Karel Paukert, Paul Tegels, Harald Vogel, and Marie Claire Alain. Jared has been awarded prizes at a number of pres-tigious American organ competitions, including the John R. Rodland Scholarship Competition, the Carlene Neihart Organ Competition, the San Marino Organ Competition, and the Augustana/Reuter National Undergraduate Competition. He has also been selected as a finalist in the Arthur Poister and Fort Wayne organ competitions, as an Official Competitor in the 2008 NYACOP competition, and as a competitor in the 2007 Gottfried Silbermann Organ Competition in Altenburg, Germany. Jared is currently Director of Music at St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Prairie Village, KS, where he conducts the adult and children’s choirs, as well as a Schola dedicated to singing Gregorian chant in the liturgy. Jared lives with his wife Barbara and their daughter Sophia in Lawrence, Kansas.  
Prelude and Fugue in C minor, BWV 546 • J. S. Bach
Veni Creator: En taille, à 5; Récit de Cromorne • Nicolas de Grigny (1672-1703)
Prélude et Danse Fuguée • Gaston Litaize (1909-1991)
 
  Clayton Roberts claimed Third prize in the competition. Having begun his musical training at an early age, Clayton is now in his second year of graduate work at the University of Houston where he studies with Dr. Robert Bates. He will graduate this spring with a Master of Music degree. Clayton received his Bachelor of Music degree from Utah State University in Logan, Utah. His precollege organ study was with Mrs. Ethelyn Peterson. Clayton has performed recitals in the U.S. and Europe. His performances include solo work as well as appearances with symphony orchestra at venues such as the Mormon Tabernacle on Temple Square and Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City, Utah. In 2009 Clayton was awarded second place in the Albert Schweitzer Organ Competition. He also competed in the Augustana Arts/Reuter competition in 2005 and 2007. Clayton currently serves as the organist at Zion Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas. He is interested in many musical areas including harpsichord, choral music, conducting, and composition. When not submerged in musical matters Clayton enjoys auto mechanics, cooking, the outdoors, roller coasters, and long naps after long church services.
Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, BWV 542 • J. S. Bach
Postlude pour l'office de Complines • Jehan Alain (1911-1940)
Allegro (Symphony 6, op42/2) • Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937)
The Miami International is a bi-annual competition, sponsored by Fratelli Ruffatti and the Church of the Epiphany, with the intention of encouraging and recognizing talented young organists under the age of 30. This year, we had 36 applicants from around the world, including organists from Poland, South Korea, Austria, Italy, Germany, England, Japan, Russia, Sweden, Norway, Canada, Holland, and the United States. Judges for the preliminary round were Robert Bates,* University of Houston; Andrew Canning, Uppsala Cathedral and Uppsala University, Sweden; and Douglas Cleveland, University of Washington.
*Dr. Bates judged all entrants in the preliminary round except Mr. Roberts.

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