Christophe Mantoux will do a recital at Temple Square and a Master Class in Libby Gardner Hall during the last week of October 2019. Event details are at the end of this article.
French organist Christophe Mantoux is Professor of Organ at the Pôle Supérieur and the Conservatoire Régional de Paris where he teaches students from all over Europe, the United States, South America, South Korea, and Japan.
Prior to his appointment in Paris, he was Professor of Organ at the Conservatoire National de Région of Strasbourg. He also holds the post of Titular Organist at the famous Church of Saint-Séverin in Paris where he has served since 1995.
A downloadable bio and outline of his recital is available on the Events pages below.
The Open Console event dates for the Eccles Organ Festival have changed. Instead of two dates in December 2019, there will be two dates in January 2020. These two events have been updated on our Events Calendar.
Update 26/Sep 2019: Unfortunately, Mr. Ramirez has had to cancel this concert at the last minute. Our newsletter subscribers have been notified, and the Event record (below) has been updated on our calendar. We look forward to a future opportunity to listen to this excellent organist play in Salt Lake City!
All Eccles Organ Festival Recitals are given on Sundays at 8:00 PM at the Cathedral of the Madeleine, Salt Lake City, UT. All events are offered free of charge and open to the public. Donations are welcome.
Here are links to the first few events. You may be particularly interested in the open console events that are offered this season!
Welcome to the beginning
of a new year of programs, activities and events of the Salt Lake Chapter of
the American Guild of Organists. I
invite you at the beginning of this program year to become acquainted with our
Chapter website. There you will find the
Chapter’s calendar of events and other resources and information aimed at
assisting you in your work and love of the organ. Our Webmasters, Max Walker and Chad Staten
have done a wonderful job with the website.
They wait upon your further advice and input as to what would you would
like to see as far as information or other resources as we continue in the
effort to give you the best resources available via the website.
During this coming
program year you can expect to see some organizational changes designed to
promote the efficient operation of the Chapter and also designed to expand the
breadth and quality of events for both professional and amateur organists. It is our aim in so doing to expand the
positions and assignments for Chapter programs and events so that as many of
our Chapter members who would like to participate will have the opportunity to
do so, without the fear or anxiety of having to make a large commitment of
time. We believe our upcoming organization
changes will enhance the quality of being a member of this Salt Lake Chapter –
the Best Chapter of the West.
The mission of the Salt Lake Chapter of the American Guild of Organists is to foster a thriving community of musicians who share their knowledge and inspire passion for the organ. We have a thriving community of musicians. I have visited and experienced the services of the Catholics, Episcopalians, Methodists, Protestants, Baptists and other denominations in our community, not to mention the Mormon services, (whoops – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ services – one can hardly say all of that in one breath). I enjoy and I am enthused about the professionalism of our organists and the choirs and choral groups in all the denominations in our community. I invite our members to do as I have done and visit and become acquainted with the amazing organists and choral groups of other services. Listen, learn and appreciate as they play for their services. They really are amazing. In fact, if you choose to visit a service of any denomination, invite me along, because I want to visit new services and venues and promote the sharing of our excellent musicians’ knowledge of the organ and music.
We hope to schedule events in this calendar year where you will accomplish exactly what our mission calls for – sharing knowledge and inspiring passion for the organ.
So here is to a great
year coming up. In closing, I ask you
this question. What is the definition of
an optimist?
I got a few questions today in email from an organist who is considering attending the Certification Showcase this Saturday and wanted to understand more about what was going to happen. So let me share with you the answers I sent back — in hopes that YOU will also come this Saturday!
There will be handouts about the requirements. You’ll leave with everything you need to know to go choose your pieces and prepare the exam. (Well, we won’t give you all the music; that would be illegal. But you’ll know what to go buy.)
This will be one single demo session at the organ, or in the room with the organ. There won’t be breakout sessions. But there will be a reception afterwards where you can ask the questions that your forgot to ask, or were too nervous to ask. 🙂 There will also be some more exam-related materials for you to peruse then.
While my initial vision for the event was to do a mock exam. There would be a mock candidate who would play through the exam, in order, with a mock proctor, etc. But after some discussion, we decided that a thorough demonstration of all the exam skills would be more beneficial.
So, Ryan North, who proctors all of our chapter exams, will do that demonstration. He is very dynamic and explains things very clearly. Questions will be most welcome, too.
For example, the exam has one play a repertoire piece from each of three groups of repertoire. Instead of just playing one from each, Ryan will play parts from many of those pieces, giving you a good feel for them and helping you identify ones that may be best suited for you.
Another section is transposition (prepared, not sight-read), and Ryan will discuss various ways that students tend to approach learning transposition. I expect only a moderate turnout, so it should be very easy to see, hear, ask questions, and really get a vision of how you may approach your own exam.
Oh, and we consciously chose to do this on a digital church organ instead of a grand pipe organ. Most organists play organs like these every Sunday, and I want to help volunteer organists to see that these skills are just as relevant — and just as effective for uplifting their congregations and encouraging singing — on their own instruments as they are on the grand instruments.
Alas, I will not be in attendance. I am out of state handling a family emergency. I am so tempted to change flights to get there in time. My sister is trying to talk me in to doing that. I am really excited about this event!
And as a final aside, I am one of these volunteer organists. I started playing the organ 7 years ago. I am not certified and am technically not really trained, apart from two years attending BYU’s organ workshop. I have set a goal to certify SPC in 2020. With that in mind, I thought an event like this may be beneficial to all volunteer organists.
Even if you do not intend to certify (yet!), this event will demonstrate all the organ skills that make you an effective organist in any service, whether LDS, Catholic, or Protestant. You need to play hymns well. You need to play for choirs. You need to play for large conferences. You need to play for funerals. And by studying and preparing for the Service Playing Certificate, you can be prepared for all of these services.
Don’t just be an “organist.” Be an “ORGANIST!”
I hope that you will attend … and drag along with you 2-3 more volunteer organists!
Young German organist Sebastian Greim will give a recital at St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Salt Lake City on Tuesday evening, September 3rd at 7:00 p.m. Admission is free. The church is located at 1975 South 2300 East.
Sebastian Greim was born in 2000 in the vicinity of the Fichtel Mountains in Bavaria, Germany. At a young age he began playing the accordion and later branched out to the organ and piano. He currently studies the organ under Reinhold Schelter in Wunsiedel, Bavaria. In 2018, he won first prize in the German “Jugend Musiziert” (“Young Musicians”) competition. Since that time, he has given numerous organ recitals and performances with soloists, including mezzo-soprano Anna-Katharina Hilpert. Having successfully passed his A-level examinations in 2019, Sebastian will begin his university studies in church music in 2020. During his spare time, he volunteers as a paramedic for the German Red Cross.
