Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #61!

Today's guest is Arjan Breukhoven from the Netherlands who is the titular organist of the old church (builded in 1732) in Berkel and Rodenrijs. He plays each year about 450 concerts and services. He has worked on numerous recordings for radio and TV and about 200 CD’s and DVD’s. Besides all this, he is also the director of three large and well-known Dutch Male choirs. As a composer he is renowned for his many compositions for choir, organ and other instruments.

Arjan was born in Rotterdam, studied organ and church music at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. At the same time, he studied piano, singing, improvisation and choir direction. Annually Arjan Breukhoven gives a great number of concerts as an international concert organist both at home and Europe, USA, Russia and Australia.  In 2016 he shall play in USA, Austria and twice in Germany.

The largest organ he ever played was the organ of the St. Patrick’s Basilica of Fremantle in Western Australia with 127 stops. In the most world famous church he ever played was the organ of the St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican. As an organist and as a pianist he had developed his own, wide-ranging style of improvisation. 

Arjan Breukhoven was honorable awarded in Paris at 14th of June 2014. He received the ‘Médaille d'Argent’ (silver medal) by the ‘Société Académic d' encouragement et d' éducation Arts, Sciences et Lettres’ in Paris, on the occasion of his great merit of the French organ music. He performs the French organ music worldwide.  

In this conversation, ​Arjan shares his experience as a concert organist, we talk about different instruments he played, how he writes organ registration, how he improvises, and about the importance of preparation for organ recitals.

​Enjoy and share your comments below.
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And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends.

Thanks for caring.

Related link:
www.arjanbreukhoven.nl

musical instruments. He's a graduate of the Academy of Music in Cracow (1988, piano – prof. T. Żmudziński’s class, modern music – prof. A. Kaczyński’s class) and The Boston Conservatory of Music (1990-91). Fulbright Scholar. Prize winner at the prestigious Polish Piano Art Festival in Słupsk (1987). Sławomir Zubrzycki has been giving concerts in USA, Germany, Austria, Spain, Great Britain and Ukraine. He has made several recordings for Polskie Nagrania (Polish recording company), Polish Radio and Television. He was a lecturer at Summer Academy of Contemporary Music – Avantgarde Tirol in Austria (2005, 2007).

In 2009, Zubrzycki came across the traces of a real rarity – Viola Organista – the instrument designed by Leonardo da Vinci, but which had almost been unknown and forgotten. Fascinated by the facts from the past, in the years 2009-2012 Zubrzycki created his own version of Leonardo da Vinci’s design. The premiere recitals of viola organista (October 2013) were a spectacular artistic success that attracted record attendances, gained attention of the international media and over two million viewers on YouTube.

​His European tours in 2014-2015 included recitals at Stockholm Early Music Festival, Wratislavia Cantans, Ghent Festival of Flanders, Kotor Art Festival, Polish Music Days in Turkey, Ohrid Summer Festival, Milano Classica. In 2015 the first solo album, "Viola organista - The da Vinci sound", was released thanks to support of music lovers from all over the world (from Kickstarter campaign). In 2015, Zubrzycki was also invited by Icelandic singer Björk to record together an acoustic version of her album "Vulnicura".

In this conversation, ​Sławomir shares his insights about how he constructed viola organista and how he learned to play it. It's completely different and unexplored area of music and I hope a lot of organists from all over the world will find much inspiration from it.

​Enjoy and share your comments below.
​
And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends.

Thanks for caring.

Related links:
www.violaorganista.com
Da Vinci designed a keyboard instrument

director for the Music at St Mary’s concert series.

In 2013, Scott was awarded Doctor of Music degree summa cum laude in Organ Performance/Literature at Indiana University, where he studied with Drs. Marilyn Keiser and Larry Smith. He also served the Jacobs School of Music as an Associate Instructor, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in Church Music, Piano, and Music Theory.

Scott received his B.M. and M.A. degrees in organ performance from Eastern Michigan University, where he studied organ and improvisation with Dr. Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra. As a student at Eastern Michigan, Scott received many awards and honors, including first prize in the prestigious Graduate Music Competition. He served the music department as a university fellow and as a graduate assistant in music theory and was later named Adjunct Professor of Organ following Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra’s retirement.

Scott has concertized extensively and has performed in numerous masterclasses and organ/improvisation seminars. He was named an official competitor in the 2006 American Guild of Organists National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance. In 2001, he was selected as a participant in the Smarano Organ and Clavichord Symposium held in Smarano, Italy.
Scott lives in Memphis with his 5-year-old daughter Clarabella. As a family, they enjoy cooking together, playing tea party, and pretending to be superheroes.

In this conversation Scott talks about his experiences in his master's and doctoral studies, his research on Johann Heinrich Buttstett's organ works, and developing lives through music ministry.

Relevant links:
​Church of Nativity in Bartlett
Scott's dissertation: Opening a forgotten cabinet: Johann Heinrich Buttstett's Musicalische Clavier-Kunst und Vorraths-Kammer (1713)
​Scott on Facebook and YouTube
Scott's email address

​He has been a church organist for over forty years, not only for the Church of England, but also for the Church of Norway. He lived near Kristiansund on the west coast of Norway for four years. He taught at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama for seven years and was an examiner for the Royal Schools of Music. He has performed in cathedrals in England, Ireland, Norway and Hong Kong. At present, he is Musical Director of the West Somerset Singers of Taunton, the Watchet Choral Society, and the Apollo Wind Band of Bristol. He is also the organist and choirmaster of Holy Trinity Church, Taunton.

We have recorded this conversation after David's recital at Vilnius University St. John's church so he talks about his experience with playing the largest pipe organ in Lithuania, handling many different organs during his career, and most importantly, about English organ music of various historical periods because when he travels abroad, he becomes an ambassador of English organ culture.

Relevant links:
Holy Trinity church in Taunton
The West Somerset Singers