Rising Stars

Initial rounds of the AGO/Quimby Regional Competition for Young Organists were sponsored at the local level by AGO chapters, and each winner advanced to a final regional competition. The seven first prize winners would ordinarily have performed at their respective regional conventions, but instead we are happy to be able to share their recorded performances here.

These performance videos will be available to view on this page during the festival week, after the premiere of each in its respective regional meeting.

Carillon de Westminster, Op. 54, No. 6, Louis Vierne (1870‑1937)
Andy Brown
Andy Brown

Winner, 2021 AGO/Quimby Mid-Atlantic Regional Competition for Young Organists

Andy Brown

Andy Brown is a young organist in the Washington, DC area. He has been studying organ for nine years and is currently studying with Chuyoung Suter at the National Cathedral. He is a senior at DeMatha Catholic High School where he will graduate with a diploma with distinction in the arts. Andy also plays trombone for his school's Wind Ensemble and has been studying trombone for 8 years. Andy has also attended Pipe Organ Encounters Advanced 2019 in Houston, TX. He will be attending Baylor University in the fall of 2021, studying with Isabelle Demers as an Organ Performance major.

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Featured Organ
  • Saint Bernadette Catholic Church, Silver Spring, Maryland: Wicks (1983/2012)
Andante sostenuto from Symphonie gothique, Op. 70, Charles-Marie Widor (1844‑1937)
Cecily DeMarco
Cecily DeMarco

Winner, 2021 AGO/Quimby Northeast Regional Competition for Young Organists

Cecily DeMarco

Cecily DeMarco was born and raised in Boca Raton, Florida, where she was homeschooled from K-12. She began studying piano at age nine with her mother and began her organ study at age thirteen. Miss DeMarco has served as substitute organist for multiple churches in the South Florida area beginning at age fourteen, including Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. For three years, she studied with Dr. Terry Yount at the Saint Andrews Conservatory in Sanford, Florida. Cecily is currently studying with Paul Jacobs at The Juilliard School in New York, where she is pursuing a degree in Organ Performance.

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  • Church of St. Agnes, New York, New York: Mander (1998)
Festival Toccata, Percy Fletcher (1879‑1932)
Katherine Jolliff
Katherine Jolliff

Winner, 2021 AGO/Quimby Great Lakes Regional Competition for Young Organists

Katherine Jolliff

Katherine Jolliff is an 18 year old organist from Indianapolis, Indiana. She began piano studies at the age of five and started learning the organ in her freshman year of high school from Marco Petricic (University of Indianapolis). After completing her first two years of high school, she finished her studies at Interlochen Arts Academy. She majored in both piano performance and organ performance and studied organ with Tom Bara. She graduated with honors and the Fine Arts Award in Organ Performance, Katherine will be attending Eastman School of Music as an organ performance major in 2021. She has also won first prize in the East Carolina University Young Artists Competition in organ performance as well as the Bach Interpretation Prize and the Hymn Playing Award.

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  • Second Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis, Indiana: Aeolian-Skinner (1966)
Prelude in B minor, BWV 544:I, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685‑1750)
Paul Oftedahl
Paul Oftedahl

Winner, 2021 AGO/Quimby West Regional Competition for Young Organists

Paul Oftedahl

Paul Oftedahl is a senior at Arizona State University where he studies organ with Kimberly Marshall. He is pursuing double degrees in chemistry and organ performance and also enjoys playing harpsichord. He has performed collaboratively with the ASU Chamber Singers in concerts including Bach Cantatas, Mozart’s Coronation Mass, and a program of Liszt and Brahms choral works in conjunction with the 2019 American Liszt Society Festival. In solo performance, he particularly enjoys exploring the French organ tradition. His interests outside of school include cooking, hiking, and learning languages.

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  • Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona: Fritts (1991)
Horkstow Grange from Lincolnshire Posy, Percy Grainger (1882‑1961)
Sarah Palmer 2
Sarah Palmer

Winner, 2021 AGO/Quimby North Central Regional Competition for Young Organists

Sarah Palmer

Sarah Palmer is a junior at St. Olaf College studying with Catherine Rodland. She began studying the organ two years ago. During the summer of 2019, she attended the Jacobs Organ Academy at Indiana University and studied with Christopher Young. She has transcribed many pieces for the organ and is currently focused on music for concert band. In her spare time, Sarah enjoys reading, exercising, and playing the piano and trumpet.

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Featured Organ
  • Boe Chapel, St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota: Holtkamp (2006)
Toccata in C, BWV 564:I, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685‑1750)
David Preston
David Preston

Winner, 2021 AGO/Quimby Southwest Regional Competition for Young Organists

David Preston

David Preston is a church music major at Texas Christian University, where he studies organ with H. Joseph Butler. He was awarded the Nordan Young Artist Scholarship to attend TCU in 2018 and was awarded the first prize and hymn-playing excellence prize at the William B. Hall Pipe Organ Competition in San Antonio in 2019. David has played in numerous chapter recitals in both the Fort Worth and Dallas chapters of the AGO and earned Colleague certification from the AGO in 2016. He is presently director of music and organist at Holy Shepherd Lutheran Church in Haslet, Texas.

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  • Robert Carr Chapel, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas: Ross King (1979)
Fugue in G minor, BWV 542:II, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685‑1750)
Processed with VSCO with e4 preset
David Stultz

Winner, 2021 AGO/Quimby Southeast Regional Competition for Young Organists

David Stultz

David Stultz recently received a bachelor’s degree in organ performance from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville where he studied with Edie Johnson. He studied piano with Sigrid Luther for fifteen years, and during high school, he studied with Jason DuRoy and Sarah Harr. Currently, David is serving as the Assistant Director of Music and Organist at Second Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, TN. Starting this fall, David will pursue a masters degree in sacred music and organ performance at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.

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Featured Organ
  • Second Presbyterian Church, Knoxville, Tennessee: Schantz (1967)