Lynnwood Farnam
Organ Competition
Competition Details 2024
The 2024 Lynwood Farnam Organ Competition is only one month away! Our esteemed preliminary round judges, Rachel Mahon and Sarah Svendson, selected four talented competitors. Join us at The Church of St. Andrew’s and St. Paul’s on May 22 from 16:00 to 19:00 to hear these incredible musicians.
The organists will compete for a first prize of $2000 and a second prize of $750. The final round judges will decide the winners, each incredibly accomplished in the Canadian and international scene: Jennifer Lovelace, Nicholas Capozzoli and Shin-Young Lee.
Please see the attachments below for bios of our competitors. This competition is sure to be a wonderful and memorable event. We hope to see you there!
Competition date: May 22, 2024, 16:00-19:00 at The Church of St Andrew and St Paul
The 2024 Lynnwood Farnam Competition
Winner: Alexander Little
Alex Little is a doctoral student at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, studying with David Higgs. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Merton College, Oxford, where he was organ scholar and then assistant organist. He is currently assistant organist at Christ Church Episcopal, Rochester.
The Organ
Our competition was held at the Church of St. Andrew’s and St. Paul’s on their magnificent 1932 Casavant Pipe Organ, which features 110 ranks and eight divisions.
Pictured here are our three finalist competitors Alexander Little, Zoe Lei and David Kraft.
The Lynnwood Farnam Organ Competition
Sponsored by the Montreal Centre of the RCCO, it is the longest running competition of its kind in Canada. Details of early competitors are not available because the records only date from 1954, but it is known that competitions were held before that year. Originally called the CCO (RCCO) Montreal Centre Organ Competition, in 1968, it was named after John Robb, former St. Andrew’s-Dominion-Douglas United Church organist. In 2004 the Montreal Centre renamed the competition the Lynnwood Farnam Organ Competition. Held annually in a Montreal area church, the competition has been funded over the years by donations from companies and private contributions.
About Lynnwood Farnam
1885 – 1930
Lynnwood Farnam was born in Quebec’s Eastern Townships and began his career as a young church organist in Montreal. The first pipe organ he ever played was at All Saints’ Anglican Church in Dunham. At the age of 15 Farnam won the Lord Strathcona Musicial Scholarship as a pianist. This award paid for three years at the Royal College of Music in London, returning to Montreal in 1904. He was organist of St. James Methodist (now United) Church, St. James the Apostle Anglican Church and Christ Church Cathedral. In 1919 he took the position at New York’s prestigious Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church and became a well-known performer and teacher across North America.