Organ Studio Ball State University

01/07/2017

Sursa American Organ Competition 2016

The First Sursa American Organ Competition at Ball State University, May 2016

Ball State University's Sursa American Organ Competition 2016 in partnership with Moscow Conservatory Goedicke International Organ Competition

01/07/2017

Ball State University undergraduate student Jared Post, received both scholarships from the BSU School of Music and the 5th International Summer Organ Festival and Academy in Barcelona (2016) covering international travel, accommodation and tuition expenses for 2 weeks, where he attended lessons with Lorenzo Ghielmi, Raúl Prieto Ramírez, Konstantin Volostnov and Ulrich Walther. He also performed in the Festival twice with professional Spanish flute soloist Elisabeth Franch, and attended guided tours and Spanish food and drink tastings offered by the City Hall.

01/07/2017

Student from Ball State University attend the 4th International Summer Organ Festival and Academy in Barcelona (2015). Students in the Academy got lessons with Ludger Lohmann, Raúl Prieto Ramírez, Ulrich Walther, Konstantin Volostnov at instruments from 1691, 1815 and 1927-1974 and 2005. Ball State University student Robert Rouch got to perform two concerts during the Festival and won the prize awarded by the audience at the Final Students' Recital-Competition 2015.

01/07/2017

The year 2016 marks the 10th anniversary of the beautiful Goulding and Wood designed Sursa organ. In celebration of its anniversary and the generous donation from the Sursa family, the School of Music hosted the first Sursa American Organ Competition during the second week of May. Spearheaded by Instructor of Organ Raúl Prieto Ramírez, the competition attracted twelve of the most talented young organists from across the country. The evening before the competition commenced, Professor Ramírez performed a solo organ recital in Sursa Hall that concluded with an encore of his own transcription of Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz No. 1 resulting in a standing ovation. Ramírez performed on the Sursa organ a few years ago before coming on faculty. In the competition program book, he explained “...I fell in love with the instrument and its incredibly well tuned hall. My dream came true years later when I was offered the position of organ professor.”

Eight organists performed in the semi-final round on Thursday, May 12 and five organists advanced to the final round held on Saturday, May 14. All concerts and rounds were broadcast live and can be watched anytime at “https://www.facebook.com/OrganStudioBallStateUniversity” Finalists Nicole Simental and Brian Glikes tied for first place and Brenda Portman was voted the audience favorite. Portman received a $500 prize. Simental and Glikes each received $2500 and automatically advanced to the semi-final round of the Moscow International Organ Competition in which visa support and accommodations were provided. On September 24, Simental won first place in the Moscow competition and was awarded 320,000 rubles, the title Laureate of the Competition, and solo recital engagements with the Moscow Conservatory, Omsk Philharmonic Society, Perm Philharmonic Society, Chapel Taurian (St. Petersburg), and Academic M. Glinka Chapel (St. Petersburg).

All three winners at the Sursa American Organ Competition received their award certificates at the Prizewinners’ Gala Concert and performed approximately 20 minutes of music each. The judges for the competition were Professor Ramírez, David Higgs, Huw Lewis, and Cherry Rhodes. Higgs, Lewis, and Rhodes praised the instrument, hall, competition, and the organists the competition attracted.

The Sursa organ will be featured in a number of upcoming events this year in celebration of its 10th anniversary. This fall, Ramírez performed with the Muncie Symphony Orchestra in a program entitled Organ Celebration. The concert included works by Alexandre Guilmant and Franz Liszt, among others. Additional events are planned for the winter and spring and will be announced at a later date. The Second Sursa American Organ Competition is planned for fall 2017 at Ball State University and will be announced at www.bsu.edu/music/sursaorgan

12/20/2016

Liszt - Mephisto Waltz N.1 Organ Transcription - Raul Prieto Ramirez

The Magnificent Sursa Hall Organ, where students get their lessons in Ball State University, on a performance of the "tour de force" Mephisto Waltz by F. Liszt transcribed by Prof. Raúl Prieto Ramírez

Raúl Prieto Ramírez plays his signature transcription of Franz Liszt Mephisto Waltz N.1 at the Goulding & Wood organ in Sursa Concert Hall (Ball State Univer...

10/18/2016

The organ studio at Ball State University is now being led by world-renowned concert organist Raúl Prieto Ramírez. Known for his innovative teaching style, Ramírez holds degrees from the prestigious Stuttgart Musikhochschule where he studied with Ludger Lohmann. In addition to his responsibilities at Ball State, he is Artistic Director of the International Summer Organ Festival and Academy in Barcelona, Spain. Ramírez brings to Ball State a deep academic knowledge, an in-depth understanding of organ performance practice, and a wide network of professional organists, many of whom regularly present guest artist recitals and master classes at Ball State.

Ball State University, located in Muncie, Indiana, is home to the Sursa Concert Organ, housed in the acoustically brilliant Sursa Performance Hall. There are six additional organs spread throughout the city of Muncie, including a massive Skinner/Reynolds Symphonic organ located in the High Street United Methodist Church. Ball State organ students take weekly lessons with Ramírez on the Skinner/Reynolds Symphonic organ or the Sursa Concert Organ, and have access to all seven organs for practicing purposes. In addition, the university hosts an annual Gala Pipe Organ Festival in conjunction with the American Guild of Organists Muncie Chapter. In the spring of 2016, the university will host an International Organ Competition in partnership with the Moscow International Organ Competition.

Students attending Ball State have a plethora of performance opportunities both on and off campus. There are also opportunities to study abroad with leading organ professionals on historic organs of different styles.

For information about the Ball State University School of Music, visit www.bsu.edu/music or call 765-285-5400.

10/18/2016

Organ Studio Ball State University

10/18/2016

Organ Studio Ball State University's cover photo