Marie-Claire Alain was the youngest child in a family of distinguished musicians, born August 10, 1926, in St. Germain-en Laye, a Paris suburb. Her father, Albert Alain, a composer, had been a pupil of Guilmant and Fauré. Her oldest brother was the renowned Jehan Alain, a composer and organist. His works for organ - Litanies, in particular - established him as one of the brightest stars among rising French composers in the decade before his battlefield death in 1940, at 29.
She studied on the Paris Conservatoire with Dupré for organ, Pié-Caussade for counterpoint and fugue, and Maurice Duruflé for harmony and finished with four Premier Prix. After a further two years of study with Gaston Litaize, she took up her career, giving well over 2000 recitals worldwide. Her recordings number in the hundreds, and she has twice recorded the complete organ works of Bach. By the 1980s, she had become known as a specialist in seventeenth and eighteenth century music, with numerous recordings of works by Couperin, Grigny, Daquin, Vivaldi, Buxtehude, Pachelbel, Handel, C.P.E. Bach, Haydn, and Mozart. But she has also made distinguished recordings of Romantic repertoire with albums of works by Mendelssohn, César Franck, Liszt, Widor, Vierne, Poulenc, and Jehan Alain. She is much in demand as a teacher.

Dr. Michael Belotti, born 1957 in Tettnang (Württ.), studied church music, music theory and musicology in Freiburg. His teachers were Hans Musch (organ), Peter Förtig (theory) and Christoph Wolff (musicology). In addition, he attended master classes with Anton Heiller, Wolfgang Rübsam, and Michael Radulescu. He took his doctor's degree in 1993 with a thesis on Buxtehude's free organ works. Editions of, and articles about, 17th-­century organ music (Buxtehude, Pachelbel, Jacob Praetorius). Since 2000, he teaches Organ Music History at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg.

Frédéric Blanc attended the Académie de Bordeaux and Toulouse where he obtained many awards, including awards in organ and theory. Further studies in organ included teachers Pierre Cogen, André Fleury, Marie-Claire Alain and, from 1991, Marie-Madeleine Duruflé, who came to regard him as her protégé and her successor in the interpretation of her husband's compositions.
He has been a prizewinner of several other International Improvisation Competitions, including Strasbourg (1989), Nuremberg (1996) and 2nd Prize in the Grand Prix de Chartres. In 1997, he was awarded the Grand Prix de la Ville de Paris International Competition.
Frédéric Blanc is President and music director of the Association of Maurice and Marie-Madeleine Duruflé. He has recorded several CDs for EMI, Aeolus, Motette devoted to improvisation and organ literature that have been greeted enthusiastically by international critics claiming him to be one of the most brilliant organists and improvisers of the young French school of organ in the tradition of Dupré, Duruflé, Cochereau. Since 1999, Monsieur Blanc has been titular organist of the Cavaillé-Coll at Notre-Dame d'Auteuil in Paris.

Ullrich Böhme was born in the Vogtland region (Saxony) of Germany. From 1972 to 1979, he studied at the Music School for Church Music in Dresden with Hans Otto and at the Music Conservatory in Leipzig with Wolfgang Schetelich. After his state exams, he worked as the Cantor and organist in the Kreuz Church in Chemnitz till 1986.
In 1985, Ullrich Böhme was appointed to be the St. Thomas Church organist in Leipzig. Since then, his most important tasks are playing soloist organ music for church services, concerts, and motets with the St. Thomas Boys Choir, as well as playing the basso continuo to cantatas, oratorios and passions. In addition, he has performed concerts in different European countries, North America, and Japan. Radio and television broadcasters, both German and international, have produced many recordings with him.
Ullrich Böhme has often been requested to be the member of the jury of many important international organ competitions. He teaches at the University of Leipzig for Music and Theater and gives classes in music interpretation. He was appointed his professorship in 1994.

Jörg-Andreas Bötticher received his first organ lessons from his grandmother. Important for his fundamental musical training were the years as a chorister in the Basel Boy’s Choir. Many years of piano and organ lessons were followed by a short period as a keyboard player in a band.
Jörg-Andreas Bötticher studied early music at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with majors in organ (with Jean-Claude Zehnder) and harpsichord (with Andreas Staier). Intensive studies with Jesper Christiansen led to an exhaustive involvement with the art of basso continuo playing. Rudolf Meyer and Rudolf Lutz encouraged him in the historical art of improvisation. Bötticher received further impulses from Gustav Leonhardt, Michael Radulescu, and Harald Vogel. He has given courses at conservatories and colleges of music in Lucerne, Zurich, Berlin-Spandau, Frankfurt, Karlsruhe, Leipzig, Warsaw, and Bogota.
Since 1996 Jörg-Andreas Bötticher has taught harpsichord, basso continuo, and chamber music as Andreas Staier’s successor at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, and organ since 2006. At the Basel College of Music, he has given lectures on performance practice. He has often been invited to serve as a juror at organ competitions. His CD recordings display a predilection for less-known composers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Bötticher is organist of Basel’s Predigerkirche with its three historical organs.
www.scb-basel.ch/index/111738

Ingo Bredenbach (* 1959 in Wuppertal) ist ein deutscher Organist und Kirchenmusiker. Er ist seit 1998 Professor für Orgelliteraturspiel und Orgelspiel zum Gottesdienst und lehrt in Tübingen an der Hochschule für Kirchenmusik, der er seit 1998 auch als Rektor vorsteht.
Noch als Jugendlicher erhielt er seinen ersten Orgelunterricht (1976) und betätigte sich bereits ein Jahr darauf (1977) als Kirchenmusiker in der Bergischen Diakonie Aprath. Bredenbach studierte ab 1979 Evangelische Kirchenmusik an der Folkwang-Hochschule in Essen; dabei führte er sein kirchenmusikalisches Engagement in Aprath weiter bis 1983, um dann als Kantor in Meerbusch-Lank tätig zu sein (1983–87). Während dieser Zeit schloss er sein Studium ab mit dem A-Examen (1985), dem sich dann im Jahr darauf ein Wechsel nach Süddeutschland anschloss: Von 1983 bis 1999 fungierte er in Nagold als Bezirkskantor, wobei er aber bereits von 1991–95 in Esslingen am Neckar als Dozent an der dortigen Hochschule für Kirchenmusik das Fach Orgel lehrte. Im Jahr darauf, 1996, wurde er ernannt zum Kirchenmusikdirektor und trat dann im Oktober 1998 seine gegenwärtige Stelle an als Professor und Rektor der Hochschule für Kirchenmusik Tübingen der Evangelischen Landeskirche in Württemberg.
www.ingo-bredenbach.de

Dr. Hermann J. Busch (*1943) studierte Musikwissenschaft, Kirchen- und Schulmusik, Neuere Geschichte und Psychologie an den Universitäten Mainz und Münster. Er war bis 2008 Professor für Musikwissenschaft an der Universität Siegen und hatte Lehraufträge für Orgelkunde, Orgelgeschichte, Orgelspiel und Orgeldidaktik an den Musikhochschulen Köln, Detmold und Mainz inne.1973-1993 war er Chefredakteur der Zeitschrift Ars Organi.
Sein Forschungsschwerpunkt ist die Geschichte von Orgelmusik, Orgelspiel und Orgelbau, insbesondere im 19. und frühen 20. Jahrhundert. Er hat zahlreiche Beiträge zu Orgelthemen verfasst, mehrere Standardwerke zur Orgelmusik und Orgelinterpretation sowie das „Lexikon der Orgel“ mit herausgegeben und über 40 Neueditionen von Orgelmusik vorgelegt. Außerdem ist er als Experte bei Orgelrestaurierungen und Orgelneubauten tätig.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Josef_Busch

Marie-Bernadette Dufourcet-Hakim was born in Bayonne (France, Pyrénées atlantiques). She is Doctor from the Sorbonne and Professor at the University Michel de Montaigne in Bordeaux where she teaches History of Music. She studied with Susan Landale, Marie-Claire Alain and Jean Langlais, then at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris in the classes of Rolande Falcinelli, Jeanine Rueff, Jean-Claude Henry, Marcel Bitsch, Serge Nigg and Paul Mefano, where she won first prizes in organ, improvisation, harmony, counterpoint and second prizes in fugue, instrumentation and orchestration. She is a licentiate performer from the Trinity College of Music in London, winner of First Prizes at the International organ and improvisation competitions in Rennes (F.), St. Albans (G.B.), Beauvais (F.), as well as the second Grand Prix d'interprétation of Chartres (F.). She is titulaire of the Grand-Orgue Cavaillé-Coll of l'église Notre-Dame-des-Champs in Paris. She participates as concertist and teacher, at several European and American festivals and is juror in international competitions. Her repertoire includes music from the Baroque period to the 20 th century.
www.najihakim.com/mbd/

Stefan Engels began his tenure as Professor of Organ in the fall of 2005 at the University of Music and Theatre “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” in Leipzig, Germany. This appointment was preceded by his position as Associate Professor of Organ and Chair of the Organ Department at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey.
He is the founder and Artistic Director of the European Organ Academy Leipzig which attracts faculty and students from around the world. Mr. Engels is also the initiator and Chair of the Jury of the First International Competition in Organ Improvisation in Leipzig. Furthermore, as an advocate and specialist for the music of the late-Romantic German Composer Sigfrid Karg-Elert, he founded the Karg-Elert Festtage in Leipzig. In 2006 Stefan Engels was named Artistic Director of the Jordan International Organ Competition. Stefan Engels frequently serves on juries at international organ competitions.
He has recorded two CDs with works by Marcel Dupré and one CD with works of Karg-Elert, Reger, Messiaen, and Germani. His specialization in the organ works of Sigfrid Karg-Elert has resulted in the world premiere recording of the complete organ works of Karg-Elert.
Stefan Engels received his broad musical education in Germany and the United States. He studied organ, piano, harpsichord, choral conducting and church music at the Universities in Aachen, Düsseldorf, and Cologne. From 1993 until 1998 he pursued further organ studies with the late Robert Anderson in Dallas and Wolfgang Rübsam in Chicago. He achieved his international break-through when he was awarded the “Concerto Gold Medal” at the 1998 Calgary International Organ Competition.
www.hmt-leipzig.de/index.php?liste_lehrende&ma_id=1307

Hans-Ola Ericsson studied music in Stockholm and Freiburg, later in the USA and in Venice. In 1989 he was appointed Professor at the Swedish National College of Music in Piteå. Hans-Ola Ericsson has given concerts throughout Europe as well as in Japan and the USA and Canada. He has made numerous recordings including a highly acclaimed complete recording of Messiaen´s organ music, and has worked extensively with composers such as John Cage, György Ligeti and Olivier Messiaen on the interpretation of their works for organ. He has held guest professorships in Riga, Copenhagen, Helsinki and Amsterdam, as well as lecturing and performing at a large number of leading organ festivals and academic symposia worldwide, campaigning for the quality of new music and its right to be heard. In 1996 Ericsson was appointed permanent guest professor at the Hochschule für Künste in Bremen, Germany. In 1999 he received the Swedish Society of Composers interpretation prize and in the spring 2000 was named a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. He has been Principal Guest Organist of the Lahti Organ Festival in Finland since 2001. In addition, Ericsson has been actively engaged in organ-restoration projects for many years.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans-Ola_Ericsson

Thierry Escaich teaches improvisation and composition at the Paris Conservatory (CNSMDP) since 1992, where he himself won 8 “first prizes”. Thierry Escaich was appointed organist at the St-Étienne-du-Mont church in Paris in 1997 (succeeding Maurice Duruflé). He tours internationally as a performing artist and composer. He charms the public wherever he goes, combining a large repertoire with his own works and improvisations.
His most recent and upcoming engagements include New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, Vancouver, Tokyo, Berlin, Vienna (Konzerthaus and Musikverein), Budapest, Saint-Petersburg, London (the Proms) and many other festivals in France and abroad.
Although he mainly composes for the organ Thierry Escaich is open to all types of genres and forms, always exploring new sound horizons.
http://thierryescaich.artistes.universalmusic.fr/

Jürgen Essl studied organ in Germany and France with Ludger Lohmann and Francis Chapelet, later completing his studies in Vienna with Michael Radulescu. A Professor at The Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Stuttgart since 2003, Jürgen Essl has also served as Professor for Organ at the Musikhochschule Lübeck and an organist at the Castle Church of Sigmaringen. In 2008 he led the international “Kongress der Kirchenmusik” in Stuttgart, one of the largest meetings on sacred music in the world. He is a co-founder of the International Summer Academy of Music - ISAM in Ochsenhausen, Germany.
Jürgen Essl is one of the foremost organists and composers in today's European musical scene. He has recorded with several recording labels and as a composer, his works have been performed by some of the leading choirs and orchestras.
www.juergen-essl.de

Lorenzo Ghielmi is organist on the Ahrend organ (1991) at the Basilica di San Simpliciano in Milan, where he performed from 1992 to 1994 the complete organ works of J.S. Bach. He gives concerts throughout Europe, Japan and the USA as an organist and harpsichordist. He has made many radio and CD recordings.
Lorenzo Ghielmi, teaches organ, harpsichord and early music at the Milan Accademia Internazionale della Musica. He also taught for several years as invited professor in Trossingen and at the Hoschule für Musik in Lübeck. He is often invited to sit on juries for international organ competitions (Toulouse, Tokyo, Bruges, Freiberg, Maastricht, Lausanne, Nuremberg, Landsberg, Chartres). He also gives lectures and master-classes in many institutions of music. He was the main artistic consultant for the new Mascioni organ constructed at Tokyo cathedral.
www.scb-basel.ch/index/111962

Roland Götz stammt aus München. 1972 gründete er das studio XVII augsburg, eine Reihe thematischer Konzerte, Interpretationsseminare und eines Schallplattenlabels, das mehrfach ausgezeichnet wurde. Als Spezialist für Tastenmusik von der Gotik bis in die galante Zeit gibt er viele Konzerte im In- und Ausland, bis hin nach Finnland und Japan. Götz pflegt in Konzerten und Einspielungen intensiven Umgang mit vielen berühmten historischen Orgeln. Oft ist er aber auch mit eigenen Instrumenten unterwegs.
www.studio-xvii-augsburg.de

Naji Hakim was born in Beirut , 31 October, 1955. He studied with J. Langlais and at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris - classes of R. Boutry, J.-C. Henry, M. Bitsch, R. Falcinelli, J. Castérède and S. Nigg, where he was awarded seven first prizes. He is a licentiate teacher in organ from the Trinity College of Music in London and won ten first prizes at international organ and composition competitions. In 1991 he was awarded the Prix André Caplet from the Académie des Beaux-Arts. At first organist of the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur, Paris from 1985 until 1993, he then became organist of l'église de la Trinité, in succession to Olivier Messiaen, from 1993 until 2008. He is professor of musical analysis at the Conservatoire National de Région de Boulogne-Billancourt, and visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music, London. He is a graduate of the École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications in Paris, member of the Consociatio Internationalis Musicae Sacrae in Rome and Doctor honoris causa of the Pontifical University Saint-Esprit of Kaslik, Lebanon . In 2007, His Holiness the Pope Benediktus XVI has awarded Naji Hakim The Augustae crucis insigne pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, for his excellent commitment and work for the benefit of the Church and the Holy Father. His works include instrumental music (organ, flute, bassoon, horn, trumpet, harp, guitar, violin, piano), symphonic music (Les Noces de l'Agneau, Hymne de l'Univers, Ouverture Libanaise, Påskeblomst, four organ concertos, a violin concerto), and vocal music (oratorio Saul de Tarse, cantata Phèdre, Magnificat and three masses).
www.najihakim.com

Robert Hill, is a Philippines-born American harpsichordist and musicologist, and he gained his Solo Diploma at the Amsterdam Conservatory in 1974; Licentiate at Trinity College of Music, London in 1974; MA in 1982, and PhD in 1987 at the Harvard University, USA.
Robert Hill made tours with Musica Antiqua Köln; Radio & TV Broadcasts for West German, British, Dutch, Belgian, French networks, & National Public Radio & CBC, USA. For many years he taught at the Music Department of Duke University in Durham, NC, USA.
www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Hill-Robert.htm

Michael Kapsner studied organ, piano, conducting and church music in Vienna and Freiburg, his teachers were Michael Radulescu and Ludwig Doerr amongst others. He won prizes in international competitions in Bruges (1979), Innsbruck (1983), Romainmôutier (1983) and Vienna (1984) From 1988 to 1994 he worked as a church musician in Freiburg, where he managed the Gregorian Choral in Freiburg Münster
He conducted ensembles such as the Württemberg Philharmonic, the Munich Symphonic, the Chamber Philharmonic Karlsruhe and the Regensburg Chamber Orchestra.
From 1994 to 2001 he taught organ and liturgical organ at the Academy of Music in Trossingen. From 2000 until 2004 he was Professor of Organ and Improvisation at the University of Music and Arts in Graz. Since October 2004 he is Professor of Organ and Organ Improvisation at the LISZT SCHOOL of Music Weimar. Numerous concerts as organist/improvisator and jury activities in international competitions.
www.hfm-weimar.de/v1/studium/institute/fk3/schulmusik_kirchenmusik/Professoren/Kapsner_Michael.php

Ewald Kooiman (1938-2009) was one of the most notable of present-day scholar- performers. He is know throughout the world as an organist and for being the editor of the important series of publications.
He has been in great demand for many years as a teacher of the Classical French Music and of Bach; he participated at many important organ festivals and has made some 60 recordings. On LP he recorded the complete Bach Organ Works on historical organs in the Netherlands, Germany, France and Switzerland; in 1997 he finished his second recording of the Bach Organ Works, also on historical organs in the Netherlands and in Germany.
Ewald Kooiman has featured on Television and Radio in many countries and has given concerts and masterclasses in most European countries, in Japan, Korea, South-Africa and the USA. He has been Professor of Ars Organi at the Free University, Amsterdam and Professor for Organ at the Amsterdam Sweelinck Conservatoire. At the famous International Summer Academy, Haarlem he teached the interpretation of Bach’s organ works.
Ewald Kooiman published several books and many articles in different languages about the interpretation of the organ music of the 18th and 19th centuries.
www.ewaldkooiman.com

Ton Koopman had a "classical education" and then studied the organ (with Simon C. Jansen), harpsichord (with Gustav Leonhardt) and musicology in Amsterdam. He specialized in Baroque music and received the Prix d'Excellence for both organ and harpsichord.
In 1979 Koopman founded the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and the Amsterdam Baroque Choir in 1992 (now combined as the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir). Koopman concentrates on Baroque music, especially that of Bach, and is a leading figure in the authentic performance movement.
Among Koopman's most ambitious projects was the recording of the complete cycle of all of Bach's cantatas, a project completed in 2005. Koopman has received many prizes for his recordings. In 2005 he has commenced Dieterich Buxtehude – Opera Omnia, a project to record the complete works of Dieterich Buxtehude. As of March 2010, eleven volumes have been released.
Besides his work with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, he is in frequent demand as guest conductor and as harpsichordist and organist. His aim is always to achieve authenticity in performance, using exact copies of historical instruments from the time of the composer. He is professor at The Royal Conservatory of The Hague.
www.tonkoopman.nl

Olivier Latry was born in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. After having begun his musical studies in Boulogne-sur-Mer, in 1978 he enrolled in the organ class under Gaston Litaize at the Academy of Saint-Maur, and took composition classes with Jean-Claude Raynaud at the Paris Academy. After becoming Professor of organ in the Catholic Institute of Paris in 1983 and subsequently at the Academy of Rheims, he succeeded Gaston Litaize at the Academy of Saint-Maur in 1990. In 1995, Latry was named professor of organ in the Academy of Paris, a post held jointly with Michel Bouvard. In 1985, at 23 years of age, Latry was awarded the post of one of four titulaires des grands orgue of Notre-Dame, Paris alongside Yves Devernay, Philippe Lefèbvre and Jean-Pierre Leguay, following the death of Pierre Cochereau.
In addition to this role and his teaching positions, Latry carries out an active career as concert performer: he has played in over forty countries across five continents, in particular in the United States, where he made his first tour in 1986, becoming one of the most popular French organists in that country.
Latry did not want to specialize in music of a specific time period, but has gained a reputation for performing music by his contemporaries. He is renowned for his performances of the works of Olivier Messiaen and has recorded the complete works of Messiaen for Deutsche Grammophon. Latry is also considered to be a distinguished improviser, in the tradition of an exceptional French line that runs from Charles Tournemire through to Pierre Cochereau.
www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Latry-Olivier.htm

Torsten Laux studied at the Academie of Music in Frankfurt/Main with Hans-Joachim Bartsch, Reinhardt Menger, Gerd Wachowski and others (church music 1985-1989). He studied there 1990-1993 in the soloist class with Edgar Krapp (concert examination in 1993) and 1994-1996 in Saarbrücken with Daniel Roth and Bernhard Haas. Master classes with Petr Eben, Peter Planyavsky, Jos van der Kooi, Thierry Mechler, Montserrat Torrent, Elsa Bolzonello-Zoja and Christopher Stembridge and others.
He is prize winner at the competition of the german Academies 1988 and at many international organ competitions: 1993 international organ competition in Thuringia and Wiesbaden; 1994 Nuremberg; 1995 Magdeburg and Biarritz (France); 1996 International Organ Competition in Odense (Denmark); 1997 competition in Gdansk (Poland) and all three prizes for improvisation in Biarritz (France) - and others. He is teacher for organ improvisation in Bayreuth and since 1999 professor for organ at „Robert-Schumann-Hochschule“ in Düsseldorf. He performs and is giving Master classes in Germany and other European countries, his concerts have been recorded on CD and for radio and television and he is Juror in international organ competitions..
www.torsten-laux.de

Ludger Lohmann studied music and musicology at Musikhochschule and University of Cologne, organ studies with Marie-Claire Alain, Anton Heiller and Wolfgang Stockmeier, harpsichord studies with Hugo Ruf. He is winner of several international organ competitions, namely competition of the ARD (Association of German Broadcasting Corporations) Munich 1979 and Grand Prix de Chartres 1982. 1979–1983 organ teacher at Cologne Musikhochschule, since 1983 professor for organ at Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, besides he was titular organist of St. Eberhard catholic cathedral for 25 years. 1989 guest professor at Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford, Conn., USA, senior researcher in the Göteborg Organ Art Center at the University of Göteborg, Sweden. Concert tours throughout Europe, Northern and Southern America, Japan, Korea, several recordings with music from 16th to 20th centuries, jurymember of many international competitions, teacher in international masterclasses.
www.ludgerlohmann.de

Dr. Kurt Lueders Since receiving a B. A. in Music from Yale College in 1972, he has lived in Paris where his teachers have been Maurice Duruflé, Edouard Souberbielle, André Fleury and Stéphane Caillat. He holds diplomas in organ from the Schola Cantorum and in theory and choral conducting from the Institute of Sacred Music in Paris, and recently completed a doctoral thesis at the Sorbonne on the life and works of Alexandre Guilmant.
His concerts, recordings, lectures, master classes and magazine articles in several countries focus on 19th-century organ esthetics and repertory; in particular he has contributed to the Revised «New Groves Dictionary of Music» and «Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart». Since 1978 he has been Vice President of the Association Aristide Cavaillé-Coll and editor of its publications, including the specialized revue La Flûte Harmonique.
A further activity is the rediscovery of the rich musical heritage of the harmonium, through concerts and recordings of solo and ensemble literature (Saint-Saëns, Widor, Gounod, Guilmant, Rossini etc.)

Andrea Marcon studied with Vanni Ussardi, gaining diplomas in organ and harpsichord. He continued his studies at the Basel Music Academy's Schola Cantorum Basiliensis from 1983 to 1987 under Jean-Claude Zehnder, Jesper Christensen and Jordi Savall, amongst others, and graduated in Early Music, Organ and Harpsichord. At this time he also began specializing in Italian music with Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini. Other influential teachers included Hans van Nieuwkoop, Harald Vogel and Ton Koopman.
Andrea Marcon is professor of harpsichord, organ and interpretation at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (Basle, Switzerland), and served as visiting professor at the Sweelinck Conservatorium in Amsterdam. He has held master-classes and summer courses at Pistoia, Roskilde, Goteburg, Muri, Alkmaar, Nuremburg, Stade and Bielefeld, Les Andeleys, Daroca, and for the Music Academies of Toulouse, Hamburg, Copenhagen and Karlsruhe, as well as for the North German Organ Academy directed by Harald Vogel. He has been invited to take part in the jury of the International Pachelbel Competition of Nuremburg, the Schnitger Competition of Alkmaar/Amsterdam, and the Callido Competition of Borca di Cadore.
http://www.marcon.tv/index.php?id=3&;L=3

Ben van Oosten gave his first organ recital in 1970 at the age of 15. He was accepted at the prestigious Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam and studied the organ with Albert de Klerk and piano with Berthe Davelaar. He graduated cum laude in 1979 with a diploma in organ solo.
He completed advanced studies in Paris, France, with André Isoir and Daniel Roth. Whether by geographical influence or artistic choice, he gravitated toward the French Romantic Organ school of the 19th century that had its origins in the new symphonic organs of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. Van Oosten subsequently became one of the greatest practitioners and interpreters of organ works from that era. Among his recordings are the complete works of Charles-Marie Widor, of Louis Vierne, and of Marcel Dupré, as well as the eight sonatas of Alexandre Guilmant and organ works of Jacques-Nicolas Lemmens and Louis James Alfred Lefébure-Wély.
Besides maintaining a heavy recital schedule and an active private teaching practice, he serves as organist for the Grote Kerk (The Hague) and is a professor of music at the Rotterdam Conservatory.
Among the honors and awards he has received are the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik and the Diapason d'Or. In 1998, the French government awarded him the honorary rank of Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his efforts in reviving the French Romantic tradition.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_van_Oosten

Peter Planyavsky was born in Vienna in 1947 and became a student of Anton Heiller at the university for Music and Drama when he was 12. He graduated with the Master‘s Diploma in Organ (1966) and the Diploma in Church Music (1967). He then worked for one year in the workshop of a major Austrian organ builder, and for another year he served as Abbey Organist at Schlägl, Austria.
In 1969, he was appointed Cathedral Organist at St, Stephan‘s Cathedral, Vienna. From 1983 until 1990, Planyavsky held the position of Music director at that church, being responsible for choral and organ programs which in Austria are traditionally seperate jobs. In 2004, Planyavsky decided to terminate his affiliation with the Cathedral. Since 1980, Planyavsky has also been Professor for Organ and Improvisation at the University for Music and Drama in Vienna, with the additional function as Head of the Church Music department from 1996 to 2003.
Peter Planyavsky also undertakes a full schedule as a recitalist, coach in workshops and masterclasses and as a member of juries. He has toured North America, Japan, Australia, South Africa and most European countries; and he has recorded a small stack of CDs and records.
Planyavsky has won several prizes and awards, the latest addition being the Federal Austrian Price for Music, awarded to him for his collected compositions. Planyavsky has composed extensively for choir, organ and orchestra, with a main emphasis on liturgical works.
As a conductor, Peter Planyavsky has peformed the great works of sacred music such as Bach‘s Mass in b minor, the Duruflè Requiem and the great Haydn masses. He is putting more emphasis now on concertos for organ and orchestra (Heiller, Guilmant, Jongen, Rheinberger, Saint-Saens and others), having conducted several premier performances in Austria like concertos by Horatio Parker, Jean Guillou, Jean Langlais, Howard Hanson and Leo Sowerby.
www.peterplanyavsky.at

Michael Radulescu was born in 1943. After receiving his first musical education from his parents and after his first attempts at composition, he commences his organ studies with Victor Bickerich in 1956 and begins studying composition with Mihail Jora, a prominent pupil of Max Reger, in 1957.
After attending the Salzburg summer academy “Mozarteum” in 1964 and 1965 , he continues his studies at the Vienna Academy (today University) of Music and Performing Arts in the organ class of Anton Heiller and in the conducting class of Hans Swarovsky and Karl Österreicher.
Since his début in 1959, Radulescu has been widely in demand as a performer, giving concerts throughout Europe as well as in Northern America, Australia, Japan, and Korea. Michael Radulescu is regularly invited in Europe and overseas to give guest lectures and master classes, focusing mainly upon the interpretation and elucidation of Bach’s organ and great choral works as seen in their significance today. Since 1968 he has been professor for organ at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna.
As a composer, Michael Radulescu was strongly influenced in his youth by Hindemith, later by Webern, Carl Orff, Ligeti and Olivier Messiaen as well as by the European medieval music and its spirituality. He has written sacred music, works for organ, voice and organ, choral and chamber music and orchestral works. His Passion for double chorus, two orchestras, alto and bass soloists “Leiden und Tod unsres Herrn und Heilands Jeusus Christus” written in 2002/2003 had its world premiere in March 2003 in the Graz Cathedral and marks so far the high light in Radulescu’s career as a composer. Since 1970 Michael Radulescu is in demand as a jury member in international competitions and as an editor of early and ancient organ music.

Franz Raml was born in Straubing/Bavaria in 1964; he obtained a church music diploma at the music academies of Detmold and Munich, and a baroque organ diploma at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague, where his teacher was Ton Koopman. He held a grant from the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes from 1986 to 1990. His present work embraces playing services at the historic Holzhey organ at Rot a. d. Rot, as well as concert work of an international character as organist, harpsichordist, director of the Hassler-Consort and fortepianist in various chamber music constellations. He has founded an Early Music Forum for the South
West of Germany (FAMOS) and appears regularly on radio recordings and CDs.
www.hassler-consort.de

Almut Rößler studied organ with K. Voppel (student of Straube), M. Schneider (Student of Straube and Dupré) and G. Litaize (Dupré). Later she complemented her studies with O. Messiaen and performed his entire organ works, including the European first performance of the “Méditations sur le Mystère de la Saint Trinité“ in Düsseldorf and the world premiere of the “Livre du Saint Sacrement“ in Detroit, Michigan.
During her 30-year tenure (1967–1997) at the Johanneskirche Düsseldorf with its famous Beckerath organ, the music of Bach had a major emphasis in her work.
An additional center was the music of Messiaen and other organ compositions of the 20th century, many of which were dedicated to her. To her, the decisive correspondence between the 2 composers, Bach and Messiaen, is “Soli Deo Gloria“, which in a unique way was the motto of both. She also conducted critically acclaimed performances of the oratorios of Bach, Frank Martin, Lili Boulanger, Stravinsky and Franck, in which she always attempted a contemporary approach taking today’s circumstances into account.
Almut Rößler has been a lecturer at the Landeskirchenmusikschule Düsseldorf since 1959 and Professor for Organ at the Robert-Schumann-Conservatory Düsseldorf since 1977. She has received many awards for her work, among others the “Organist of the Year 1986” from the University of Michigan and the “Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse” (1994) from the German government.

Daniel Roth has held several prestigious positions as both performer and teacher. At the age of twenty he made his debut at the organ of the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur in Montmartre-Paris, as assistant of his teacher, Madame Rolande Falcinelli. He later succeded her as titular organist, a post which he held until 1985 when he was appointed titular organist at St-Sulpice, the famous Paris church where is predecessors were Charles-Marie Widor, Marcel Dupré and Jean-Jacques Grunenwald. A former student at the Paris Conservatory, Daniel Roth's teachers have included Marie-Claire Alain and Maurice Durufé. He has won several competitions, among them the Grand Prix de Chartres 1971, interpretation and improvisation.
After teaching positions at the Conservatories of Marseille, Strasbourg and the Saarbrücken Musikhochschule, he is currently Professor of organ at the Musikhochschule in Frankfurt am Main where he is successor to Edgar Krapp and Helmut Walcha from 1995 to 2007. Daniel Roth has been also Artist-in residence at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and chairman of the organ department at Catholic University in Washington D.C.. He is invited to play concerts as a soloist and with famous orchestras. Furthermore he teaches masterclasses and participates on juries for organ competitions throughout the world.
Daniel Roth is also well known for his brillant improvisations which are regularly included in his concerts programs. He has many recordings to his credit covering pieces of the XVIIth century to the present time. Several of them were rewarded by the critics.
www.danielrothsaintsulpice.org

Helga Schauerte-Maubouet made her first public appearance as organist, aged 10. She was chief organist, at the local parish church, aged 13. In 1982 she became organist of the German Lutheran Church in Paris. She has given recitals, lectures, master-classes, in Europe and the USA, including Royal Academy of Music (London), University of Michigan (USA). She gave radio performances, in West Germany & France. Her concerts include: performance of the integral of Jehan Alain's organ works in Paris in 1986; 1^st performance of Jean Langlais' organ works, BACH, & Miniature II and Mort et Resurrection. She is also teacher at the Paris Conservatory Nadia et Lili Boulanger, and jury member for international organ competitions. In 2006 she founded a Bach-organ-academy in Pontaumur.
Through her concert tours, radio recordings and CD's, as well as her musicological research, Helga Schauerte has within a few years become one of the outstanding musicians of her generation. In 1987 she received the cultural prize of Olpe, Germany. Since 1990 her biography has been included in the International Who’s Who in Music, and she has been selected to figure in 2000 Outstanding Musicians of the 20^th Century.
www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Schauerte-Helga.htm

Roman Summereder (* 1954 in Ried/Innkreis) war bereits als Kind als Organist tätig. Er schloss seine Studien in Wien an der Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst (Kirchenmusik und Orgel bei Anton Heiller, Komposition bei Kurt Schwetsik) und in am Königlichen Konservatorium Brüssel in der Cembaloklasse von Robert Kohnen ab.
Ein besonderes Augenmerk seines Schaffens liegt in der Pflege alter Meister sowie der modernen Musik. Zahlreiche Uraufführungen säumen seinen Lebenslauf. Konzerte als Organist und Cembalist führten ihn an historische und moderne Instrumente in ganz Europa. Weiters ist seine umfangreiche Tätigkeit durch zahlreiche Platteneinspielungen belegt.
Von 1979 bis 1999 unterrichtete er an der Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Partiturspiel und Generalbaß bevor er 2002 zum Ordentlichen Professor der bereits seit 1999 von ihm geleiteten Orgelklasse wurde. Diese Tätigkeit wird durch Meisterkurse, Lesungen und Workshops europaweit ergänzt.

Joris Verdin studierte Orgel am Königlichen Konservatorium Antwerpen und Musikwissenschaft an der Universität Leuven. Derzeit ist Joris Verdin am Königlichen Konservato­rium (Musik-Hochschule Antwerpen) Professor für Orgel, außerdem wurde er für einen Kurs an die Uni­versität Leuven verpflichtet. Joris Verdins Repertoire ist breit gefächert, es umfasst sowohl ver­gessene Kompositionen alter Meister als auch zeitgenössische Werke. Er kann auf verschiedener CD-Produktionen verweisen; im Mai 2000 bekam er der “Diapason d’Or” und im März 2001 der “Cecilia Preis” der Belgischen Musikpresse . Außerdem ist er Dozent an der "Académie Internationale d'Orgue de Rouen" (Frankreich) und Mitarbeiter des Göteborg Organ Art Center (Schweden). Neben diesen Aktivitäten komponiert Joris Verdin und engagiert sich auf dem Gebiet des Verlagswesens.
www.jorisverdin.com

Harald Vogel is recognized as a leading authority on the interpretation of German organ music from the Gothic, Renaissance, and the Baroque periods. As the director of the North German Organ Academy, which he founded in 1972, he teaches historical performance practice on the original instruments. Since 1994, he has also held a professorship at the Hochschule für Künste in Bremen. Harald Vogel has led many masterclasses at conservatories and universities throughout the world, whereby he has influenced innumerable organists and organbuilders.
As superintendent of church musik and organ advisor for the Reformed Church he is responsible for a large number of historical organs in northwest Germany. As an expert in organ building, he has been a consultant for many organ building projects, including restorations and new organs. Examples include the organs at Stanford University's Memorial Church, St. Paul's in Tokyo, and Göteborg's Örgryte Kyrkan.Among Harald Vogel's many recordings are those on historical instruments made for Radio Bremen between the year 1961 and 1975. These recordings today have particular value as historical documentations. In 1981, he founded the Dollart Festival, the first European festival for early music that crosses national borders.Harald Vogel's publications include Organs in Lower Saxony (Hauschild- Verlag, 1997) and The Organ Region of East Frisia (SKN- Verlag, 1996). He has edited the Tabulatura nova, by Samuel Scheidt (Breitkopf).
www.organeum.com

Gerhard Weinberger studied organ with Franz Lehrndorfer and church music at the Musikhochschule in Munich. In 1971, he was the prize winner in organ at the renowned international ARD Music Competition.
In 1974, after spending three years directing the choir at Saint Lorenz Basilica in Kempten, Gerhard Weinberger assumed a teaching post in organ and church music at the Munich Musikhochschule. He was Professor of Organ there from 1977 to 1983. Currently he is Professor of Organ and Director of the Church Music Department at the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold, Germany. He is a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, and of the Leipzig New Bach Society directorate.
Gerhard Weinberger's wide repertoire ranges from pre-Baroque to music of the 20^th century, with a special emphasis on the works of J.S. Bach and Max Reger. He has given recitals throughout Europe, Asia and America.
Gerhard Weinberger has released close to fifty recordings, including the complete organ works of J.S. Bach on twenty-one compact discs. He has published the first complete edition of the organ works of Johann Ludwig Krebs and the organ works of Robert Schumann.

Wolfgang Zerer received his first organ lessons from the organist at Passau Cathedral, Walther Schuster. In 1980 he began his studies at the College of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna; organ with Michael Radulescu conducting with Karl Österreicher, and later harpsichord with Gordon Murray, plus Church Music. He studied harpsichord for two years with Ton Koopman in Amsterdam and church music in Stuttgart (organ with Ludger Lohmann). Wolfgang Zerer has won awards at several competitions, among them Bruges in 1982 and Innsbruck in 1983.
After teaching at the colleges of music in Stuttgart and Vienna Wolfgang Zerer was appointed Professor of Organ at Hamburg´s College of Music and Theatre in 1989. He is also teaching at the College of Music in Groningen/Holland.
Wolfgang Zerer has given concerts and masterclasses almost all over Europe, Israel, the USA, Japan and South-Corea. His growing lists of recordings includes organ music by Matthias Weckmann, J.S. Bach and Max Reger.
www.scb-basel.ch/index/112817