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Sunday, October 13, 2019, 2:15 PM - 3:45 PMStudents of Paul Jacobs at The Juilliard School, New York City
Alexander Pattavina, organist
Max Reger (1873-1916): Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, Op. 59
John Ireland (1879-1962): Capriccio
Cecily DeMarco, organist
César Franck (1822-1890): Pastorale, Op. 19
Eddie Zheng, organist
César Franck (1822-1890): from Trois Chorals pour Orgue:
3. Chorale in A Minor
Phoon Yu, organist
Chen Zhangyi (b. 1984): from The Seven Angels
The First Angel
The Second Angel
The Third Angel
The Seventh Angel
Alan Montgomery, organist
Edward Elgar (1857-1934): from Sonata in G Major, Op. 28
Allegro maestoso
Daniel Ficarri, organist
Louis Vierne (1870-1937): from Troisième Symphonie pour grand orgue, Op. 28
IV. Adagio
V. Final
Alexander Pattavina is a second-year graduate student in the organ studio of Paul Jacobs at The Juilliard School, where he also earned his Bachelor’s degree. He is the Director of Music at the Church of Saint Agnes in New York City. In September, Alex was awarded First Place in the 2019 Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival. He also received First Place in the 2014 L. Cameron Johnson Competition in Storrs, CT, and was presented with the 2014 Ruth and Paul Manz Scholarship from the Lutheran Seminary in Chicago. Formerly, he worked as Organ Scholar of Christ Church in Bronxville, NY under conductor Philip Stopford. Alex was an editor and proofer for The St. Paul’s Hymnal (2015), and his choral work, All in a Stable Cold and Bare (2016), is published by Hal Leonard. A native of Stoughton, Massachusetts, Alex has performed with the Juilliard Orchestra and performs frequently on the east and west coasts.
A native of Boca Raton, Florida, Cecily DeMarco is currently a first-year undergraduate at Juilliard, studying with Paul Jacobs. She began her musical studies at the age of nine with her mother as part of her homeschool curriculum and began studying the organ at age thirteen. Miss DeMarco has served as substitute organist for The New Presbyterian Church (Wilton Manors, FL), Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in (Fort Lauderdale, FL), Trinity United Methodist Church (Palm Beach Gardens, FL), and St. Andrews Chapel (Sanford, FL). In addition, Cecily has served five years as organist for the chapel services for Edgewater Pointe in Boca Raton, Florida. As a performer, Miss DeMarco has appeared as a guest artist on the Bach’s Lunch series, and the Reformation Organ Concert at First Presbyterian Church in Pompano Beach, FL. In addition, Miss DeMarco has also participated the Sacred Music Florida competition winning the “Outstanding Soloist of the Day” award. For three years she studied organ with Terry Yount at the Saint Andrews Conservatory in Sanford, Florida. She attributes all of her success to God, and the amazing people that He has put into her life. Most important being her mother who not only taught her about music, but the importance of never giving up.
Eddie Zheng, a native of New York City, is a student of Paul Jacobs at the Juilliard School. He attended the Juilliard Pre-College division for two years, studying with Matthew Lewis. In the summer of 2017, Eddie attended the McGill Organ Academy with Hans Ola Ericsson and the Oregon Bach Festival Organ Institute with Paul Jacobs, to which he returned this summer. Eddie has won several awards, including first place at the 2018 Albert Schweitzer Organ Competition, the 2019 Brooklyn AGO Organ Scholarship Competition, and the 2019 AGO Quimby Northeast Regional Competition. In addition to having performed in the United States, Eddie has performed in China at the National Centre for Performing Arts in Beijing, Beijing Concert Hall, and the Beijing Golden Sail Concert Hall. Eddie is currently the Associate Organist at Calvary Baptist Church in Manhattan. He was also the 2018-19 Knock Intern for Sacred Music at Rye Presbyterian Church. When not playing organ, Eddie loves filmmaking, music production, and playing ice hockey.
Phoon Yu is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in organ performance at The Juilliard School as a C. V. Starr Doctoral Fellow under the tutelage of Paul Jacobs. He is active both in Singapore and in the United States. Recent concerts include his performances at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine and Marble Collegiate Church in New York City, as well as at St. Andrew’s Cathedral and the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (YSTCM) in Singapore. He has also performed on multiple occasions as soloist in the Victoria Concert Hall Organ Series in Singapore. Phoon Yu’s performance career as an organist is supplemented by his composing and arranging ability. Composition premieres of his include works for various solo instruments and chamber groups across various venues in Singapore, China, and the United States. Notable premieres include his chamber work Elegy for Violin, Piano and String Quartet (2014), his Sonatina for Dizi Quintet (2016) for the Dicapella Dizi Ensemble, and his Piece for Organ and Trumpet (2017). Phoon Yu receives a Bachelor of Music in music composition at the YSTCM under full scholarship, participating during his undergraduate studies in the prestigious partnership between the Conservatory and the Peabody Institute in their Joint Degree Program. He then did his Master of Music in organ performance at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, being awarded the Bruce R. Eicher prize at the conclusion of his studies. His previous teachers include Donald Sutherland and Evelyn Lim (organ) and Ho Chee Kong and Oscar Bettison (composition). He is also currently an organ scholar at Hitchcock Presbyterian Church at Scarsdale, NY.
A native of Vacaville, California, Alan Montgomery is a New York based organist. He is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree at the Juilliard School, where he studies with Paul Jacobs. He has spent much of his life in the United Kingdom. He attended high school in Lincoln, and he holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Royal College of Music in London, where he studied with David Graham, Sophie-Véronique Cauchefer-Choplin, and Andrew Dewar. While in London, he also served as Organ Scholar of St. Mark’s, Hamilton Terrace and the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street. Mr. Montgomery currently serves as Director of Music at the Church of St. Thomas More on East 89th Street.
A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Daniel Ficarri is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree at The Juilliard School, where he studies with organist Paul Jacobs. Ficarri is recognized as a performer of both new music and the standard classical repertoire. The New
York Times listed his performance of John Cage’s Souvenir under the “Week’s 8 Best Classical Music Moments,” and WQXR broadcast his live all-Bach performance as part of their “Bach Organ Marathon.” Ficarri has performed in Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall with the Juilliard Orchestra, and he has given solo performances at New York City’s towering Cathedral of St. John the Divine, St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, and St. Paul’s Chapel of Trinity Church Wall Street. Other engagements have taken him around the country, from concerts with The Florida Orchestra to appearances in the Oregon Bach Festival. This year, he was named one of the top “20 under 30” organists by The Diapason magazine. Ficarri is making his mark as an up-and-coming composer for the organ. Last year, his Exultation was commissioned by Choir & Organ magazine for the dedication of the pipe organ at St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue. His compositions were also featured on Christ Cathedral’s Music from the Tower radio show. Next year, Ficarri’s Two Pieces for Organ and Suite No. 1 for Organ will be published by ECS Publishing Group. An active church musician, Ficarri currently works as Organ Scholar at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in Manhattan. In 2015, he founded Sacred Sounds at St. Paul’s, a concert series promoting organ music in the Lincoln Center neighborhood and providing performance opportunities to young artists. Previously, he served as Organ Scholar at Hitchcock Presbyterian Church in Scarsdale, NY.