TINGSHUO YANG WINS NORTHERN IRELAND INTERNATIONAL ORGAN COMPETITION 2026
Tingshuo Yang, from Luxembourg, has won the 2026 Northern Ireland International Organ Competition (NIIOC), which took place in St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, Armagh, on 17 and 18 August.
Born in China in 2004, Tingshuo Yang is a pianist, organist, and composer. He studied piano at the Royal College of Music Junior Department and then at the Conservatoire de la Ville de Luxembourg. In 2018, he was awarded a music scholarship to Eton College, and since 2023 he has been Organ Scholar at St John’s College, Cambridge, graduating this summer with a starred First Class Bachelor of Arts degree in music. From 2026, Tingshuo will study for a Master of Music degree in organ performance under Paul Jacobs at the Juilliard School.
Tingshuo’s competition programme in Armagh consisted of J S Bach’s Jesus Christus, unser Keiland, der von uns den Zom Gottes wand, BWV 688; the second movement of Widor’s Organ Symphony No 9 Op. 70 ‘Gothique’; and the Toccata from Duruflé’s Suite Op. 5.
He has won NIIOC’s John Pilling Trust First Prize of £4,000; the Winner’s Trophy awarded by Neiland and Creane Organ Builders; a $100 Leupold Foundation Gift Certificate for a one-time purchase from the Leupold Edition website of new publications and pre-owned organ music; and the inaugural Dunleath Scholarship of £1,000 introduced for this 14th edition of the competition. He also wins five public recitals, hosted by Saint-Sulpice, Paris; Westminster Abbey; King’s College, Cambridge; St Michael’s Church, Dun Laoghaire in the Republic of Ireland; and the Portico of Ards, Portaferry, in Northern Ireland.
Commenting on his competition experience, Tingshuo said: ‘I am absolutely delighted to have won the Northern Ireland International Organ Competition! It showed that my hard work over the past few years has started to pay off, and I am grateful to my teachers and mentors for their guidance. I also really enjoyed not only competing against such a high standard of international young organists, but also getting to know them as future colleagues in the profession. I am really looking forward to the recitals next year, playing fabulous instruments in gorgeous venues, and making some international debuts!
‘I think the competition is a fantastic way of promoting young talent from across the world. It was a great experience not only to compete against other people my age, but also to get to know them and have a good time!’
Second prize in the senior category of the competition, the David McElderry Memorial Award of £1,000, went to Abigail Crafton, aged 18, from the USA, a student at the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York, who also won the Dame Gillian Weir Medal for the most outstanding performance of a single work by a composer other than J S Bach – in this case the Final from Vierne’s Organ Symphony No 6. Abigail also played the Scherzo from Rachel Laurin’s First Symphony, and J S Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in G major, BWV 541. Her second prize-winner’s recitals will be at St Paul’s Cathedral, London; Trinity College, Cambridge; and Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. In addition to the medal designed Joel Smyth and featuring an image inspired by the organ in Belfast’s Ulster Hall, the Dame Gillian Weir award includes £300 and a recital at Waterford Cathedral.
Anton Matters, 20, from Germany, a student at the University of Music and Theatre Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy in Leipzig, won the third prize of £500 awarded by Wells Kennedy Pipe Organ Builders & Restorers and three public recitals hosted by St George’s, Hanover Square, London; Glasgow Cathedral; and Galway Cathedral. His programme consisted of works by Thierry Escaich, J S Bach and Reger.
The Bach Prize of £300, a $100 Leupold Foundation Gift Certificate for a one-time purchase of Bach organ works the Leupold Editions website, and a Bach Corner Recital at the St Albans International Organ Festival 2027 went to Michael Chesters, 20, from the UK, who was also Highly Commended, as was Kirsten Eilhoff, 21, from Germany.
The John Pilling Trust First Prize of £1000 in the Intermediate Category of the competition went to Pascal George, aged 17, from Germany, currently studying at the Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Musikgymnasium in Berlin. He also wins a $100 Leupold Foundation Gift Certificate. Second Prize of £500 awarded by The Pipe Organ Preservation Company went to Theo Mountford, aged 16, from the UK, organ scholar at Tewkesbury Abbey and a pupil of The Cotswold School, Cheltenham. He also won the new prize in this category of £200 for the standout performance of a single work, awarded by Wilsons Auctions, for his performance of Vierne’s Naiades, Op.55 No 4. Third Prize of £300 also awarded by The Pipe Organ Preservation Company went to Junzhe He, 14, from China and Kevin Ge, 15, from the UK was Highly Commended.
Thirteen organists from the Czech Republic, Latvia, France, China and Canada as well as the UK, USA, Luxembourg and Germany competed in the senior category of the competition, which is for players aged 21 or under, and ten representing the UK, Ireland, China and Hungary in the intermediate category.
This year’s NIIOC Jury was chaired by the South African-born organist and educator Liesbeth Schlumberger, who is renowned for her mastery of French organ repertoire. Organist of the Reformed Church of Étoile an Paris and a member of the teaching staff of the Conservatoire of the Conservatoire National Superieur Musique et Danse, Lyon.
Commenting on the experience, Mme Schlumberger said: ‘I am in total admiration of this new young generation of organists. It's amazing how much freedom they bring to the music, and the way they use the organ. I was very impressed by the variety of repertoire and by the maturity of even very young people; by the way they listen, and by the way they sometimes perform, sometimes interpret – it's different. I was very touched by that – this shows real quality.
‘NIIOC is a very original competition – I don't think there are a lot of competitions that are really focusing on this young generation. It was inspiring for me to realise the chances this city of Armagh is giving them, and to see on the faces of the young players how grateful they are to come here, how impressed with the organ, and by the chance to play in such a wonderful place on such a wonderful organ.’
She was joined on the jury by organist and choral director David Hill, MBE, who is a patron of NIIOC and has been on the jury every year since its inception, and by Peter Holder, Organist of Christ Church, Oxford and a former Sub-Organist of Westminster Abbey, where he played for many major state and royal occasions, including the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
‘We’ve had some extraordinary talent over the last couple of days, from across the globe and more locally, and we've had a similar diversity of repertoire as well,’ said Mr Holder. ‘It left us with some tricky decisions to make, but we were thrilled to be able to offer some wonderful prizes for some truly exceptional performances. The competition clearly does really valuable work in offering these young up-and-coming performers a real opportunity and leg up as they enter their professional careers.’
Richard Yarr MBE DL, NIIOC’s Founder and Chair, said: ‘Once again our competition has attracted some outstanding young performers from around the world, this year including our first competitors from China – it really is truly international in its scope. We are delighted and proud to have once again brought so many gifted organists to Armagh. Tingshuo Yang will be a very worthy addition to our distinguished roster of winners, many of whom continue to be associated with the competition in different ways. I look forward to hearing future recitals by Tingshuo and by all our other 2026 prize-winners, to whom I offer my warmest congratulations, both personally and on behalf of our Board and supporters.’