NIIOC 2026 SENIOR COMPETITION SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED

Following an extensive shortlisting process, NIIOC has announced its 2026 Senior Category shortlist. Competitors from all over the world will perform in St. Patricks’ Church of Ireland Cathedral on Monday 17 August. They are:

Pascal Bachmann (UK) – 19

Charles Balcer (UK) – 19

Noé Brencklé (France) – 21

Michael Chesters (UK) – 20

Abigal Crafton (USA) – 18

David Devine (USA) – 21

Kirsten Eilhoff (Germany) – 21

Shiye Guo (China) – 20

Oskars Kalniņš (Latvia) – 21

Anton Matthes (Germany) – 20

Jonathan Niemi (Canada) – 21

Adam Suk (Czech Republic) – 21

Tingshuo Yang (Luxembourg) – 21

NIIOC has also released the names of 10 intermediate competitors – the highest ever number of organists in this category. They will perform in St. Patricks’ Church of Ireland Cathedral on Tuesday 18 August. They are:

Wendy Deng (UK) – 21

Pascal Georges (Germany) – 17

Edward Harte (Ireland) – 17

Kevin Ge (UK) – 15

He Junzhe (China) – 14

Theo Mountford (UK) – 16

Al Shen Sun (Ireland) – 15

Levente Vas (Hungary) – 21

Rebecca Ye (UK) – 14

Lillian Zang (China) – 17

The Competition board wishes them well with their preparation and travel: an opportunity for audiences to experience the future of organ music globally.