May 4, 2006, Whitby, Ontario, Canada
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Canada's Summer Institute of Church Music announces the advancement of four finalists to the final round of its 19th Biennial Osborne Organ Competition.

The jury of prominent Toronto organists unconnected with the competitors (Dr. Mark Toews, Thomas Fitches and Janet Macfarlane Peaker) evaluated numbered cassette and CD recordings from several excellent applicants before reaching its decision on the final four, who will compete for recognition and scholarship awards in the Final Round Competition at 8:00pm on Wednesday July 5th at St. George’s Anglican Church in Oshawa during the 37th Session of Canada’s Summer Institute of Church Music (July 2-7, 2006).  Public admission to the final round of the Competition is free of charge, but donations to the Osborne Competition Fund will be warmly welcomed.

The jury awarding over $2000 in prizes will be chaired by SICM's visiting Organ Instructor, Paul Halley.

The finalists for the 19th Competition are:

Isabelle Demers (Montreal, QC)
Konrad Harley (Thornhill, ON)
Michael Oldaker (London, ON)
Aaron Tan (Toronto, ON)

The Florence and Stanley Osborne Scholarship in Church Music, established in 1972, is named for Dr. & Mrs. Stanley L. Osborne, the founding Director and ‘first lady’ of the Summer Institute of Church Music.  With the proceeds from Dr. Osborne’s popular commentary on the 1971 joint Hymn Book of the United Church of Canada and Anglican Church of Canada (If Such Holy Song (Whitby, 1976)), the couple endowed a scholarship in Church Music to be awarded by an organ competition stressing the skills of repertoire performance and hymn playing.  The Osborne Organ Competition is held biennially in even-numbered years: funds awarded support advanced study in organ and/or church music.  It is a fully blind competition: the jury chaired by the Institute’s visiting organ Instructor has no knowledge of the identity of, and no connection to, the competitors.  The past prizewinners of the competition are some of the finest performers Canada has ever produced.  Its jurors include the foremost organ performers, teachers and church musicians from throughout North America.

The Osborne Competition is currently seeking the support of donors committed to the future of organ performance and church music after the vision of Dr. & Mrs. Osborne. 

For more information about the Osborne Organ Competition and Canada’s Summer Institute of Church Music visit www.sicm.ca or call (416) 356-3138.

To join the official SICM e-mail notice list, visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sicm.