Support our 2019 Study Tour

Your donation is important!

DONATIONS ARE 100% TAX-DEDUCTIBLE (USA)

A LETTER FROM OUR STUDENTS

In recent years, Boston Organ Studio has grown to become the largest and most vibrant private organ studio in the United States. Our community of committed young organists draws from across the city’s academic institutions to celebrate our shared love of the organ and its music whilst cultivating the art of organ performance.

While Boston’s instruments are an incredible resource from which to learn, no single instrument collection can possibly inform the entire spectrum of our repertoire—the broadest in scope, yet most instrument-specific of any common instrument.

In previous summers, our student organists have embarked on journeys to Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia. As our dear friend Joey Fala said after the trip in 2014, “there’s something profound, perhaps even spiritual, about physically tracing the footsteps of musical legends that internally solidifies their significance and relevance to us. We can listen to recordings, study scores, and read books, but it’s not until you are hearing 16th-century pipes, sitting in Duruflé’s living room, or sliding onto Widor’s bench that suddenly everything becomes so real—the organs, the composers, their lives. It all really does exist.”

Following in the footsteps of these trips, this June we embark on a two-week journey to Germany to continue the process of learning what can’t be learned here in North America. Our whirlwind journey begins in Lübeck, where we will encounter the ancient city that was home to Dietrich Buxtehude—the great 17th-century master who served as teacher and inspiration for a young Johann Sebastian Bach.

Along the way, we will hear and play some of the great organs of Europe, including the tremendous 19th-century Ladegast organs in Schwerin and Merseburg. We will learn from masters in our field, including Arvid Gast and Martin Schmeding. We will play works of Bach on instruments (and keyboards) that Bach himself played. We will hear world-class performances during Bachfest 2019 in Leipzig, and we will grow in knowledge and in community.

This trip will change the ways we hear and perform music. It is an opportunity we couldn’t be more excited about, and we know we will remember it for years to come.

Of course, this experience also comes with considerable costs to each of us participating. Please consider supporting us in this endeavor. Any amount, whether small or large, will help us to realize this trip’s full potential as we grow as musicians, scholars, and colleagues.

Thank you for your support, and we look forward to sharing our experiences with you in the months to come!

PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING THIS EXPERIENCE AT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING LEVELS: 

UNDERWRITER Gifts of $1,000 or more—                 

— a gift of this size will support airfare costs for one student

SUSTAINER Gifts of $750 or more—

— a gift of this size will support housing costs for one student

PATRON Gifts of $500 or more—

 — a gift of this size will fund one day’s honorarium for a master teacher               

SUPPORTER Gifts of $250 or more—

— a gift of this size will fund building-use fees at one church

FRIEND Gifts of $100 or more—

— a gift of this size will fund one hour’s honorarium for a master teacher

Donations are tax-deductible thanks to the support of our partner and fiscal sponsor, Old West Organ Society.