View this email in your browser

Hannah Wins Organ Prizes at CIM!

At the Cleveland Institute of Music's annual Honor's Convocation on May 17th, Hannah Koby was awarded both of the 2019 annual prizes for organists. She is recipient of The Henry Fusner Prize in Organ, which recognizes outstanding achievement in the organ department, and The Heinrich Scholarship, recognizing outstanding achievement by an organ major. Hannah is pictured above receiving the awards from CIM's Dean David Gilson.

A Note from Hannah: A Year at Conservatory

For those of you who know me well, it will come as no surprise to hear that I never expected to be at a top conservatory. For those who don't know me as closely, let me explain.
I've always had a tendency to second-guess myself, to doubt my gifts. Knowing few other high school organists, I started college half expecting my peers to be well ahead of me - and some maybe were, but I quickly was able to find my own space and grow as a musician at Valparaiso University. Here's a shout-out to my teachers who prepared me for college!
At Valparaiso, I soon started to get a lot of opportunities. I had so many amazing experiences as an organist - playing in the Chapel of the Resurrection, playing on tour with the University Chorale, interning at the Castle Church in Wittenberg, and being part of Reformation Day 2017, to name just a few!
Nevertheless, I told myself that such experiences were just because I was one of only a few organ students in a small program, and not because I really earned the opportunities. Going to audition at some of the top graduate programs a year and a half ago was so intimidating, because I felt like a small-town Midwest girl, up against so many sophisticated organists from big-name schools (and I am told I am not the only one of my Valpo peers who has felt this way).

Okay, so that's the background - but this year, I've had a bit of a reality check, in a good way. I had earned a spot in two different graduate programs, and chose to study at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Once again, I was intimidated by the talent of my peers.
Now, though, some of those amazing musicians are good friends, and held my own through my first year as a conservatory student. And not just completed it, but finished strong! By the numbers, I count at least eight solo organ performances over the past 9 months here in Cleveland, most on programs with other musicians. The last big one, An Evening at Notre Dame, was a rousing success! We played to a full house, including many notable guests, and I kept my cool and presented my part well. Thanks to my teachers, I have really grown into being a performer and musician.

So I suppose it's about time to stop second guessing myself, and start enjoying the opportunities and accept that I really am an organist!

Well, that's the news from Cleveland!
Peace,
Hannah

Upcoming Performances

TODAY!
Fifty-fifth Annual Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham

This is one of the most important events of the year for the Anglican Catholic Church of St. James, where I am Organist & Choirmaster.
Saturday, June 1st
St. James Anglican Catholic Church, 1681 E. 55th St., Cleveland, Ohio
11:00 a.m. Solemn Pontifical Mass

Music will include Flor Peeters' Missa in honorem Reginae Pacis, sung by the women of St. James' Choir; Edward Elgar's Ecce Sacerdos Magnus; and selections from François Couperin's Mass for the Parishes (organ).

12:15 p.m. Luncheon in St. James' Hall
1:30 p.m. Guest speaker: The Reverend Cory French, Curate at the Cathedral Church of St. Edward the Confessor, Indianapolis
2:00 p.m. Shrine Devotions and the Sprinkling of water from the Holy Well, and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

OrgelPunkt 12
Weekly 30-minute organ recitals at the Castle Church, Wittenberg, Germany, performed on the 1863 Ladegast organ and/or the 2016 Schuke choir organ. My weeks will be:
Thursday, July 18th at noon
Thursday, July 25th at noon
Thursday, August 1st at noon
For information about the organs I will be playing at the Castle Church, see https://www.schlosskirche-wittenberg.de/index.php/en/organ

In addition, you can hear Hannah play organ and direct the choir at St. James Anglican Catholic Church at 1681 E. 55th St. in Cleveland, OH during worship every Sunday at 10:30 A.M.

About Hannah

Hannah Koby is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Organ at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studies with Todd Wilson. Hannah earned her Bachelor of Music degree in Church Music/Organ from Valparaiso University, where she studied organ with Dr. Lorraine Brugh and Dr. Sunghee Kim, voice with Maura Janton Cock, and piano with Nicole Lee. She also has studied organ with Heinrich Walther and voice with Christine Müller at the Hochschule für Kirchenmusik in Rottenburg am Neckar, Germany.

Hannah is the 2019 recipient of the Henry Fusner Prize and the Heinrich Scholarship from the Cleveland Institute of Music. In 2018, she received the Reidenbach Church Music Award and was named a Valparaiso University Alumni Association Distinguished Student. In 2017, she won the Immanuel Lutheran Church Organ Scholar competition (Evanston, IL), was inducted as a member of Pi Kappa Lambda (national music honor society), and received a Dean’s Choice Award for her research in Lutheran theology and hymns, which she presented at the 2017 National Conference on Undergraduate Research.

Hannah’s diverse church music experience includes summer internships at the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. While at Valparaiso University, Hannah held numerous leadership positions at the Chapel of the Resurrection and was a member and section leader of the Valparaiso University Chorale, frequently serving as organist with the ensemble, including for special Reformation Day services at the Chapel of the Resurrection (2016) and the Castle Church, Wittenberg, Germany (2017). Hannah has served as musician in several congregations and currently serves as Organist & Choirmaster at St. James Anglican Catholic Church in Cleveland. She is also in formation to become a Lutheran deaconess through the Lutheran Diaconal Association.