Pipe Dreams

Pipe organ

Royal Chapel, Palace of Versailles

February, 2019

Photo by Lisa Hirsch

I have some information about what looks like a very interesting documentary that'll be on PBS later this month. It's called Pipe Dreams and it's about young organists who are entered in an organ competition.

Pipe Dreams will be on PBS on the show Independent Lives on June 22, 2020.

The competition in question is (was?) the 2017 Canadian International Organ Competition, the "Olympics of organ playing," for players under age 35. From the email I received:

Throughout the film, we see the fierce, driven spirit it takes to move up the ranks in the world of competitive organ playing. Featuring personal at-home footage as well as a seat at the bench alongside these competitors at the CIOC, Pipe Dreams highlights the immense mental and physical discipline that the “king of instruments” demands from these young musicians, how their talents and ambitions are reinvigorating the world of competitive organ playing, and ultimately reveals who comes out on top as the winner

 PIPE DREAMS chronicles four young organists as they train for the CIOC in Montreal:

• Yuan Shen, 31, the daughter of China’s most famous organist, who believes that in order to win, her will must be twice as strong as the strength and stamina of her competition
• Alcee Chriss III of Texas, 25, whose unique style and joyful playing is influenced by his musical background with gospel and jazz
• Nick Capozzoli of Pittsburgh, 24,  who is willing to take big risks through performing obscure, modern music
• Sebastian Heindl of Germany, 19, the youngest person to ever compete in the CIOC taught himself to play at age 11 in the same town, Leipzig, Germany, as his idol and namesake Johann Sebastian Bach.

Sounds very interesting to me!