The Flentrop Scholarship
Following a donation from Flentrop Orgelbouw BV, a scholarship has been established to enable a young organist to visit Zaandam in Holland for two weeks. During this period, an introduction to the craft of organ building and tuning will be arranged in the Flentrop workshops, as well lessons with distinguished Dutch organists.
Open to: full-time organ students who are studying in the UK or Ireland and who will be under 25 at the time of taking up the scholarship.
How to apply: Download and complete the application form and send by post, along with any other relevant material to: David Lowe, Clerk to the Trustees, Eric Thompson Trust, c/o RPS, 10 Stratford Place, London W1A 1BA. Your application should include a brief outline of how such a visit might relate to the applicant’s course of study and future career, and your two written references should be from established organists.
Frequency: Applications will be reviewed and awarded annually at the June meeting of the Trustees and should be received by May 31. The visit will normally be in late November or early December each year.
WINNERS
2006 Simon Williams
2007 Arnfinn Tobiassen
2008 Mark Martinez
2009 Ross Luescher
2010 Chere Ko
"I feel I have benefited enormously from the Flentrop Scholarship. It has been a unique opportunity to explore some previously unkown aspects of the organ world in a country rich with organ culture. I am forever indebted to the experience provided by the Scholarship"
Simon Williams - Flentrop Scholarship winner 2006
"I had a lot of time to study and observe the detailed work in the Flentrop workshops, and I was also given the opportunity to try my own skills as a pipe-builder, thus realising what a demanding and complex job it is. The quality and care with which they approach every part of the process was most impressive...
The lessons with Pieter van Dijk and Jos van der Koy were a tremendous inspiration for further studies and performing. I can warmly and unreservedly recommend the Flentrop Scholarship to any young organist, whether a student or professional."
Arnfinn Tobiassen - Flentrop Scholarship winner 2007
"The two and a half weeks spent with Flentrop have been a wonderful experience which have educated me in aspects of organ playing and building that I have not had a chance to learn. During that time I learnt from the best, from the organs played with their different characters and simple and responsive actions, to the organ teachers and builders with their wealth of knowledge and experience...
The experience has taught me to appreciate the paradox of complexity and simplicity in the organ, both in sound production and construction. With the help of Flentrop, I was able to find out what top-quality workmanship can achieve...
With the help of my teachers, I appreciated and addressed the difficulty of being connected to the organ in such a direct way, with the extra scope for music it provides in terms of touch and articulation...
To play and have lessons on several exceptional instruments with highly regarded organists guiding me are rare opportunities, whilst learning about the art of organ-building is even rarer. I shall remember the experiences and take them with me throughout my musical career..."
Mark Martinez - Flentrop Scholarship winner 2008
"Being awarded the Flentrop Scholarship 2009 was a life-changing experience for me. My knowledge of organ-building expanded rapidly during my time in Holland and I now frequently use my tuning skills on the organ I play in Glasgow. I learnt an incredible amount from the people I met at Flentrop and their attitude towards the way they approached each job assigned to them was an inspiration. I admired the work of the firm so much that I chose to write my final-year dissertation paper on Flentrop Orgelbouw which involved researching the history of the company from their founding in 1903 up to what I learnt of the company’s present-day practices."
Ross Luescher - Flentrop Scholarship winner 2009