[NEohioPAL] Oberlin Student Wins First Prize at Dublin International Organ Competition

[Marci Janas]

Media Contact Only:

Marci Janas, Director of Conservatory Media Relations

440-775-8328 (office); 440-667-2724 (cell); marci.janas at oberlin.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Joseph Ripka, a Student at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Wins  
First Prize at the Dublin International Organ Competition

OBERLIN, OHIO (July 7, 2008) — Organist Joseph (Joey) Ripka, an  
Artist Diploma student at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, has won  
first prize at the Dublin International Organ Competition, held on  
June 28, 2008, at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland. In  
addition to 5,000 euros, his award includes recital engagements in  
Ireland, the U.K., and continental Europe.

  Ripka, from Elk River, Minnesota, studies at Oberlin with Professor  
of Organ James David Christie. “This is one of the most prestigious …  
international organ competitions,” says Christie. “Joey really  
deserved this honor … he had the repertoire in his fingers, in his  
heart and soul.”

  For the finals competition, Ripka and the two other finalists were  
required to present a 40-minute program that included a work by  
Olivier Messiaen, whose centenary is being celebrated this year.  
Ripka performed Messiaen’s Transports de Joie, J.S. Bach’s Allein  
Gott in der Hoh sei ehr, BWV 662, and Max Reger’s Choral Fantasy on  
“Wachet auf.”

  The Dublin achievement caps a championship season for Ripka; he  
also won first prizes at the Fort Wayne National Organ Playing  
Competition in April, and at the Elizabeth Elftman National Organ  
Competition, held in March in San Marino, California. He is also the  
second Oberlin student to win first prize in Dublin; Balint Karosi  
(AD ’05 and MMus ’07) of Hungary was a laureate in 2002.

  Thirty-nine organists representing 15 countries vied for the  
competition, with 16 being selected to compete in the quarterfinals,  
which commenced June 23, 2008.

  Thomas Trotter of Great Britain chaired the Dublin jury, which  
included Hans Fagius of Sweden, David Higgs of the U.S., Maragreta  
Hürholz of Germany, and Daniel Roth of France.

  The Oberlin Conservatory of Music, founded in 1865 and situated  
amid the intellectual vitality of Oberlin College since 1867, is the  
oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States.  
Renowned internationally as a professional music school of the  
highest caliber and pronounced a “national treasure” by the  
Washington Post, Oberlin’s alumni have gone on to achieve illustrious  
careers in all aspects of the serious music world.


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Marci Janas
Director of Conservatory Media Relations
  and Editor, Oberlin Conservatory Magazine
Oberlin Conservatory of Music
39 West College Street
Oberlin, OH  44074
www.oberlin.edu/con
Voice: 440.775.8328
Fax: 440.775.5457
marci.janas at oberlin.edu







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