Michael Unger
Canadian-born organist and harpsichordist Michael Unger currently resides in Rochester, New York. A multiple-award winning performer, he has appeared in recital as a soloist and chamber musician in North America, Europe and Japan. In 2008, he was awarded both First Prize and Audience Prize in the American Guild of Organists’ National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance (NYACOP). Later that same year, he won First Prize and the Yoshida Minoru Memorial Award in the Sixth International Organ Competition Musashino-Tokyo, Japan, and in 2009, he was awarded Second Prize and Audience Award in the Eighth International Schnitger Organ Competition on the historic organs of Alkmaar, the Netherlands. Other awards include two of Canada’s top scholarships for the study of organ and church music, the Lilian Forsyth and Godfrey Hewitt Memorial Scholarships, both awarded in Ottawa in 2007. His debut solo compact disc recordings on the Naxos and Pro Organo lables have received favorable international reviews, and his performances have been broadcast on radio in the United States, Canada and Germany.

Unger completed masters’ degrees in both organ and harpsichord at the Eastman School of Music as a student and teaching assistant of David Higgs and William Porter. He is a recipient of the school’s Performer’s Certificate in organ, the Jerald C. Graue Musicology Fellowship, and he currently co-instructs Eastman’s organ literature classes. He completed undergraduate studies at the University of Western Ontario, where he was a graduating recipient of the University Gold Medal. Former teachers include Ethel Briggs, Sandra Mangsen, Joel Speerstra and the late Larry Cortner, in addition to European summer academies specializing in historical keyboard performance. He is a published composer, and has worked as the Director of Music of Rochester’s Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word since October 2009.

E-mail: michaelunger@hotmail.com

Selected Press Notices

Toronto, ON, Canada
“Bravo for... his display of virtuoso and musical playing. [Michael Unger] will be a performer of note for many years to come!”
Organ Canada, July 2010

Palm Beach, FL
“[Michael Unger] proved to be a marvelous player, with fleet fingers and feet, a willingness to apply wide dynamic range in the sanctuary, and a strong, puckish sense of programming.”
Palm Beach Artspaper, November 2008

Ganderkesee, Niedersachsen, Germany
“The dancing vigor of the fugue [from Bach’s BWV 564] was controlled, and at parts throughout its performance, there were breathtaking moments of the evening in the exalted intensity of its sound... In the program’s cantus-firmus works (Scheidemann, Sweelinck, Böhm) were found the flexibility of Unger’s melodic approach, its subtle breaks and short-term sensitive-breathing tempo, and his well-shaped articulation hailing from a highly-rhetorical organization.”
“Die Fuge war kontrolliert in ihrem tänzerischen Elan, es gab in ihr Durchführungspartien, die in ihrer exaltierten Klangintensität zu den atemberaubenden Momenten des Abends wurden... In den cantus-firmus-gebundenen Werken des Programms (Scheidemann, Sweelinck, Böhm) waren die genannte Biegsamkeit von Ungers Melodiegestaltung, seine feinen Zäsuren und sensibel-atmenden Tempogestaltung im Kleinen, seine wohlausgeformte Artikulation Grundlage einer äußerst sprechenden Gestaltung.”
Weser Kurier, October 2011

”The musicians [in the audience] seemed to savor every note in peace and confidence.”
”Der Musiker schien jeden Ton in Ruhe und Souveränität auszukosten.”
Nordwest Zeitung Online, October 2011

Review of Final Rround of 2009 International Schnitger Organ Competition

(Alkmaar, the Netheralnds)
“All three [finalists] respond with individual musicality to the challenge of the final round, but there’s a clear winner of this round, whose interpretation, technical ability and strength of communication are unequivocal. Canadian Michael Unger delivers by far the most convincing performance of the evening and wins [2nd prize and] the audience prize.”
Choir and Organ Magazine, September/October 2009

Reviews of Universe of Poetry (Pro Organo, released 2009)

“Michael Unger, a former prize-winner at both the AGO and Alkmaar competitions, provides highly intelligent performances of the wide variety of repertoire on his disc. His versatility is matched by a new organ of supreme quality.”
Choir and Organ Magazine, July/August 2010

“In the entire program, Unger demonstrates his complete command and sensitivity.”
The American Record Guide, July/August 2010

“The performances on this disc convey a sense of fun and love for the music...”
The WholeNote Magazine, January 2010

Reviews of Michael Unger: Organ Recital (Naxos, released 2009)

“The recital program is a nice collection of pieces, well related to each other... As one would expect of such a prize winner, the performance is stellar.”
The Tracker, Spring 2010

“Unger exploits the organ’s potential for colouristic effect and presents Messiaen with unreserved energy and brightness.”
The WholeNote Magazine, January 2010