-Organ Canada

"The gentle and expressive playing felt like a musical massage."

-Organ Canada

MANUEL PIAZZA

CONCERT ORGANIST

Manuel Piazza is the Assistant Director of Music at St. Thomas's Anglican Church in Toronto, where he accompanies the High Mass and Evensong choirs and directs the parish's new children's choral program, The St. Thomas's Choristers. In Organ Canada, his playing has been praised for its "seamless registration changes ... imaginative stop selections, smoothly shifting tone colours … (and) abundant energy". He won first prize in the 2021 RCCO National Organ Playing Competition and second prize in the 2024 Elizabeth B Stephens International Organ Competition, and he has held significant church positions in Canada, the United States, and England. Manuel completed his Bachelor in Organ Performance at the University of Toronto, studying with John Tuttle. He has performed in masterclasses led by Olivier Latry, William Porter, Stefan Engels, David Briggs, James O’Donnell, Ben van Oosten, Jürgen Essl, Wolfgang Zerer, Christophe Mantoux, Olivier Penin, Fréderic Blanc, and Isabelle Demers. As an undergraduate in Toronto, he served as choir director and organist at Our Lady of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church, organ scholar at Trinity College (UofT), organ scholar at St. James' Anglican Cathedral, and an organist at St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica. After graduating, he was the organ scholar at Truro Cathedral in Cornwall (UK), where he played for Evensong three times a week under the direction of Christopher Gray, and performed with ensembles such as the London Sinfonia. In May 2022, he graduated with an MM from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, where he studied organ repertoire with Martin Jean and improvisation with Jeffrey Brillhart. Additionally, he served as senior organ scholar at Trinity Church on the Green, where he was mentored by Walden Moore. He also accompanied the Schola Cantorum, conducted by David Hill. The next year, he was Interim Assistant Director of Music at Trinity Church, Boston, under the direction of Colin Lynch. Other awards include the Godfrey Hewitt Memorial Scholarship, the Mary Baker Scholarship in Organ Accompanying, the Julia R. Sherman Memorial Prize for excellence in organ playing, the Aidan Kavanagh Prize for Academic Achievement, and the Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation Prize.

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