Greater Bridgeport Chapter of the American Guild of Organists

Greater Bridgeport Chapter of the American Guild of Organists A wonderful eco-system of church musicians, choral directors, instrumentalists, soloists, churches, pipe organs, vendors and enthusiastic supporters.

Exquisite Young Organist Talent! Each year we are blessed to bring the national winner of the Robert & Nancy Powell Scho...
06/14/2026

Exquisite Young Organist Talent! Each year we are blessed to bring the national winner of the Robert & Nancy Powell Scholarship (Greenville, SC) and separately, the M. Louise Miller - Paul E. Knox (Greater Bridgeport, CT) locally to perform for chapter members, donors and the public. These special young musicians compete amongst young undergraduate organists from 75+ organ study programs across the USA for $7,000 in prize monies. While local, they get to play wonderful pipe organs in the respective areas, and we enjoy spoiling them at the same time.

There is great sense of pride with each of the competitions, the judges, and all involved. We have now wrapped up the 2025 winner recital season. The links below illustrate photos and snippets of our winners while visiting Greenville, SC, and Fairfield/New Haven county, CT. We all have a great time! Enjoy the various pipe organs and seeing many smiling faces.

James Jeffery - 2025 Robert & Nancy Powell Scholarship Winner, Greenville, SC (www.greenvilleago.org)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/86k7dBwF4ZrvMfvV9

David Kraft - 2025 M. Louise Miller - Paul E. Knox Scholarship Winner, Bridgeport, CT (www.greaterbridgeportago.org)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Hg3Ftq3UwHYrAYn79

The 2026 scholarship winners will be announced in July - stay tuned!

John Polo, Program Director

We had a wonderful time spoiling David Kraft, the 2025 M. Louise Miller - Paul E. Knox Scholarship winner. David perform...
06/13/2026

We had a wonderful time spoiling David Kraft, the 2025 M. Louise Miller - Paul E. Knox Scholarship winner. David performed at St. Theresa RC Church, Trumbull, CT for his winner recital using the two pipe organs, chancel and gallery, followed by the chapter's annual dinner. You can check out photos and snippets of all of the pipe organs in his visit to CT from Rochester, NY (Eastman School of Music) at https://photos.app.goo.gl/Hg3Ftq3UwHYrAYn79 .

While David was here we visited and played pipe organs at the Fish Church in Stamford (First Presbyterian Church, Stamford); the Cathedral of Saint Augustine, Bridgeport; the Chapel of the Holy Spirit, Sacred Heart University, Fairfield; Trinity Episcopal, New Haven; Center Church, New Haven; Marquand Chapel, Yale Institute of Sacred Music; Dwight Chapel, Yale University; Battell Chapel, Yale University. Unfortunately the Woolsey Newberry organ was down for summer maintenance. The photo gallery link includes snippets of David playing. Special thank you to Anne Maria Lim and Alex Little for being our tour guides in New Haven.

Sunday, June 14, 3:00 PM - The SHARDS DUO in Concert, Stratford United Methodist Church, 2600 Main Street, Stratford, CT...
06/11/2026

Sunday, June 14, 3:00 PM - The SHARDS DUO in Concert, Stratford United Methodist Church, 2600 Main Street, Stratford, CT. Clarinet and Percussion Duo. Open to all.

Saturday, June 6, 3:00 PM, Admission: Free - Sacred Choral Music, The Fish Church, First Presbyterian Church, 1101 Bedfo...
06/02/2026

Saturday, June 6, 3:00 PM, Admission: Free - Sacred Choral Music, The Fish Church, First Presbyterian Church, 1101 Bedford Street, Stamford, CT. www.earlymusicchambersingers.com

THIS SUNDAY, 4:30 PM, David Kraft, organist, 2025 M. Louise Miller - Paul E. Knox Scholarship Competition winner perform...
06/02/2026

THIS SUNDAY, 4:30 PM, David Kraft, organist, 2025 M. Louise Miller - Paul E. Knox Scholarship Competition winner performs for us on the two pipe organs at St. Theresa Church, 5301 Main Street, Trumbull, CT. All our welcome. Handicapped accessible. Free parking.

For more information, and dinner option: https://greaterbridgeportago.org/programs/2025-2026-programs/annual-member-dinner-and-scholarship-winner-recital/

Join us to welcome David Kraft, recent graduate of Eastman School of Music, as he presents his winner's program.

David's program includes the following:

Prelude and Fugue D Major ‘Halleluja’ - Franz Schmidt (1874–1939)

On the Roche pipe organ: Fantasia Cromatica, SsWV 258 - Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562–1621)

Partita ‘Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland’, op.8 no.1 - Hugo Distler (1908–1942)
I. Toccata
II. Choral mit Variationen
III. Chaconne
IV. Toccata

Douze Pièces pour Grand Orgue - Gaston Litaize (1909–1991)
III. Lied

Pièce pour Grand Orgue en la majeur - César Franck (1822–1890)

Prélude et Fugue sur le nom d'Alain, op. 7 - Maurice Duruflé (1902–1982)

www.greaterbridgeportago.org

05/12/2026
SAVE THE DATE AND JOIN US - David Kraft, 2025 M. Louise Miller - Paul E. Knox Scholarship Organ Competition Winner's Rec...
05/12/2026

SAVE THE DATE AND JOIN US - David Kraft, 2025 M. Louise Miller - Paul E. Knox Scholarship Organ Competition Winner's Recital & Annual Chapter Dinner, Sunday, June 7, 4:30 PM, St. Theresa RC Church, 5301 Main Street Trumbull.

The evening starts at 4:30 PM with David Kraft’s recital at the acoustically resonate St. Theresa’s RC Church, Trumbull. David will be using both the chancel 3-keyboard, 39-rank Peragallo pipe organ, and the gallery 2-keyboard tracker 11-rank Roche for this program. The concert is open to all.

We then drive down Main Street (same street as the church; 3 miles) to Ecco Wine Bar at 6:00 PM for the annual dinner, to meet David, and a chance to coast into summer with fellow chapter members and guests. All are welcome. The dinner includes appetizer, main course (multiple entrees), and dessert. The dinner cost is $40 per person. Drinks are provided by the chapter.

To register and pay for the event, please follow these two steps:
1. Click on the registration link by June 4th deadline to provide your details and reserve your spot. Registration link:
https://allevents.in/trumbull/annual-member-dinner-of-the-greater-bridgeport-chapter-ago-tickets/80001464692112

2. Click on PayPal link to complete your payment https://greaterbridgeportago.org/online-payments/ Alternatively bring a check to the door for $40 per person payable to the Greater Bridgeport AGO. Still please reserve if you a bringing a check so we have a good headcount for the caterer.

The recital is open to the public – suggested donation.

About Our Performer

David Kraft has recently graduated and received a Bachelor of Music degree in Organ Performance at the Eastman School of Music in the studio of David Higgs. A native of the Rochester, NY area, he began lessons in piano at the age of 5 and studied organ from the age of 13 through high school with John Morabito. For the past several years, he has served an integral role as Assistant Organist at Rochester’s Sacred Heart Cathedral, where he assisted in the founding and education of the Cathedral Youth Schola.

In the fall of 2021, David received First Prize in the 24th annual Albert Schweitzer Organ Competition. As a freshman undergraduate, he was selected as a finalist in the Lynnwood Farnam Organ Competition, performing in Montreal. He has also performed in masterclasses held by Chelsea Chen, Jean-Baptiste Robin, and Janette Fishell. In 2024, he was featured in concert on Pipedreams Live!

Additionally, David is an experienced organ technician and instrument builder employed by Parsons Pipe Organ Builders. He services and maintains instruments both at the Eastman School of Music and in churches across Western New York several times per week in addition to full-time studies in performance. In the summer of 2024, he traveled to Evansville, Indiana, to take part in the weeks-long installation of Parsons Opus 52 (III/70) at St. Benedict’s Cathedral. Furthermore, he is actively involved in the repair and construction of virtual pipe organs, reed organs, and harmoniums.

Since the beginning of his undergraduate studies, he has conducted research on the French Baroque organ building tradition in an effort to design and construct an 18th-century table organ in the style of Jean-Baptiste Micot–a project which nears completion today.

In August 2024, David was appointed Organist at the United Church of Canandaigua, where he collaborates with a wide variety of choirs, ensembles, and soloists in a vibrant and active music program. Most recently, he was invited to perform at Charleston’s historic St. Michael’s Church as part of the 2025 Piccolo Spoleto L’Organo recital series in Charleston, SC. This same year, he was honored as a member of The Diapason’s 20 Under 30 Class of 2025 in recognition of his accomplishments as both a performer and an organ builder.

https://greaterbridgeportago.org/welcome/m-louise-miller-paul-e-knox-scholarship/

Address

Fairfield, CT

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