When well-respected musical masters experience a young performer and are aghast, astonished, and delighted by the level of technical ability and sheer artistry they see and hear, one pays close attention to their words of praise. The mind-boggling technical wizardry and kaleidoscopic tonal inventiveness exhibited by this German organist compelled the jury of the 2019 Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition, in deliberations which took under 30 minutes, to unanimously name him the Pierre S. du Pont First Prize Winner. His debut CD released in 2016 was hailed by Germany’s Journal für die Orgel as “absolutely authentic, technically perfect, fiery, and enthralling”. As a chorister in the famed St. Thomas Choir in Leipzig, Sebastian is steeped in the music of his native country. Yet his recital programs contain a broad spectrum of organ works, including his own staggering transcriptions of orchestral repertoire. Sebastian Heindl is represented in North America exclusively by Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists, LLC,

Wednesday, June 21, 7-8 p.m.

Free will offering.

Organist: Sebastian Heindl, at the age of 21, was the youngest and the only European competitor in the 2019 Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition. In addition to receiving the Pierre S. du Pont First Prize (with a cash award of $40,000), Heindl also walked away with the audience Choice Prize and the AGO Philadelphia Chapter Prize, recognizing his outstanding performance of the judges’ choice piece, “To Longwood Gardens” by Samuel Barber.

Born in 1997 in Gera, Thuringia, Germany, Sebastian received his fundamental musical education as a chorister in the famed St. Thomas Boys Choir, Leipzig.