ECHO Organ Competition 'Jehan Crinon' | Leuven 2026

When: From 8th till 11th July 2026 (rehearsal time starts on July 7, early morning)
Where: in Leuven
Instruments: Goltfuss (1692) and Contius (2022) organs
Condition: Open to organists born after June 30, 1996
Regulations: follow this link.

 

Programme

Preselection
Deadline: 31st January 2026 (cfr. section "Registration")
​Candidates are required to submit recordings of the following pieces:

1. A fast movement of their own choice from a trio sonata by Johann Sebastian Bach.
2. A Chorale Prelude of their own choice by Johannes Brahms.
3. A piece from the 16th or 17th century, 3–6 minutes in length, chosen freely from the works of Peeter Cornet, John Bull, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck or Abraham van den Kerckhoven.

First Round
Date: July 8–9, 2026
Number of Candidates: Maximum 12
Goltfuss Organ

1. An intabulation (Motettenkolorierung, Tiento or Canción) by Heinrich Scheidemann, Antonio de Cabezón or Peter Philips.
2. “Een Kindeken is ons geboren” by John Bull (own choice between one of the existing and edited versions).
3. Own choice of (an) existing composition(s) that suit(s) the organ (no arrangements or transcriptions). 
   
   The total program may not exceed 25 minutes. The originality and creativity of the proposal will also be taken into account to assess the quality of the programme.
   
   
   

Contius Organ

1. From the Five Inventions by Benoît Mernier (Billaudot Edition), choice between inventions I, IV or V.
2. One of the following Preludes and Fugues from the Leipzig period, by J.S. Bach: BWV 544; BWV 546; BWV 547; BWV 548 or BWV 552. 
3. Own choice of (an) existing composition(s) that suit(s) the organ (no arrangements or transcriptions).
   
   The total program may not exceed 25 minutes. The originality and creativity of the proposal will also be taken into account to assess the quality of the programme.

Final Round
Date: July 11, 2026
Number of Candidates: Maximum 6​

1. A chorale fantasy from this list:
   • Buxtehude: Gelobet seist du, Herr Jesu Christ (BuxWV 188) or Nun freut euch, lieben Christen gmein (BuxWV 210)
   • Reincken: Was kann uns kommen an für Not 
   • Bruhns: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland
   • Lübeck: Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ                        
2. A trio chorale by J.S. Bach form this list:
   • Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend (BWV 655)
   • Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr (BWV 664)
   • Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr BWV 676 
   • Jesus Christus, unser Heiland  BWV 688                        
3. One piece performed together with another musician – choice between:
   • a vocal work by Heinrich Schütz, performed together with a singer.
   • a violin sonata by Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, performed together with a violinist.
     The soloists (violinist/singers - every voice type is possible) will be provided by the organisation and their names of will be published on the website.
4. Own choice of (a) composition(s) that suit(s) the organ. These can be existing compositions, participant’s own works, as well as transcriptions or arrangements.
   
   ​The total program has to be between 40 and 45 minutes. The originality and creativity of the proposal will also be taken into account to assess the quality of the programme. The candidate is also asked to write a presentation/argumentation of his/her programme for the Final Round (maximum 400 words).
   
   

 

Jury

Jury for the preselection: Francesca Ajossa, Wim Winters, Luc Ponet & Bernard Foccroulle.

Jury for the first and Final Round: Bernard Foccroulle, Chairman (Brussels), Juan-Maria Pedrero (Granada), Bine Bryndorf (Roskilde), Luc Ponet (Leuven) and Aurore Baal (ECHO Young Organist of the year 2017).

 

prizes

First Prize: the title of ‘ECHO Young Organist 2027’,  € 5.000, 6 concerts in Europe.
Second Prize: € 2.000, 4 concerts in Europe 
Third Prize:  € 1.000, 2 concerts in Europe
Public Prize: TBD

 

Registration

Deadline: 31st January 2026
To be officially registered, you need to:

1. Complete this Google form;
2. Pay the entry fee (not refundable) of 50€ on the bank account of "Leuven Orgelstad - ECHO" BE08 7320 7245 5213 with communication "Competition - Name participant"
3. Send the following documents to the email [email protected]​
   1. A copy of their passport or ID card (PDF file)
   2. Biography (Word file, max 300 words)
   3. A recent high-resolution photo suitable for print (JPG file)
   4. Audio recordings: 
       The audio recordings have to be sent via WeTransfer to [email protected] and must meet the following requirements:
      i. Each piece must be a separate audio file (a total of three files).
      ii. The file name must include the name of the piece and the candidate.
      iii. Recordings must be WAV or MP3 files of good quality.
      iv. Recordings must be unedited and made on a pipe organ.
      Videos are not accepted; only audio recordings are allowed to ensure anonymity.