Benjamin Sheen
Winner of the Pierre S. du Pont First Prize, 2013 Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition
Jeannine: Describe the highlights of your journey as an organist from the time you decided to play the organ to the moment you won the Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition.
Mr. Sheen: While I was a chorister at St Paul's Cathedral in London I was always struck and fascinated by the beauty and magnitude of the organ as it filled the enormous dome of the cathedral. I was already a pianist and so I wanted to begin lessons on the organ too. The range of colour that can be achieved by a single player on a single instrument on the organ can be mesmerizing and this has led me to grow particularly fond of transcriptions of piano and orchestral repertoire which was the fundamental repertoire for the Longwood competition - as far as I know, the first of its kind which was very exciting to me. Winning was a complete bonus, and a complete shock to me, but something that I will treasure for the rest of my life.
J: How did you prepare for the Longwood Gardens Competition?
Mr. Sheen: Preparation for such a big competition as Longwood is a long and demanding process all the way from choosing what repertoire to play in each round (programming of music is very important) to learning all the notes of the works, the transcriptions being a particular challenge. One also has to imagine performing it on the organ that you will compete on and familiarize yourself with the instrument as much as possible - if you cannot physically play it then talk to people who have or listen to recordings if possible. I found that steady practice and the right mental preparation for the competitive aspect is very important and Longwood was the first time that I felt happy about my playing in a competitive setting. For me it was a real challenge combining practice time for the competition with my job at St. Thomas Church in New York and my Master's degree at the Julliard School - a few late nights certainly!
J: What were the joys, frustrations, and challenges of learning the required competition repertoire? Of playing the 1929 Aeolian?
Mr. Sheen: Competitions always come with challenges and anxieties particularly with regard to trying to second guess judges' opinions on the music and getting frustrated with oneself while preparing. You are of course scrutinizing yourself in every aspect of playing and preparing a piece and while this is necessary it can also lead to frustration, particularly in the days before having to perform. The repertoire for the CD round was a particular challenge to me as I had never learnt any of the set music (mostly Dupre) and so I had to negotiate the Second Symphony in a matter of weeks before the deadline. Transcriptions are again a big challenge from a registration point of view - in limited time we were required to familiarize ourselves with a 146 rank instrument with 6 enclosed divisions and an incredible array of sounds and colours to play with (including a full percussion section and grand piano!). For example, my transcription of the Hebrides Overture of Mendelssohn required nearly 100 different settings in the space of a 10 minute piece - quite a challenge when you have just 1.5 hours to get the piece set up and ready to perform to 5 renowned judges!
J: You are establishing a concert career as a soloist and collaborative artist. What is the purpose/goal of each of your performances?
Mr. Sheen: The most important aspect of my performances is to communicate a message through the music to my audience. I not only want them to enjoy it but take something away from it - a new light on a piece or perhaps even a way that they take issue with. As musicians we are all interpreters and we reflect our personal view on the piece through its performance; whether that is the same as another organist or not doesn't matter or shouldn't matter. I make sure that I also enjoy all of my performances in order that I do justice to the great music that I have the opportunity to perform and hopefully my enjoyment is conveyed to the audience creating a more powerful atmosphere overall.
J: What would you like people to know about your work as a musician?
Mr. Sheen: Being a musician comes with a certain responsibility to engage with and hopefully educate an audience. Whether in a church setting or the concert hall stage, I try to reach out to as many potential audience members as I can through careful and varied programming of music and this is something that the Longwood Competition was so good at. We were all required to think for ourselves about what we personally wanted to play and say about the music through our performances, and whether we win or not it is more important that new people have come to hear us perform, perhaps hearing organ music for the first time and I am proud to have been part of the whole competition and the opportunity I've had to share my music with the wonderful audiences we had.
J: Where will 2013-2014 season find Benjamin Sheen?
Mr. Sheen: Having won the Longwood competition and recently come second at the St. Albans's International Organ Competition I am looking forward to being represented by Philip Truckenbrod and the performance opportunities that I hope to achieve through him. I am also hoping to record several solo CD's and have performances in Europe and beyond. I will of course be playing regularly at St. Thomas - for services as well as recitals including one in Holy Week which will be a complete performance of Tournemire's Seven Last Words from the Cross. Most services are webcast live and are available afterwards on demand on the St. Thomas website. For now, however, I will be taking a summer vacation and a more extended break from competing!
J: Other thoughts?
Mr. Sheen: This summer has been incredibly exciting for me with the two competitions I've had success at, but it is important not to get too carried away. I believe it is very important to put competitions in context and to realize that winning or losing is not the most important aspect. Competitions on this high level are an opportunity to engage with new music, hear other colleagues perform and generally extend our musical knowledge and enjoy the work of other performers. The musical world is much like an extended family which all has a similar goal to spread the word of classical music, particularly in the organ field, and try to encourage as many people as we can to enjoy the potential beauty and power of music. It was an honour to win the Longwood competition but the most valuable thing for me was to hear others perform and learn from them for my ongoing career and the whole 10-day experience will benefit me enormously as I pursue my career as an organist in whatever context that may be.
Winner of the Pierre S. du Pont First Prize, 2013 Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition
Jeannine: Describe the highlights of your journey as an organist from the time you decided to play the organ to the moment you won the Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition.
Mr. Sheen: While I was a chorister at St Paul's Cathedral in London I was always struck and fascinated by the beauty and magnitude of the organ as it filled the enormous dome of the cathedral. I was already a pianist and so I wanted to begin lessons on the organ too. The range of colour that can be achieved by a single player on a single instrument on the organ can be mesmerizing and this has led me to grow particularly fond of transcriptions of piano and orchestral repertoire which was the fundamental repertoire for the Longwood competition - as far as I know, the first of its kind which was very exciting to me. Winning was a complete bonus, and a complete shock to me, but something that I will treasure for the rest of my life.
J: How did you prepare for the Longwood Gardens Competition?
Mr. Sheen: Preparation for such a big competition as Longwood is a long and demanding process all the way from choosing what repertoire to play in each round (programming of music is very important) to learning all the notes of the works, the transcriptions being a particular challenge. One also has to imagine performing it on the organ that you will compete on and familiarize yourself with the instrument as much as possible - if you cannot physically play it then talk to people who have or listen to recordings if possible. I found that steady practice and the right mental preparation for the competitive aspect is very important and Longwood was the first time that I felt happy about my playing in a competitive setting. For me it was a real challenge combining practice time for the competition with my job at St. Thomas Church in New York and my Master's degree at the Julliard School - a few late nights certainly!
J: What were the joys, frustrations, and challenges of learning the required competition repertoire? Of playing the 1929 Aeolian?
Mr. Sheen: Competitions always come with challenges and anxieties particularly with regard to trying to second guess judges' opinions on the music and getting frustrated with oneself while preparing. You are of course scrutinizing yourself in every aspect of playing and preparing a piece and while this is necessary it can also lead to frustration, particularly in the days before having to perform. The repertoire for the CD round was a particular challenge to me as I had never learnt any of the set music (mostly Dupre) and so I had to negotiate the Second Symphony in a matter of weeks before the deadline. Transcriptions are again a big challenge from a registration point of view - in limited time we were required to familiarize ourselves with a 146 rank instrument with 6 enclosed divisions and an incredible array of sounds and colours to play with (including a full percussion section and grand piano!). For example, my transcription of the Hebrides Overture of Mendelssohn required nearly 100 different settings in the space of a 10 minute piece - quite a challenge when you have just 1.5 hours to get the piece set up and ready to perform to 5 renowned judges!
J: You are establishing a concert career as a soloist and collaborative artist. What is the purpose/goal of each of your performances?
Mr. Sheen: The most important aspect of my performances is to communicate a message through the music to my audience. I not only want them to enjoy it but take something away from it - a new light on a piece or perhaps even a way that they take issue with. As musicians we are all interpreters and we reflect our personal view on the piece through its performance; whether that is the same as another organist or not doesn't matter or shouldn't matter. I make sure that I also enjoy all of my performances in order that I do justice to the great music that I have the opportunity to perform and hopefully my enjoyment is conveyed to the audience creating a more powerful atmosphere overall.
J: What would you like people to know about your work as a musician?
Mr. Sheen: Being a musician comes with a certain responsibility to engage with and hopefully educate an audience. Whether in a church setting or the concert hall stage, I try to reach out to as many potential audience members as I can through careful and varied programming of music and this is something that the Longwood Competition was so good at. We were all required to think for ourselves about what we personally wanted to play and say about the music through our performances, and whether we win or not it is more important that new people have come to hear us perform, perhaps hearing organ music for the first time and I am proud to have been part of the whole competition and the opportunity I've had to share my music with the wonderful audiences we had.
J: Where will 2013-2014 season find Benjamin Sheen?
Mr. Sheen: Having won the Longwood competition and recently come second at the St. Albans's International Organ Competition I am looking forward to being represented by Philip Truckenbrod and the performance opportunities that I hope to achieve through him. I am also hoping to record several solo CD's and have performances in Europe and beyond. I will of course be playing regularly at St. Thomas - for services as well as recitals including one in Holy Week which will be a complete performance of Tournemire's Seven Last Words from the Cross. Most services are webcast live and are available afterwards on demand on the St. Thomas website. For now, however, I will be taking a summer vacation and a more extended break from competing!
J: Other thoughts?
Mr. Sheen: This summer has been incredibly exciting for me with the two competitions I've had success at, but it is important not to get too carried away. I believe it is very important to put competitions in context and to realize that winning or losing is not the most important aspect. Competitions on this high level are an opportunity to engage with new music, hear other colleagues perform and generally extend our musical knowledge and enjoy the work of other performers. The musical world is much like an extended family which all has a similar goal to spread the word of classical music, particularly in the organ field, and try to encourage as many people as we can to enjoy the potential beauty and power of music. It was an honour to win the Longwood competition but the most valuable thing for me was to hear others perform and learn from them for my ongoing career and the whole 10-day experience will benefit me enormously as I pursue my career as an organist in whatever context that may be.