Michael König
International Concert Artist and Educator
After some years as organist and music director of major churches in Vienna and Innsbruck, Austrian organist, conductor and music teacher Michael König is increasingly pursuing a career as a concert organist in Europe and overseas.
Besides his organ recitals, Michael's recent projects include organ presentations (like his series "Organ of the Month" in Innsbruck) and school programs (e.g. "Organ in Closeup" for students aged 8-18); furthermore he is frequently performing as a choral and orchestral conductor.
Jeannine: I am intrigued by how you are bringing organ music to people in a "down-to-earth" manner. Is the Organ of the Month series such a project?
Mr. König: Yes, in fact it is. The main purpose of Organ of the Month project is to present an overview of the many superb organs, great and small, in Innsbruck, Austria. However, in reality I want to give as many clues about the organ music I perform as possible. As you know audiences are not familiar with organ music and really, sometimes organ music is not easy to listen to. My goal is to help people understand why people like you and I love organ music!
Jeannine: What is the reality of making a project like this work?
Mr. König: First, I must stress that you need an entity or institution for backing and publicity. Over the past three years,the Organ of the Month project has been supported by the Music Department of the Province Museum of the Tirol.
Second, you must be creative with your publicity to
bring people to the concerts and then find ways to encourage them to become part of the Organ of the
Month community.
Jeannine: Please share ideas that are working for you
and how they are helping you meet your goal.
Mr. König: I not only create "teaser videos" to give people a glimpse of what instrument and repertoire they will experience at each concert, but I also create videos to show people what they missed by not attending the concert.
(Click here to experience Michael's stunning videos)
The 70 minute lecture/concert includes a time for questions from the audience. When we began our adventure three years ago, we had 25 people at the first concert. We now have a loyal following of 40 folks with as many as 200 at each event eager to gain an understanding of the organ as well as the repertoire I carefully choose and perform on each instrument.
I am excited to report that at our last Organ of the Month concert on a 60 rank organ in the Innsbruck Town Hall generated enough media publicity that the city of Innsbruck is now on track to preserve instead of destroy this historic organ. A very positive result of our series.
To grow our audience beyond those who can physically attend, we also offer live streaming of each of the Organ
of the Month programs.
Jeannine: What a fantastic project to bring new audiences to the organ -- my passion as well! I would love to see such a project in Portland, Oregon to grow our audiences there.
So where in the world will we find Michael König
next? I hear Kenya is the destination and organ education, another passion of mine as well, is the project. Would you please give us the highlights of this far-reaching plan?
Mr. König: I will be going to Nairobi, Kenya in May to install and curate a completely new program to train the organists of the New Apostolic Church in Eastern Africa (comprising 7,000 congregations - yes, seven thousand congregations!). These congregations are very interested to have organ music and eventually get organs for the churches.
With initial backing by Rodgers Instruments Corp., the idea is that I will train "multipliers" who will be expected to teach organ beginners. In addition to that, I will provide a video course that addresses exactly what these organists-to-be will need for accompanying services in the New Apostolic Church tradition.
I am super excited to do this! I have always wanted to contribute something and help people who really benefit from music. (To hear the marvelous singing at a NAC service accompanied by Mr. Konig, click here)
Jeannine: From my teaching and performance experiences in Zimbabwe, I know musicians in this part of the world are hungry to study and hear the organ. Are there other Michael Konig projects past or future on the African continent
Mr. König: Yes, In fact there are. Just a year ago, I had the privilege to play several concerts on the International Organ Music Festival at Port Harcourt University in Lagos, Nigeria performing with members of the Department of Music's Concert Chorus, vocal soloists, and trumpet accompaniment. The University had been gifted with a 2-manual Roland Classic Model C-330, a donation which recognized the fact that Nigeria has a huge need for trained church organists. What a thrill to share in planting the seeds for organ education in Nigeria.
And coming up later this spring is an event I can hardly imagine at this time. On May 24th, I will be in Lusaka, Zambia to play for the divine Pentecost service of the New Apostolic Church. I am told there may be over 60,000 at this service! Simply amazing!
Jeannine: Thank you, Michael, for sharing your projects, your dreams, and your vision to bring organ music to young and old in a "down-to-earth" manner.
Again, please visit Mr. König's YouTube site to learn more of his exciting work!
https://www.youtube.com/user/MusicaRegia
International Concert Artist and Educator
After some years as organist and music director of major churches in Vienna and Innsbruck, Austrian organist, conductor and music teacher Michael König is increasingly pursuing a career as a concert organist in Europe and overseas.
Besides his organ recitals, Michael's recent projects include organ presentations (like his series "Organ of the Month" in Innsbruck) and school programs (e.g. "Organ in Closeup" for students aged 8-18); furthermore he is frequently performing as a choral and orchestral conductor.
Jeannine: I am intrigued by how you are bringing organ music to people in a "down-to-earth" manner. Is the Organ of the Month series such a project?
Mr. König: Yes, in fact it is. The main purpose of Organ of the Month project is to present an overview of the many superb organs, great and small, in Innsbruck, Austria. However, in reality I want to give as many clues about the organ music I perform as possible. As you know audiences are not familiar with organ music and really, sometimes organ music is not easy to listen to. My goal is to help people understand why people like you and I love organ music!
Jeannine: What is the reality of making a project like this work?
Mr. König: First, I must stress that you need an entity or institution for backing and publicity. Over the past three years,the Organ of the Month project has been supported by the Music Department of the Province Museum of the Tirol.
Second, you must be creative with your publicity to
bring people to the concerts and then find ways to encourage them to become part of the Organ of the
Month community.
Jeannine: Please share ideas that are working for you
and how they are helping you meet your goal.
Mr. König: I not only create "teaser videos" to give people a glimpse of what instrument and repertoire they will experience at each concert, but I also create videos to show people what they missed by not attending the concert.
(Click here to experience Michael's stunning videos)
The 70 minute lecture/concert includes a time for questions from the audience. When we began our adventure three years ago, we had 25 people at the first concert. We now have a loyal following of 40 folks with as many as 200 at each event eager to gain an understanding of the organ as well as the repertoire I carefully choose and perform on each instrument.
I am excited to report that at our last Organ of the Month concert on a 60 rank organ in the Innsbruck Town Hall generated enough media publicity that the city of Innsbruck is now on track to preserve instead of destroy this historic organ. A very positive result of our series.
To grow our audience beyond those who can physically attend, we also offer live streaming of each of the Organ
of the Month programs.
Jeannine: What a fantastic project to bring new audiences to the organ -- my passion as well! I would love to see such a project in Portland, Oregon to grow our audiences there.
So where in the world will we find Michael König
next? I hear Kenya is the destination and organ education, another passion of mine as well, is the project. Would you please give us the highlights of this far-reaching plan?
Mr. König: I will be going to Nairobi, Kenya in May to install and curate a completely new program to train the organists of the New Apostolic Church in Eastern Africa (comprising 7,000 congregations - yes, seven thousand congregations!). These congregations are very interested to have organ music and eventually get organs for the churches.
With initial backing by Rodgers Instruments Corp., the idea is that I will train "multipliers" who will be expected to teach organ beginners. In addition to that, I will provide a video course that addresses exactly what these organists-to-be will need for accompanying services in the New Apostolic Church tradition.
I am super excited to do this! I have always wanted to contribute something and help people who really benefit from music. (To hear the marvelous singing at a NAC service accompanied by Mr. Konig, click here)
Jeannine: From my teaching and performance experiences in Zimbabwe, I know musicians in this part of the world are hungry to study and hear the organ. Are there other Michael Konig projects past or future on the African continent
Mr. König: Yes, In fact there are. Just a year ago, I had the privilege to play several concerts on the International Organ Music Festival at Port Harcourt University in Lagos, Nigeria performing with members of the Department of Music's Concert Chorus, vocal soloists, and trumpet accompaniment. The University had been gifted with a 2-manual Roland Classic Model C-330, a donation which recognized the fact that Nigeria has a huge need for trained church organists. What a thrill to share in planting the seeds for organ education in Nigeria.
And coming up later this spring is an event I can hardly imagine at this time. On May 24th, I will be in Lusaka, Zambia to play for the divine Pentecost service of the New Apostolic Church. I am told there may be over 60,000 at this service! Simply amazing!
Jeannine: Thank you, Michael, for sharing your projects, your dreams, and your vision to bring organ music to young and old in a "down-to-earth" manner.
Again, please visit Mr. König's YouTube site to learn more of his exciting work!
https://www.youtube.com/user/MusicaRegia