Congratulation David Kraft – 2025 Scholarship Winner!
David Kraft is currently pursuing 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.
LISTEN to David’s required Bach, romantic and hymn scholarship competition pieces below:
When in Our Music God Is Glorified, ENGELBERG, Charles Villers Stanford (1852-1924) The Presbyterian Hymnal #264
https://youtu.be/9a4hvFJyTwY
(check back next Feb 2026 for the 2026 Scholarship Competition)
$4,000* Award for 2025 (* up to $8,000) – Submission Deadline June 1, 2025
A scholarship fund was established in 1998 to honor the life and work of Dr. M. Louise Miller (1914 – 2008), a founding member (1948) of the Greater Bridgeport chapter, and to recognize her great achievements in the fields of church music, organ playing and teaching. In 2015, through a generous gift from the estate of Dr. Paul E. Knox (1930-2015), an esteemed colleague of Dr. Miller and outstanding church musician and teacher, the Greater Bridgeport Chapter of the AGO renamed the scholarship. A $4,000* scholarship will be awarded in July 2025 to an undergraduate student pursuing study in fall 2025 at an American college, conservatory, or university, leading toward a career in organ performance and church music. The winner will also be invited to play a recital in Connecticut for the AGO.
The application process includes writing a short essay and submitting a recording of two standard organ pieces (Bach and Romantic). Application deadline is June 1, 2025.
Click here for the .doc application form and detail instructions (check you Download area for the .doc). Please email lmillerpknoxscholarship@gmail.com the completed form or any other questions.
*The Greater Bridgeport AGO Chapter is also pleased to inform scholarship applicants that John Polo is also the Program Director of the Greenville SC AGO Chapter (Robert & Nancy) Powell Scholarship. Both scholarships have the same criteria and timeline but submitted separately and have separate judges. This is a unique opportunity to win up to $8,000 in scholarships. That application is available at this link.
John J. Polo
Program Director & Treasurer, M. Louise Miller-Paul E. Knox Scholarship Program
Current Judges – Galen Tate, Dr. Stephen Rapp, Kevin Bailey, Alex Hodgkinson
Former Judges – K. Bryan Kirk, Dr. Paul Knox (In Memory), Dr. John Michniewicz, Rev. Dr. Paul Jacobson, Dr. Heitor Caballero, Dr. Alice Caldwell
Previous Winners
Daniel Colaner
Ryan Giraldi
Anne Maria Lim
Katherine Jolliff
Hannah Engwall
Nathan Pennington
Elena Baquerizo
Jeremy Paul Jelinek
Alden Wright
David von Behren
Colin MacKnight
Katelyn Emerson
Amanda Mole
Mary Pan
Kevin Neel
Nicholas Capozzoli
Christopher Howerter
Scott Montgomery
Susan Beisner Powell
Frederick Teardo