Titus Grenyer
Titus Grenyer is an Australian organist and composer. He is currently the organist of Sydnay Town Hall. He operates the youtube channel Pep Organ and produces a variety of organ-related content.
This article is a stub, you can help expand it with more information and citations!
Organ
In July 2023, Titus announced that he had been appointed as the City of Sydney organist for the Sydney Town Hall[1][2].
Compositions
Titus has written several compositions both for solo organ and chorus.
| Year | Title | Inst. | Incipit(s) | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | O Salutaria Hostia | Choir |  |
For the St. Mary's Singers | [3] |
| 2020 | Bone Barn Dance | Organ |  |
[4] | |
| 2020 | Processional and Ricercare | Organ | Processional Ricercare |
[5][6] | |
| 2021 | Priere | Organ |  |
[7] | |
| 2021 | Rhapsody for Organ and Orchestra | Organ, orchestra | [8] | ||
| 2022 | Trumpet Festivity | Organ |  |
Dedicated to James Flores | [9] |
| 2022 | The Spirit Descends | Organ |  |
[10] | |
| 2022 | The City of Zion | Organ |  |
[11] | |
| 2022 | Highlands Idyll | Organ, orchestra | [12] |
Composition Competitions
Beginning in 2022, Titus Grenyer has organized an annual organ composition competition.
Description[13]
Typically, Titus requires submitted compositions to be newly composed and not yet released (see also the requested type of composition for each year), and he places an embargo on releasing the compositions until the results are announced.
The judges for the competition are usually selected to represent a variety of positions, from organist to non-organist to non-musician, in order to facilitate the interpretation of the work from a non-organist's perspective.
2022[14]
The following reasoning was given for the inaugural composition competition:
For too long, the world has been captured by post-modern composers, institutions, academies. But today, we're going to have a solution for that.
-Pep Organ Composition Competition 2022!!, accessed 26 July, 2023.
The requested type of composition in 2022 was one that was suitable for a church setting and intermediate in skill-level, on a maximum of two manuals with pedal.
The results were as follows[15]:
| Place | Composer | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Highly Commended | Paul Fey | Trumpet Tune in G Major |
| 2nd Prize | Graham Twist | Caprice |
| 1st Prize | Colin Ashworth | Peppy Postlude |
2023
The requested type of composition in 2023 was a piece in the Classical style (Grenyer gives c.1740-1790) that is suitable for liturgical and concert use with a maximum of two manuals and "should include a pedal part, even if its use is minimal"[16].
The results of the 2023 competition are[17]
| Place | Composer | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Highly Commended | Phil Lehenbauer | Courtly March in C |
| 3rd Prize | Luigi Mengoni | Tuba Tune on Lourdes Hymn |
| 2nd Prize | Toby J Huitson | Voluntary in G |
| 1st Prize |
No first prize was awarded in the 2023 composition competition. The reasons cited included the low quality of submitted compositions, both in terms of musicality and adherence to the Classical style, and lack of percieved influence to the organ repertoire.
Commentary
In addition to musical content, Grenyer also makes commentary videos (titled Reveries[18]) on a variety of organ and music-related topics.
References
www.youtube.com/@peporgan, accessed 26 July, 2023.
- ↑ www.youtube.com, accessed 29 July, 2023.
- ↑ whatson.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au, accessed 29 July, 2023
- ↑ www.scoreexchange.com, accessed 30 July, 2023.
- ↑ www.scoreexchange.com, accessed 30 July, 2023.
- ↑ www.youtube.com, accessed 23 August, 2023.
- ↑ www.youtube.com, accessed 23 August, 2023.
- ↑ www.scoreexchange.com, accessed 30 July, 2023.
- ↑ www.youtube.com, accessed 23 August, 2023.
- ↑ www.scoreexchange.com, accessed 30 July, 2023.
- ↑ www.scoreexchange.com, accessed 30 July, 2023.
- ↑ www.scoreexchange.com, accessed 30 July, 2023.
- ↑ www.youtube.com, accessed 23 August, 2023.
- ↑ See 2022 and 2023 references
- ↑ www.youtube.com, accessed 26 July, 2023.
- ↑ www.youtube.com, accessed 26 July, 2023.
- ↑ www.youtube.com, accessed 26 July, 2023.
- ↑ www.youtube.com, accessed 26 July, 2023.
- ↑ www.youtube.com, accessed 26 July, 2023.
