2026 Yale Organ Academy

Apply before March 15

The 2026 Yale Organ Academy will be held from June 15-19, 2026 in New Haven, CT. This will be a unique and enriching educational opportunity for advanced undergraduate organ students to work with some of the nation’s top artists/teachers on the Yale University campus. Faculty include Ken Cowan (Rice University), Martin Jean (Yale University), James O’Donnell (Yale University), and Carole Terry (University of Washington).

For one week, students will receive daily lessons, participate in workshops on topics related to organ literature and church music, study on notable organs at Yale,* and in New Haven and its environs, and hear performances by faculty and each other in evening events. Students will encounter organ playing and teaching of the highest caliber and will meet their peers in other organ departments from around the country.

All tuition fees and costs for room and board are covered by the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, with participants to cover travel to New Haven. If chosen, there is a $75 good-faith deposit required to secure the spot.

* Please note: The Newberry Organ (Ernest Skinner, 1928) in Woolsey Hall will be under renovation in the summer and won’t be in use during the 2026 Organ Academy.

2026 Organ Academy Faculty

Eligibility

Any student who will be enrolled as a full-time undergraduate in 2026-27 or who has just graduated with the baccalaureate degree in 2026 is eligible to apply. Applicants must be 18 years old by the start of the Organ Academy term. You must be enrolled in organ study to apply, but you need not be a music major. Students apply online and submit references and recordings of their playing which will be reviewed by the Yale organ faculty. All decisions will be final.

Apply

APPLY AT THIS LINK. The application deadline is March 15, allowing time to assemble recordings and references.

Questions

To learn more, please email Clifton Massey, manager for organ and church music programs at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music.