Johannes Skoog, Royal Court Organist of Stockholm/ photo Janelle Gelfand

It took Swedish organist Johannes Skoog 24 hours to get to Cincinnati. Despite a canceled flight — originally out of Helsinki–  and almost no sleep or time to rehearse, he performed his program magnificently on the historic 1929 E.M. Skinner Concert Organ in Cincinnati Museum Center on Feb. 25.

Under the circumstances, it was an Olympian feat for him even to play at all. Best of all, Skoog seemed to be enjoying the performance, playing his mostly French repertoire with flair and offering big smiles to the audience. Most of us don’t consider the trials a touring artist must endure, especially in these days of “bomb cyclone” snowstorms and frequent “mechanical” issues. The sold-out audience assembled in the Rotunda of Union Terminal was riveted throughout his two-hour program, thronging him at intermission and awarding a standing ovation at the conclusion.

Skoog is a rising star, who won First Prize and the Bach Prize at the prestigious Canadian International Organ Competition in 2024. Now the Stockholm native is the newly appointed Royal Court Organist and is becoming accustomed to his official duties, mostly at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, he told me, but also at the royals’ charming summer home, Drottningholm.

Skoog’s program included four anthems performed with the combined choirs of Christ Church Cathedral, Stephan Casurella, director, and St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Carlton Monroe, director.Read More »