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Research Grants
The Ruth and Clarence Mader Memorial Scholarship Fund offers grants to support research on topics related to organs, organists, and organ repertoire. Grants of up to $1,250 will be awarded and preference will be given to research that will lead to published articles or books. Research projects involving the creation of recordings or digital resources will also be considered.
Grant recipients are asked to submit a short report summarizing their research progress approximately one year after receiving a grant and are also asked to acknowledge the Mader Memorial Scholarship Fund in any publications related to the grant. Questions about the grant program and application process can be directed to James Walker, Chair, Research Grant Committee using the contact form below.
2025 Research Grants have already been awarded and a new round will be offered soon. Stay tuned.
Full list of past research grant recipients are below.
Year | Recipient | Research Description |
|---|---|---|
1999 | Burton Tidwell | A study of the Works of Lawrence Phelps (Book published in 2015: Lawrence Phelps: Organ Builder) |
1999 | Nancy Kay Barnard | John Milton and the Organ |
2000 | Agnes Armstrong | Alexandre Guilmant, his tours in America, and his influence on the American organ profession |
2000 | Michael Friesen | Study of painters, sculptors and engravers who were organists or organ builder in pre-Civil War America |
2000 | Brenda Leech | Training and pedagogical practices of concert organists in Russia |
2000 | Barbara Owen | Research in Halifax on two early American church musicians, William and John Selby |
2001 | Ronald Ebrecht | In support of research contributing to book Maurice Duruflé, 1902-1986: The Last Impressionist (Rowman & Littlefield, 2002) |
2002 | Laura A. Carasco | Study of life and works of Miguel Bernal Jiménez |
2003 | Ronald Ebrecht | Research for book on Cavaillé-Coll’s plans for an organ for Saint Peter’s, Rome (Book published in 2011: Cavaillé-Coll's Monumental Organ Project for Saint Peter's, Rome) |
2003 | Stephen Warner | Documentation of the E.M. Skinner Organ of Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian Church, Detroit |
2004 | Stephen Schnurr | Moller Opus List (with Scott Huntington) |
2004 | Jane Hettrick | Critical edition of selected sacred motets with concerted organ parts by Franz Schneider |
2004 | Sabin Levi | Organs and Organists in Israel |
2005 | Jonathan B. Hall | Research on life and work of Calvin Hampton; later published Calvin Hampton: A Musician without Borders (Wayne Leupold, 2008) |
2005 | Scott M. Hyslop | Research on Paul Manz; later published The Journey Was Chosen: The Life and Work of Paul Manz (Morningstar Publishers, 2007) |
2006 | Carolyn Shuster-Fournier | In support of research on French organists and organ builders; research later published in “Pierre Cogen: Organiste-compisteur dans la tradition de Sainte-Clotilde” in L’orgue: Bulletin des Amis de l’Orgue (2007) |
2006 | Tina Fruhauf | In support of research later published in The Organ and its Music in German-Jewish Culture (Oxford University Press, 2009) |
2006 | Randall D. Engle | In support of research on Dutch Calvinist church music, later published in the chapter “A Devil’s Siren or Angel’s Throat? The Pipe Organ Controversy among the Calvinists,” In John Calvin, Myth and Reality: Images and Impact of Geneva’s Reformer (Cascade Books, 2011) |
2018 | Christopher Holman | Recording of Swiss Renaissance Organ Music |
2018 | Alexander Meszler | In support of research on the organ and secularized churches in the Rust Belt region |
2018 | Jane Schatwin Herrick | A Newly Discovered Organist Contract from 1824 in the Vienna Lutheran Church |
2018 | Damin Spritzer | In support of recordings of English romantic music at Hereford Cathedral, later released as "Rhapsodies & Elegies: English Romantic Organ Music" (Raven OAR-156, 2018) |
2019 | Russell Weissman | Book project on Rudolf von Beckerath |
2019 | Steven Young | Research on organist/composer Marthe Bracquemond |
2019 | Stephanie Barth | In support of Mildred Andrews Boggs: Oklahoma’s First Lady of the Organ (Leupold Editions, 2022) |
2022 | Anne Laver | Database project on the organ concerts of the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition, published on annelaver.com |
2023 | Emma Whitten | In support of research on women organists in Latin America, including research published in "Women Organists in Latin American, The American Organist (January 2024) |
2023 | Damin Spritzer | In support of a recording project focusing on previously unrecorded women composers on the Fisk organ at the University of Oklahoma |
2025 | David Pickering | In support of his research in writing a biography of G. Donald Harrison. |
2025 | Natalie Draper | In support of the final stage of producing her compositional debut album "Interlaced," featuring organ music of a contemporary female composer with organist Anne Laver as soloist and with a variety of collaborative performers. |
2025 | John Roberts Daniels | In support of his research for a book on the organs of Clarence E. Morey. |
2025 | Burton Tidwell | In support of his two current projects: a retrospective on organ building in the USA since the 1926 Organ Reform Conference; and a book documenting the work of Robert Sipe. |
Contact the Research Grant Committee Chair
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