GODFREY HEWITT ANNUAL MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP COMPETITION, 2025

The annual Godfrey Hewitt Memorial Scholarship, increased in 2022 for the first time from $5,000 to $6,000 annually, has been awarded for 2025 by the Godfrey Hewitt Memorial Fund to

Isaac Howie

Isaac Howie, a Vancouver organist, entered UBC at 15, initially to study Forestry. He finished a B.Mus. in May 2025, studying organ with Michael Dirk and harpsichord/improvisation with Alexander Weimann, along with a major in Classics; he also holds an ARCT in piano performance. Since 2021, he has been organist of Holy Family Parish, Vancouver (FSSP), and has participated in workshops with David Briggs, Edoardo Belotti, David Palmer, Marc D’Anjou, and Denis Bédard. Now a sought-after collaborator, he has played with the Vancouver Symphony, improvised for Silent Movie Mondays at the Orpheum Theatre, featured in Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony with the West Coast Symphony, and at Holy Rosary; he also participated in the 2nd Internationaler Feith Orgelwettbewerb last year in Blieskastel, Germany and is a Finalist in the RCCO’s 2025 National Organ Competition. Isaac was President of the RCCO Vancouver Centre from 2024 - 25, and his choral work has been premiered by the Vancouver Chamber Choir. In September 2025, he will begin an M.Mus. with renowned historical improviser Sietze de Vries at the Prins Claus conservatoire in Groningen, Netherlands.

The Godfrey Hewitt Memorial Scholarship was established to honour the late Godfrey Hewitt, CD, DMus (Cantuar), FRCO, HonARSCM, and is administered by the RCCO Ottawa Centre. Awarded annually, the scholarship is open to an advanced organ student holding Canadian citizenship, or having permanent residency status in Canada, or a non-Canadian student who has been accepted to study full-time at a Canadian university in the following academic year, and it awards $6,000 towards further courses of study either at a university or with a particular organ teacher, within Canada or outside it. It is hoped that candidates will plan to use their skills in the future as organ teachers—not necessarily in an institution, and not necessarily as a primary source of income. Complete requirements and application details may be found at rcco-ottawa.ca/require.

Godfrey Hewitt, CD, DMus. (Cantuar), FRCO, HonARSCM, died in 2002 at the age of ninetythree. For over seventy years a prominent figure in sacred music in Canada, Dr. Hewitt left a very significant legacy to Canadian music. Born in England in 1909, he came to Canada in 1931 after serving as Organist for the Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace, London, in 1930. He became Organist and Master of the Choristers at Christ Church Cathedral, Ottawa, in 1931, and remained there for half a century, until his retirement in 1980. In 1973, Dr. Hewitt was awarded the Lambeth Doctorate of Music by the Archbishop of Canterbury; he was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1976. He was famed as performer, teacher, composer, and organ designer. This scholarship was established after his death both to honour his memory and to increase the number of highly-trained professional Canadian organists, not only to serve as organists in universities, concert halls, and churches, but also to teach future generations of performers and church musicians.

Previous winners of this scholarship were Craig Humber (2005), Isabelle Demers (2006), Michael Unger (2007), Ryan Jackson (2008), Matthieu Latreille (2009), Shawn Potter (2010), Wendy Nieuwenhuis (2011), Stephen Boda (2012), Sarah Svendsen (2013), Julie Pinsonneault (2014), Rachel Mahon (2015), Shane Murphy (2016), David Simon and Nicholas Walters (both in 2018), Stefani Bedin (2019), Samuel Lee and Manuel Piazza (both in 2020), Martin Jones (2021), Maria Gajraj (2022), Alexander Straus-Fausto (2023), and Owen Spicer (2024).

The next annual competition for the Godfrey Hewitt Memorial Scholarship in organ will close on April 30, 2026 Details may be found on the website of the Royal Canadian College of Organists, rcco-ottawa.ca/scholinfo

The Fund also offers the Godfrey Hewitt Prize of $6,000, awarded bi-annually as the Grand Prize at the National Organ-Playing Competition at the RCCO National Organ Festival; the next Prize will be awarded in July 2025 in Kirchener-Waterloo.

Further details may be obtained from:

Frances Macdonnell
613-726-7984

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