Dong-ill Shin, Organist and Music Associate

Dong-ill Shin
Organist and
Artist-in-Residence

Dong-ill Shin won first prize in the National Competition for Piano sponsored by the Korean Times at the age of ten and made his debut with the Pusan Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of eleven, playing Mozart’s Concerto in D minor No. 20. Attracted by J.S. Bach’s music and the orchestra-like colors produced by the organ, he began his studies with Dr. Sun-woo Cho at age fourteen. He studied with Dr. Tong-soon Kwak at Yon-sei University in Seoul and completed his Bachelor of Music degree in 1997. He then studied in France with Jean Boyer and received the Diplome Nationale Supérieur de Musique from the Conservatoire Nationale Supérieur de Musique de Lyon in Organ, Harmony, Fugue, Analysis, Improvisation, and Basso-Continuo. His dissertation at the Conservatoire was the Study of the Influence of J.P. Sweelinck Upon “Tabulatura Nova” by Samuel Scheidt. His studies continued with Olivier Latry and Michel Bouvard at the Conservatoire Nationale Supérieur de Musique de Paris in the prestigious Cycle de Perfectionnement program, which is the highest program in the French National Conservatory system. He also undertook private studies with Madame Marie-Claire Alain for Organ, and Madame Françoise Marmim for Harpsichord. During his years of study in France he won several scholarships, including awards from the Darazzi Foundation, the Meyer Foundation, and Mécèn de Société Générale. In 2004 he completed his Artist Diploma degree at the Boston Conservatory on a full scholarship, studying with James David Christie.

Shin is a prizewinner of international competitions such as Musashino-Tokyo International Organ Competition in 1996; Ciurlionis International Piano and Organ Competition, Lithuania; the 51st Prague Spring International Music Festival and Competition in 1999; the 21st St. Albans, Great Britain, in 2001; and National Young Artists Competition of Organ Performance in 2004. He has been a featured artist on KBS Radio in Korea, NHK Satellite Television in Japan, France Musique and MEZZO Television in France, Lithuanian National Television and Radio, and WCRB in Boston. He has given numerous concerts in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Norway, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, the United States, and in the Far East, at such prestigious venues as Cité de la Musique, Notre Dame de Paris, La Madelein, Cathedral de Lyon, Monpellier, and the Festival de Vieux Lyon, Festival d’Orgue a Rennes, Musashino Bunkakaikan, Harvard University, Boston University, Methuen Music Hall, and Torch Center in Seoul. Shin was Organist at Marsh Chapel, Boston University, and Interim Director of Music at Jesuit Urban Center, Boston - where there is a historic 1863 Hook & Hastings organ, and is currently the Organist/Artist-in-Residence at First United Methodist Church of Hurst, Texas.