75 years of the Haarlem Summer Academy: the center of international organ culture

In 2026, the Haarlem Summer Academy for professional organists will celebrate its 75th anniversary!
Since its founding in 1951, the Summer Academy has become the undisputed center of global organ culture. Each year, nearly one hundred students from around the world travel to Haarlem to learn from top organists and play on instruments such as the impressive 1738 Christian Müller organ in the Grote or St. Bavokerk.

Registration for the courses opens in the first week of January 2026.
At the same time the registration for the Improvisation Competition will start. Stay tuned!

Courses in week 1 (Monday 20th – Friday 24th July 2026)

  1. Improvisation 1 – beginners (teacher: Inger-Lise Ulsrud, Norway)
  2. Improvisation 2 – advanced/experimental (teacher: Franz Danksagmüller, Germany)
  3. Organ music by Johann Sebastian Bach 1 (teacher: Matthias Havinga, Netherlands)
  4. Organ music by Johann Sebastian Bach 2 (teacher: Manuel Tomadin, Italy)
  5. Organ music by Sweelinck, Scheidt & Scheidemann (teacher: Matthias Havinga, Netherlands)
  6. Organ music from the Italian Baroque period (teacher: Manuel Tomadin, Italy)
  7. Organ music from the French Classical period (teacher: Aude Heurtematte, France)
  8. Organ music by César Franck (teacher: Christophe Mantoux, France)
  9. Organ music by Jehan Alain & Maurice Duruflé (teacher: Christophe Mantoux, France)
  10. Organ music by Louis Vierne & Charles-Marie Widor (teacher: Ben van Oosten, Netherlands)
  11. Young Talents Class (all teachers)
  12. Excellence Class (all teachers)

Courses in week 2 (Monday 27th – Friday 31st July 2026)

  1. Young Talents Class (all teachers)
  2. Excellence Class (all teachers)
  3. Improvisation (teacher: Thomas Lacôte, France)
  4. Organ music by Johann Sebastian Bach 1 (teacher: Wolfgang Zerer, Germany)
  5. Organ music by Johann Sebastian Bach 2 (teacher: Bine Katryn Bryndorf, Denmark)
  6. Organ music by Georg Muffat and contemporaries (teacher: Wolfgang Zerer, Germany)
  7. Organ music from the North German Baroque period (teacher: Bine Katryn Bryndorf, Denmark)
  8. Organ music by Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann & Johannes Brahms (teacher: Stefan Engels, United States)
  9. Organ music by Sigfrid Karg-Elert & Max Reger (teacher: Stefan Engels, United States)
  10. Organ music by Olivier Messiaen (teacher: Thomas Lacôte, France)
  11. Organ music by César Franck (teacher: Eric Lebrun, France)
  12. Organ music by Jehan Alain & Gaston Litaize (teacher: Eric Lebrun, France)
  13. Organ music by Hendrik Andriessen & Albert de Klerk (teacher: Leo van Doeselaar, Netherlands)
  14. Organ music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and contemporaries (teacher: Leo van Doeselaar)