Finding My Balance on a New Organ at the Sydney Organ Competition

Tiger Han

Oct 7

2 min read

Every organ has its own personality. You can prepare the same program carefully, but when you sit at a different instrument, you still have to learn how to listen, adjust and respond.

That was one of the most interesting parts of my experience at the Sydney Organ Competition 2026, held at St Philip’s Church.

The organ at St Philip’s is an older instrument, and it presented some challenges that I had not encountered during my usual practice. During the rehearsal, I quickly discovered that the pedal board could be quite noisy, especially in fast running passages. I found that I had to place my foot almost straight down onto the pedal and lift it carefully to avoid unnecessary sounds.

The manuals also required some adjustment. The keys needed to be worked a little harder than I am used to, so I had to adapt my touch and make sure that every note spoke clearly.

Even the bench felt different — slightly narrower than the one I normally use at school. These might sound like small details, but when you are coordinating two hands, two feet, registration changes and everything else at the organ, they matter.

And then there was one particularly memorable moment.

While playing the Saint-Saëns Fantaisie, I almost lost my balance for a split second. Both my legs were up in the air, and I suddenly thought:

“Hmm… am I going to fall off the bench?”

It was probably no more than 0.05 seconds of panic.

Luckily, I didn't fall ... and, more importantly, the music didn't stop.

No one noticed except me. Perhaps that is one of the secrets of performing: sometimes the audience hears a completely uninterrupted performance while the performer has experienced a tiny internal drama.

By the end, I was very happy with how well I played my repertoire. I particularly enjoyed the challenge of adapting to an unfamiliar instrument and discovering how it responded.

There was also a great deal of teamwork behind the performance. Having someone help with page turns and registration changes made a real difference and allowed me to focus on the music.

Most of all, I was grateful for my teacher's encouragement before the competition. That gave me the confidence to go on stage, adapt to the instrument and enjoy the performance.

Receiving First Prize in the Junior Section, the Best Baroque Work Prize and the Hymn Prize was a wonderful result, but the most valuable part of the day was the experience itself. I learned how to respond to a different instrument and stay calm when something unexpected happens.

Every organ teaches you something different. This time, I learned to listen more carefully to the keys, to the pedals and to the instrument itself.

And, apparently, to keep both feet firmly under control.