Tullamore International Summer Organ Series

Ekaterina Melnikova is an organist, composer and winner of many international competitions, who has played in many famous venues from Westminster Abbey in London and Notre-Dame de Paris to Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow. Born of a leading Moscow music family, her early talent was nurtured by the best of the Russian musical tradition. Her performance career includes important venues in Russia, the Middle East and Europe. Between 2005 and 2008 she was principal organist of Moscow's Roman Cathloic Cathedral; from 2003 until 2008 she taught organ improvisation at the Russian Gnessin Academy of Music. For many years she was Organ Soloist of Moscow State Philharmonia. She has gained a reputation as a master of organ transcriptions and creator of new organ repertoire.

Since 2009 started  to present organ projects in a new format where organist becomes an author and a performer, collaborating with other musicians, using modern stage production technology. Ekaterina has received several commissions to compose and perform music for state events at the most iconic of Russia’s venues.

“Ekaterina is a marvellous musician! She has a fine sense of registration and colour.” —Jean Guillou

“She has a marvellous technical facility but in addition, such persuasion and energy in her interpretations combined with total commitment to the music she is playing.” —Sir Nicholas Danby

“Ekaterina is a prolific composer and arranger and has been commissioned to write music for several important Russian state cultural events, including the inauguration of the new Glatter-Götz organ at the Bolshoy Theatre. Ekaterina’s organ transcriptions of Saint-Saёns’ The Carnival of the Animals and Borodin’s Polovtian Dances are published by Wayne Leupold Editions.” —Grand Organ Festival, Westminster Cathedral 2019