This artist biography is current as of the release date of this recording in 2001. Erik Wm. Suter, a native of Chicago, holds degrees in organ performance from Oberlin Conservatory and Yale University, where he studied with Haskell Thomson and Thomas Murray respectively. He has held the positions of Organ Scholar at Trinity Church, Copley Square, and Assistant Organist at the Parish of All Saints, both in Boston; and Assistant Organist and Choirmaster at Trinity Church on the Green in New Haven, Connecticut. Currently, Mr. Suter is Assistant Organist and Choirmaster at Washington National Cathedral. In addition to his duties at the Cathedral, Mr. Suter maintains an active solo recital schedule and teaches organ at American University. He has performed extensively in the United States and Canada in addition to appearing in Japan, Scandinavia, England and the Iberian Peninsula. In the spring of 1991, Mr. Suter won first prize in the Conrad Sulzer Young Performer’s Piano Competition in Chicago. He won first prize in the 1993 Chicago American Guild of Organists Young Organist’s Competition. In 1995, he won first prize in the National Undergraduate Organ Competition in Ottumwa, Iowa. In 1996, he won the Gold Medal of the Mayor of Musashino-Tokyo in the International Organ Competition Musashino in Japan. In 1997, Mr. Suter won first prize in the Yale Biennial Organ Competition. Most recently, he was selected as a finalist in the prestigious 2000 AGO National Competition in Organ Playing in Seattle. Mr. Suter has been heard on the nationally syndicated Minnesota Public Radio show “Pipedreams” and is heard as both organ soloist and choral accompanist on a variety of American record labels. In his free time Erik enjoys reading, sailing and skiing and is an avid hockey player. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife.