Josh Cahm (Our 2nd Place Advanced Winner in the 2026 competition) A note of thanks from Father!

I thought you might be interested to hear that it was Josh's final service at his church in Solihull today, where he was thanked for nearly 10 years as both an organist and a chorister. I am a proud parent observing his progress over the years. He accompanied various parts of the service and played the voluntary at the end of the service, the sheet music of which was taken from the beautiful book he won in the KCOA competition.

He selected the first movement of the Widor 7 as it seemed to be rarely played and sounded great on the few recordings available.

Here is a revised link to the recording: Widor Symphony No. 7 (Op. 42 No. 3), 1st Movement (Moderato), St Alphege, Solihull

We wanted to thank you and the team for organising the competition and the part you played in making Josh's year so memorable. He'd never entered a competition before the Maidstone competition and didn't rate his ability compared to others. The achievement of second prize, together with the Folkestone recital, gave him the confidence that he can hold his own in this area. 

He now moves on to York University (he's   contact with the YDOA), and various organ opportunities with a strong sense of his ability, as well as an understanding that there's so much he can develop and improve on and ultimately have a great deal of fun playing the organ