Meet a teacher - Aaron Sunstein

“The organ is the instrument for those who like cultural history, to move their whole body and want to tackle a wide repertoire, everything from 14th century music to contemporary organ music. As an organist, you also have good chances of getting a job as a church musician or teacher”, says Aaron Sunstein, university lecturer in music theory and church music.

Aaron Sunstein is originally from Boston in the USA. Before he moved to Sweden, he hardly knew anything about the country, let alone Piteå. He thought Oslo was in Sweden. Having lived in Sweden since 2008, he thinks he knows what he talks about when he claims that Sweden is a paradise for organists, not least Piteå.

“Thanks to the fine churches, there are fantastic organs throughout the country. Here at the Academy of Music in Piteå, we have an incredible range of organs, everything from the Orgel Acusticum, which is one of Sweden's largest organs, to a medium-tempered baroque organ in Norrfjärden church. You who are studying to become an organist with us hardly need to queue to practice on one of our organs.”

Opportunity for stimulating meetings

In addition to the selection of organs, Aaron Sunstein highlights the opportunity for stimulating meetings with other musicians at the Piteå Academy of Music at Luleå University of Technology.

“As an organist, you need to learn to accompany a choir. As part of the training, therefore, there is a close collaboration with the school choir and Erik Westberg, one of Sweden's most prominent choir leaders. The Academy of Music in Piteå is small, which means there is a close relationship between the students and the teachers in different genres. There are therefore plenty of opportunities to, alongside the compulsory course elements, be inspired by what is going on in the other courses in composition, classical music, studio musicianship, jazz and rock.”

He also likes to highlight the physical environment.

“As a student, you have a housing guarantee. The students live close to each other, which creates a special community. You get to stay in nice premises. I especially like the somewhat monastery-like courtyard. If you, like me, enjoy being outdoors, you will appreciate that you have nice nature close with large forests and proximity to the sea.”

In order to be admitted to the training as a church musician, you do not need to have much experience with the organ. If you are a good pianist, you have a good chance of getting in. You also have good chances of getting a job afterwards.

“The Church of Sweden is Sweden's largest concert organizer. For organists, there are full-time positions throughout the country. This means that you can, if you wish, parallelly engage in other forms of musical activity, such as composition, singing or solo pianist, which are not as secure a source of income.”

An extensive repertoire

Apart from the guitar, there is no other instrument in Western music that has been in use for as long as the organ. This means that the organ has a repertoire that extends from the Middle Ages to the present day. Few other instruments can display the organ's range of timbres. Aaron Sunstein describes the organs almost as individuals, where every little church organ has its very own sound coloured by the unique room in which the organ is located.

“In addition to the manuals that you play with your hands, you can play another melody line with your feet. It offers more possibilities compositionally than a piano because you can combine several melodies. You play as much with your hands as with your feet. It's like a full workout!”