The Friends of Music at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, New Canaan, CT, present From Paris: renowned international concert organist Frédéric Blanc! - Saturday, April 18, 2026, at 5:00PM, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 111 Oenoke Ridge, New Canaan, CT.

After discovering music (by improvising at the piano and the organ) at a very young age, Frédéric Blanc began formal studies at the Conservatories of Toulouse and Bordeaux. He continued perfecting his art with notable French organists André Fleury, Marie-Claire Alain, and Marie-Madeleine Duruflé, of whom he became devoted disciple. Winner of several international competitions (the Grand Prix de Chartres, 2nd prize, 1996; and the Grand Prize of the Paris International Organ Competition, 1997), he now has a busy career as an international concert artist, playing recitals as a solo artist or with orchestra. In parallel he participates in or leads radio broadcasts, conferences, and master classes throughout Europe (most recently at the Royal Academy of Music, London) and the United States on the subjects of French music and the art of improvisation.

Frédéric Blanc is a member of the Organ Commission for the City of Paris, and a member of the Organ Commission for the French Ministry of Culture. He has recorded for the Motette, EMI, Aeolus, and Baroque Notes labels, specializing in the French organ school as well as the French art of improvisation. He serves as titular organist of the great Cavaillé-Coll organ of the Church of Notre-Dame d’Auteuil, Paris.

As a tribute to French composer and organist Maurice Duruflé in the 40th year since the death of Duruflé, Monsieur Blanc will present music of Duruflé, as well as other composers of the French school: Tournemire, Franck, Grunenwald, Alain, and Vierne. Monsieur Blanc is highly regarded for his skill in the art of improvisation, with which he will begin and conclude the recital.