Felix Hell was born on September 14, 1985, in Frankenthal/Pfalz, Germany. He took his first piano lesson at the age of seven, followed by his first organ lesson shortly after his eighth birthday. On Easter 1994, still eight years old, he performed in his first service as an liturgical organist. Also in 1994, he participated in the German competition for young musicians Jugend musiziertï, and was awarded with two First Prizes in organ playing, following by First Prizes in 1996 (piano solo), 1997 (organ solo) and 1999 (piano solo). Felix Hell pursued his organ studies at the Hochschule für Kirchenmusik in Heidelberg, studying with Johannes Michel and Christiane Michel-Ostertun. Additional coaching during this period of his education he received in courses with Professors Martin Lücker, Frankfurt; Pieter van Dijk, Amsterdam; Oleg Yantchenko, Moscow; Wolfgang Rübsam, Saarbrücken; Leo Krümer, Speyer; Franz Lehrndorfer, Munich; and Robert Griffith, Delaware/Ohio. In September 1999 he enrolled at The Juilliard School, New York, where he had been awarded a merit-based full tuition scholarship. In September 2001 Felix Hell has been admitted, again under full tuition scholarship, at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he has been studying with Dr. John Weaver and Alan Morrison, with additional coaching/masterclasses with Professors Martin Jean, Marie-Claire Alain, Joan Lippincott and Gillian Weir. He received his Bachelor of Music degree in May 2004 at the age of 18 and became the youngest Organ Major ever to graduate from Curtis. His graduate studies Felix Hell is pursuing, under the guidance of Professor Donald Sutherland, at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, where he he received his Artist Diploma degree in May 2007and completed his studies with the Master of Music degree in 2008. Felix Hell is member of the American Guild of Organists, the Organ Historical Society, the German Gesellschaft der Orgelfreunde and the Organ Society of Sydney. He is Organ Artist Associate of St. Peters Lutheran Church in Manhattan, New York City, Distinguished Organist in Residence to the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, PA. Very recently he was appointed as Organ Instructor at the Sunderman Conservatory, Gettysburg, PA. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.