Richard Heinzle

Richard Heinzle feels fortunate to have the opportunity to perform on the wonderful organ at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church. He is currently organist at the Church of St. Andrew, Anglican, in Scarborough. He feels fortunate to be able to play the beautiful Wick’s organ. After moving to the GTA in 2001 he took organ lessons with the late Mark Toews to pursue the Associate Diploma with the RCCO. As he believes in life-long learning, he continues to attend organ academies, most recently the Kitzbühel Organ Academy in Austria in September 2022. Before the pandemic he attended the RCCO academy in Halifax, and previously the Smarano Organ Academy in Italy, the Haarlem Organ Academy in Holland, and the McGill Organ Academy in Montreal.

He has been organist and choir director in a several churches in the Ottawa, London, and Toronto area, most recently All Saints Catholic Church in Etobicoke, at Trivitt Memorial Anglican Church in Exeter, and at Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church. Before Covid, he served for three years as College Organist and Professor of Music at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College in Barry’s Bay, Ontario. One of his favourite memories is playing a concert on the 1892 Casavant Organ no. 38 in St. Eugene, Ontario, his Canadian hometown, on the occasion of its recognition as historic organ.

Richard has pursued intensive training in conducting, receiving his doctorate from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, in 2001. Currently he is the conductor and Music Director of the South Huron Community Choirs, the County Town Singers of Durham Region, and the Aurora Evergreen Choir.

Since 2001, Richard and his wife Lourdes have lived in Richmond Hill with their sons Christopher and Benjamin.