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St. Olaf College student Agnes Barthel ‘28 won the 2025 Karin Larson YourClassical Prize from Minnesota Public Radio in honor of her exceptional talent as an organist. In an interview with the station recently posted to the YourClassical website, Barthel shares how she began playing the organ and what she loves about the instrument. Her winning performance can also be viewed at the YourClassical website.

Established after Karin Larson’s passing in 2021, the award honors her commitment to female artists in classical music. The prize is divided into two separate awards: the Emerging Artist Category for young students still in high school, and the Preprofessional Musician Category for anyone between the ages of 18 and 28. Applications are open to all, with the goal of celebrating young artists and their musical talents.

On winning the Karin Larson YourClassical Prize, Barthel says, “[It is] very meaningful for me. It’s really nice, especially for some of those instruments that don’t get talked about as much – such as the organ – to be recognized in this way.” 

Barthel won the Preprofessional Musician Category by submitting an application featuring her organ performance, along with a personal essay. The song she played for her submission was “Church Bells Beyond the Stars” by Cecilia McDowall. Barthel found this piece to be both beautiful and modern, as well as perfect for the prize’s focus on female composers.

“I stumbled upon the piece, and thought ‘Oh, this is really beautiful’ and it is pretty modern. She [McDowall] had just written in 2013. I felt it fit the theme of the award so I decided I should learn it,” Barthel explains.

She even emailed McDowall to ask permission to perform her piece for the competition. McDowall responded to Barthel with encouragement and later congratulated Barthel when she won.

“The fact that the composer knew about my submission, and was happy with me taking on her work, was kind of fun,” Barthel says.

An organ performance and environmental studies major at St. Olaf, Barthel says she’s grateful for the opportunity to pursue her musical passion on a professional track at St. Olaf — which has one of the most active undergraduate organ departments in the country and a facility that houses seven practice instruments.

Barthel began playing the organ in middle school after watching an organist perform at her former Episcopal church in Duluth. She furthered her interest through a small event called Pipes, Pedals, and Pizza, where she was taken on a tour through an organ; the instrument is built into buildings, making it possible to go inside the different pipe levels. They also provided a small scholarship to help cover lessons and other necessities. Barthel has played the instrument ever since.

In the future, Barthel hopes to pursue a master’s degree in organ performance or work as a church organist. Currently, she plays for Saints Episcopal in Northfield, visits other churches to accompany their congregations, and even occasionally plays the organ at the St. Olaf home hockey games.