Eleia Bouton: From Promising Student to Westminster Scholar

As if sixteen-year-old Eleia Bouton’s life were not busy enough with six siblings, home-school studies, foreign languages, piano, flute, ballet, and a growing schedule of musical performances, she continues to pursue a passion that began just two years ago — the pipe organ.

Conveniently, she has a pipe organ at her disposal. Her father, Ryan, is the pastor at The Quechee Church, home to an organ rumored to have been built in the 1880s. What began as curiosity has blossomed into remarkable achievement. In the two years since she first sat at the organ bench, Eleia has developed into an accomplished young organist whose talent is drawing attention well beyond the Upper Valley.

Most recently, Eleia was invited to attend the prestigious Westminster Organ Institute at Rider University in New Jersey, where gifted young organists from across the country study with internationally recognized performers and teachers. The invitation is a testament not only to Eleia’s natural musical gifts, but also to the discipline and determination she brings to every practice session.

At the Westminster Organ Institute, Eleia will study with Dr. Michael Diorio, one of the nation’s respected organ educators. Her assigned repertoire includes Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Prelude and Fugue in A Minor, BWV 559,” a cornerstone of the organ literature that demands technical precision, musical maturity, and stylistic understanding. She will also study “Crimond (Hymn No. 663),” the beloved hymn tune associated with “The Lord’s My Shepherd.” Together, these selections reflect both the technical challenges and expressive beauty that await her during this intensive summer program.

The organ is not an instrument for the faint of heart. While it is a cousin of the piano, in that they both have keyboards, that is where the similarity ends. Mastery of the organ requires extraordinary focus, concentration, and coordination of both hands and feet. And practice. Lots of practice.

When interviewed at The Quechee Church shortly after beginning her studies, Eleia explained the transition from piano to organ.

The Bouton Clan

“There are a lot of differences,” she said. “The organ requires nuances and technique so the sound is smooth. The length of time that a key is held is the length of time its sound is produced. A fraction of a second can make a big difference.”

Eleia credits her ballet training with helping her understand that the gracefulness essential to a dancer is equally important to an organist. Moving her feet across the pedalboard to play the bass line requires precision and fluidity while her hands independently perform music on two keyboards.

“It is very much like rubbing your stomach and patting your head at the same time,” explained her Quechee-based instructor, Alice Maleski, organist and music director at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Lebanon. “It’s harder than it looks!”

An organist is essentially playing three instruments at once. The eyes read the music while the brain directs the right hand, left hand, and feet independently. Then there are the stops — the knob-like controls that direct pressurized air through ranks of pipes and shape the instrument’s rich palette of sounds. Every movement must be carefully timed to produce the magnificent sound for which the pipe organ is renowned.

Eleia’s musical scores are filled with penciled-in hieroglyphics that indicate fingerings, phrasing, expression markings, and specialized pedal notation indicating whether notes should be played with the heel or toe. Learning music theory and reading music is challenging enough; mastering an entirely new language for the feet adds another level of complexity. Eleia has embraced every challenge with confidence.

“Eleia’s progress has been extraordinary,” said Maleski. “She has always been far ahead of other students with the same level of training. It is rare to find this combination of natural talent, dedication, and genuine joy in making music.”

Recently, Eleia was invited to play the organ at the Norwich Congregational Church, where she also played Bach on a Steinway piano. “I was totally surprised at her proficiency on piano!” remarked Maleski.

Maleski also credits Eleia’s parents with fostering a home where music and creativity flourish. Ryan plays guitar and sings, while Jenny plays piano and flute. Together they have nurtured a family in which all seven children share a love of music.

Visitors to The Quechee Church have long enjoyed hearing Ryan lead worship and Eleia accompany hymns or perform preludes on the historic pipe organ. Today, those who hear her perform are witnessing a gifted young musician whose dedication has carried her from promising beginner to scholarship recipient in just a few short years.

For Eleia Bouton, the Westminster Organ Institute is not a destination, but another milestone in an already remarkable musical journey. As she prepares to study with some of the nation’s finest organ educators, her hometown will be cheering her on, eager to see where her talent, hard work, and love of music will lead next.