“I never practiced enough,” Lane says.

But although he attributes some of his technical deficiencies to his sparse practicing, he says that he appreciated the freedom to explore and develop his talents independently, developing a life long love for music and the organ.

Still, “I never set out to be an organist,” says Lane, who was involved in musical theater throughout high school and hoped to move to New York after graduation.

He always knew however that he would attend a musical conservatory, which he did, first at the Eastman School of Music and then Yale, where he earned prizes for excellence in the organ. After graduating from Yale with two collegiate awards, several national honors, and a master’s degree in music in organ performance under his belt, Lane would sets his sights on the international stage.

WORLD COMPETITOR

Last October, Lane won the prestigious Canadian International Organ Competition against fifteen of the world’s most promising young organists.

“He’s kind of a rock star on the organ,” Lowell House Master Diana L. Eck says.

Lane had practiced for several grueling months before the competition, says Marissa A. Glynias ’12, a student and mentee of Lane’s.

With construction on the instruments in Memorial Church over the last few years, Lane occasionally could only practice on the organ at 2 a.m., says Edward E. Jones, organist and choirmaster at Memorial Church.

Lane’s hard work paid off at the competition, where Lane captured his audience with the passion and creativity he channels into his performance.

“He has a dignity and beauty as he plays,” Eck says.

Lane throws himself wholeheartedly into the piece, losing himself in the music until “he himself is part of the composition,” says Dorothy A. Austin, associate minister at Memorial Church and master of Lowell House.

“I can communicate very effectively in a way that my colleagues struggle to do, but it comes for at the expense of technical accuracy,” Lane says.

In fact, Lane lists technique as his greatest weakness.

“I engage in a very physical way,” Lane says. “From a technical standpoint, that’s not a good thing.”