The Third International Organ Festival "St. Anastasia's Organ Festival" had the great pleasure of welcoming one of today's most distinguished French organists, Sophie-Véronique Cauchefer-Choplin, whose concert took place on 30 June 2026 at 8:00 p.m. in St. Anastasia's Cathedral in Zadar.

Prior to the concert, an interview with the artist was recorded in the pleasant setting of the Hotel Bastion, where she spoke about her artistic journey, her extensive international career, and the programme she was about to perform in Zadar.

Since 1985, Sophie-Véronique Cauchefer-Choplin has served as organist of the Great Organ of Saint-Sulpice Church in Paris. In February 2023, she was appointed Titular Organist, a position she shares with Karol Mossakowski. She is the first woman to have attained this prestigious title at the three most important organ lofts in Paris. She is also Organist Emeritus of the Great Organ of Saint-Jean-Baptiste de La Salle Church in Paris and Professor of Organ at the Royal College of Music in London. Born in Nogent-le-Rotrou, France, into a musical family, Sophie-Véronique Cauchefer-Choplin began studying piano at an early age. After completing her studies in piano, organ, and harmony, she entered the Paris Conservatoire, where she studied organ with Rolande Falcinelli. She received First Prizes in organ, improvisation, harmony, fugue, and counterpoint, and her outstanding academic achievements were recognized by the French Ministry of Culture. In 1990, she became the first woman to win the Second Prize for Improvisation at the International Organ Improvisation Competition in Chartres. She has since enjoyed an extensive international career, giving recitals in more than thirty countries worldwide. Alongside her performing career, she is a highly respected teacher, regularly leading masterclasses in organ improvisation around the world.

Frequently invited to serve on the juries of international organ competitions, she is regarded by her colleagues as one of the foremost improvisers of her generation. Her recordings of works by Johann Sebastian Bach, César Franck, Olivier Messiaen, and other composers, as well as her improvisations, have received widespread critical acclaim.

At her recital in Zadar, she performed Suite Gothique by Léon Boëllmann, a chorale by Johann Sebastian Bach, Fantaisie in A major by César Franck, Toccata by Albert Renaud, Méditation by Maurice Duruflé, and Toccata from the Fifth Symphony by Charles-Marie Widor. She concluded the programme with her own improvisation on the Hymn to St. Anastasia, which particularly delighted the audience.

The audience rewarded the artist with prolonged applause, and the concert once again confirmed the high artistic standard of the St. Anastasia's Organ Festival, further establishing Zadar as an important meeting place for world-class organists and lovers of organ music.