A student of Robert Glasgow, in the fall of 1999 he spent a sabbatical with Harald Vogel in North Germany. He has performed on four continents and in nearly all fifty states.

In 2001 he presented a cycle of the complete organ works of Bach at Yale, and his compact discs of The Seven Last Words of Christ by Charles Tournemire and the complete Six Symphonies of Louis Vierne, both recorded in Woolsey Hall, have been released by Loft Recordings. Recordings of the organ symphonies and Stations of the Cross of Marcel Dupré are forthcoming on the Delos label. Professor Jean is on the board of directors of Lutheran Music Program. He earned the A.Mus.D. from the University of Michigan.

In this conversation, Professor Jean shares his insights on what does it take to raise the next generation of leaders of the sacred music field in the 21st century.

​Enjoy and share your comments below.
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And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends.

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Related link:
Institute of Sacred Music at Yale University

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #47!

Today is a very special podcast. Ausra and I are in the beautiful resort town of Nida on the peninsula of the Baltic coast. The entire region (Curonian Spit) is protected by UNESCO.

Last night we performed an organ duet recital where we played 6 Sonatas for 4 Hands by Franz Seydelmann (you can see the engraving from the title page of the original publication below). This concert was part of the 15th International Music Festival "Organ Summer" organized by New Organ Forum (led by our friend and colleague Dr. Balys Vaitkus). It's the second time we appeared in public with this program (the first was 6 weeks ago at Vilnius University St. John's church).

In this conversation we will talk about what does it take to prepare and perform an organ duet recital and how to deal with the element of surprise when the organ doesn't behave.

​Enjoy and share your comments below.
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And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends.

Thanks for caring.

Related links:
Six Sonatas for Two Persons at One Keyboard by Franz Seydelmann (horizontal layout and vertical layout)

Tom serves as Minister of Music to First-Plymouth in Lincoln, NE, ​guiding the Plymouth Choir (adults) and the Choristers (grades 3-5), playing the magnificent Schoenstein organ, and serving as Artistic Director of Abendmusik: Lincoln, the Abendmuisk Chorus, and ABENDCHOR. Tom is also Music Director of sounding light- the chamber choir of Many Voices…One Song, an extensive music outreach program he founded in Southeastern Michigan. A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Eastman School of Music, Tom is grateful for his teachers and mentors: Anton Armstrong, David Davidson, Craig Hella Johnson David Higgs, William Weinert, Anne Wilson, and Todd Wilson.

​Tom shares his passion as pastoral musician, performer, and teacher both in worship at First-Plymouth and in recitals, hymn festivals, choral and organ workshops, and master classes all around the country.

Represented by Karen McFarlane Artists Concert Management (www.concertorganists.com), Tom has been featured at regional and national conventions of the American Guild of Organists, the Organ Historical Society, the Presbyterian Association of Musicians, the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, National Pastoral Musicians, the Fellowship of United Methodists in Music and Worship Arts, and the Calvin Institute of Worship.

In this conversation, we talk about why some organists are afraid of improvising on the organ and what you can do to reduce this fear and anxiety.

​​Enjoy and share your comments below.
​
And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends.

Thanks for caring.

Related links:
Tom Trenney AGO Improvisation Workshop 2012 Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Tom Trenney at Concert Organists
First-Plymouth church in Lincoln, Nebraska

famous because in the 17th century there worked one of the most significant students of Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, the master Dutch organist, composer, and teacher, Andreas Düben. Michael has the privilege to play an organ which Düben himself also played.

Related links:
Michael Dierks on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn
Video of Michael Dierks playing the Duben organ (watch what happens around 4:18)
German church in Stockholm
More information about the organ in the German church in Stockholm