SOP Podcast #17 - Roger Sherman On Recording Organ Music And Bach: Under The Influence

​Roger Sherman is the Associate Organist (as of 2015, Emeritus) of St. Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle and President of Loft Recordings, which publishes CDs under the Loft, Gothic, Clarion and ReZound labels.  He is also the host of The Organ Loft, an hour-long weekly radio program about choral and organ music, broadcasted throughout Washington and Oregon for more than 20 years.

​A native of Seattle, Mr. Sherman attended Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he studied with organ Fenner Douglass, Arthur Poister, and William Porter, and choral conducting with Daniel Moe.  He was Organist and Choirmaster of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Milwaukee from 1974-1979and also taught organ and harpsichord at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.  During his tenure in Milwaukee, he was a popular harpsichord soloist with many groups, including the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, the Milwaukee Strings, and the Milwaukee Symphony. Over the past few decades, he has been active as a organ recitalist, specializing in the works of J.S. Bach.  He recently played recitals in such diverse places as Stanford University, Venice, Italy and Walla Walla, WA.

Prior to founding Loft Recordings, Mr. Sherman made recordings with Fred Sautter (principal trumpet of the Oregon Symphony), the Imperial Brass and the Dale Warland Singers.  He has also been the Vice-Dean of a chapter of the American Guild of Organists, Vice-President of the Early Music Guild in Seattle, Senior Warden of St Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, and President of Cathedral Associates and Quodlibet (both, concert presenting organizations).  From 2000 to 2007 he was the Executive Director of Westfield Center for Historical Keyboard Studies.
 
Mr. Sherman has also had a significant career in software engineering. He was Director of Testing for Microsoft when it released Windows 95 and Office 95.  He has presented many papers and authored articles on software development practices and testing methodologies.  He has also made presentations on recording technology, and written articles about church architecture.

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Relevant links:
The Gothic Catalog (includes CDs on Loft, Gothic, Clarion, reZound, and WNC)
Bach: Under the Influence
The Organ Loft radio program