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Known for his "charismatic showmanship and unflagging exuberance" (Wall Street Journal), Mr. Jacobs possesses a vast repertoire spanning from the 16th century through contemporary times. He has performed the complete organ works of Olivier Messiaen in a series of nine-hour marathons in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington D.C., Chicago, where the Chicago Tribune called him "one of the most supremely gifted young organists of his generation," and in New York, where The New York Times praised his "supple technique and vivid interpretive imagination." Paul Jacobs began studying the piano at the age of six and the organ at age 13. At 15 he was appointed head organist of a parish of 3,500 families in his hometown of Washington, Pennsylvania. Mr. Jacobs studied at The Curtis Institute of Music, where he double-majored in organ with John Weaver and harpsichord with Lionel Party. At Yale University, where Mr. Jacobs subsequently studied organ with Thomas Murray, he received a Master of Music degree and Artist Diploma and was awarded several honors, including the Dean's Prize, the Faculty Prize of the Institute of Sacred Music, and Yale School of Music's Distinguished Alumni Award. Most recently, Mr. Jacobs was invited to join the Yale University Council Committee on the School of Music by University President Richard Levin. Mr. Jacobs has captured first prize in numerous competitions, including the 1998 Albert Schweitzer National Organ Competition and is the first organist ever to be honored with the Harvard Musical Association's Arthur W. Foote Award. In addition to concert appearances and teaching, Mr. Jacobs has been a featured performer at national and regional conventions of the American Guild of Organists and performs frequently at festivals throughout the U.S. and abroad. He has appeared on American Public Media's "Pipedreams" and "Saint Paul Sunday," Bavarian Radio, Brazilian Arts Television, ABC-TV's World News Tonight, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, NPR's Morning Edition, and CBC Radio. |
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While still a student at Peabody, Mr. Carroll made his European solo debut in Italy in 2001 at the Assisi Music Festival. Returning to Italy multiple times since Mr. Carroll has performed in various locations including the Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli near Assisi, Italy and St. Ignatius in Rome. During his time in Italy, Mr. Carroll serves as an accompanist for the Assisi Music Festival in their numerous concerts. More recently, he has performed in such venues as the Glinka Center for Arts and Culture in Moscow, Russia, Santa Maria Maggiore in Assisi, Italy, and the Kunstuniversitat in Graz, Austria |
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Reviews of Mr. D'Agostino's performances have been unanimous in their praise: The New York Times - "deft, powerful performances that got to the heart of the music;" The American Organist magazine - "generated a stunning, controlled delirium;" The Washington Post - "brilliant" and "impeccable." He has received acclaim for his performances of the works of Franz Liszt and is also a champion of 20th century music, including collaborations with George Crumb, Milton Babbitt, Stephen Paulus, and Ned Rorem (premiere performance of his complete works for organ at Riverside Church in New York). Gregory D'Agostino has appeared on Public Radio International's "Pipedreams," National Public Radio's "The Next Big Thing" and "Soundcheck," NHK Japan National Television (HD-TV), Czech Television and Radio Prague. He was the only soloist to perform in Nagasaki City's 2008 commemoration of the A-bomb with a recital in Nagasaki Cathedral. A versatile artist, he has recorded nine CDs for Albany, Loft, Bridge, Centaur, and Gigue, and his performances for film have been featured at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Walker Art Center (Minneapolis), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Barbican Centre (London). A native of New York City, Mr. D'Agostino held his first position as a church organist at age nine. He earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The Juilliard School with Jon Gillock with further studies at the Toulouse Organ Academy, France, with Xavier Darasse, Bernard Lagacé, and Marie-Claire Alain. Mr. D'Agostino is committed to mentoring young organists and has taught at various POEs and directed New York's first POE. He is presently on the faculty of the Mannes College of Music in New York. |
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1776 Tannenberg organ, Nazareth, PA He has appeared on local television in NY, the Poconos, and Philadelphia. His playing at the opening concert of the 150th anniversary celebration of the Round Lake organ was said to be "riveting" and "stunningly elegant." In August of 2001 he recorded the Round Lake organ, and the CD was released in 2003. |
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He has appeared in venues both in the United Sates and Europe for more than 40 years as solo recitalist, which has included a lengthy list of organ dedication performances; guest artist with orchestras; organ accompanist, having accompanied over 75 oratorios and cantatas; and guest conductor, including the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Oratorio Choir. In 1968 he was the First Prize recipient in the Alfred Hollins Organ Playing Competition, and in 1989 was honored to be included in the First Edition of "American Keyboard Artists." From 1971-1981, Mr Elwell served as Assistant Organist at the famed Wanamaker Grand Court Organ in Philadelphia, where he performed hundreds of recitals. He also performed at the 1977 International Congress of Organists. Presently, Dennis Elwell sits on the National Council of the American Guild of Organists as National Councillor for Conventions. He is a past Dean of the Philadelphia Chapter, and served as Convention Coordinator for the 2002 AGO National Convention and 1989 Region III Convention of the AGO both in Philadelphia. He is delighted to be serving on his 5th POE faculty with his valued colleagues and friends in Lehigh Valley, and to be with the terrific POE "kids" once again. |
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Articles by Dr. Fox have been published by the Moravian Music Foundation and presented at regional and national conferences of the College Music Society. The 2008 MMF book Introduction to the Music of the Moravians, released by the University of Rochester Press, contains her chapter "Music Instruction in Moravian Schools". In 2007 she completed the inventory and cataloguing of materials held in the Moravian Church Archives concerning the history since 1765 from the Bethlehem Seminary for Young Ladies, a project in collaboration with the Bethlehem Public Library and the Historic Bethlehem Partnership. By invitation of the HBP, in April 2008 she presented the annual Jeanette Barres Zug Lecture. Previously she was archival processor of the Robert Elmore papers at the University of Pennsylvania and of the Eric Siday papers for Special Collections in the Music Division of The New York Public Library |
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Mr. Harrell led Trinity Episcopal Church to contract with Martin Pasi from Roy, Washington to build a 29 stop mechanical action organ which was installed in 2006. A native of Portsmouth, VA, he earned a B.S. in Organ Performance from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA studying with Dr. Charles Vogan and an M.M. in Organ Performance and Church Music from Westminster Choir College studying with Joan Lippincott. Other teachers include Dr. Benjamin VanWye, Dr. William Hays, and William Richard. Harrell accompanied the Princeton Singers on three recordings: "Welcome Yule", "In the midst of life", and "a fond farewell" under the direction of John Bertalot. He has been an active recitalist and accompanist in the Bucks County area for 29 years. |
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Past experiences have included leading the Church Musicians' Conference for the Diocese of Virginia; Housemaster for the Royal School of Church Music summer course, Wilkes-Barre, PA; and Mr. Jackson made his debut recital at the National Cathedral, Washington, D.C., in 1996. Major recital venues have since included Girard College, Philadelphia, (Wanamaker Organ Day), Princeton University Chapel, and First Congregational Church of Los Angeles - the largest church organ in the world. During the summer of 1997, he led the Cathedral Choir in their first international tour to the United Kingdom where they sang at Northampton and were Choir-in-Residence at Rochester Cathedral. Their second tour took place during the summer of 2000 with a residency at Exeter Cathedral; and the choir returned from its third tour, this time to York Minster, in August 2003. The choir made a new recording on the Raven label entitled Magnificat, which was released in the fall of 2004. They were Choir-in-Residence at the National Cathedral, Washington DC, in July of 2005, and made their fourth international tour to Ireland during the summer of 2007. Mr. Jackson was a featured artist in the American Guild of Organists Region III Convention, 2001. During the same summer, whilst on sabbatical leave, he continued organ studies with Jean Guillou in Paris. The summer of 2002 brought an invitation to play for the Princeton RSCM Course culminating in services at St. Thomas' Church, Fifth Avenue, New York City. Russell is responsible for the new Cathedral Organ, built by Austin Organs, Inc., which was installed during the fall of 1998, its inauguration, and the creation of a professional subscription series, "Cathedral Classics." Following the Easter services of 1999, Mr. Jackson was appointed Canon Precentor of the Cathedral. |
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She holds current memberships in the Lehigh Valley chapter of the AGO (where she serves on the Executive committee), and the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians. Jackie has taught in the Tamaqua, Bethlehem and Southern Lehigh school districts, as well as at Moravian Academy and Moravian College. She enjoys coaching and encouraging youth of all ages as they pursue musical educational opportunities. She maintains a private teaching studio in her home in Lehighton, PA. |
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Mr. Laubach's first recorded compact disc, Teutonic Titanics, released in 1995 on the Pro Organo label, features works by Wagner, Reubke, and Liszt. Mr. Laubach's second Pro Organo disc, French Fest, was recorded in 1997 on the Berghaus organ at Grace Lutheran Church in River Forest, Illinois, featuring works of Tournemire, Franck, Dupre, Durufle, Alain, and Vierne. Mark has also appeared as a guest performer on the syndicated television series, Midnight Pipes. In 1982, he received a bachelor's degree in Church Music, magna cum laude, from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ, studying organ with George Markey and Donald McDonald and harpsichord with Mark Brombaugh. In 1984, he received a master's degree in Organ Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY, where he studied organ with David Craighead and harpsichord with Arthur Haas. In 1984, Mr. Laubach was the recipient of a one-year appointment as Fellow in Church Music at Washington National Cathedral, serving as an apprentice to Richard Wayne Dirksen and Douglas Major. Since January 1986, Mark Laubach has served as Minister of Music at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Wilkes-Barre PA, where he administers a busy liturgical, choral, concert, and broadcasting schedule. In 2002, under Mr. Laubach's leadership, St. Stephen's large pipe organ was rebuilt by the Berghaus Organ Company of Chicago. Mark also continues a busy schedule of teaching and coaching private organ students and organ and church music students enrolled at Marywood University in Scranton, PA. |
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Dr. Moorman-Stahlman holds degrees of Bachelor of Music and Master of Music from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from the University of Iowa. She has studied organ with Delbert Disselhorst, Dolores Bruch, John Ditto and Harald Vogel and piano with Santiago Rodriguez and John McIntyre. A frequent recitalist throughout the Midwest and East Coast, she has garnered an impressive array of competition credits which include Semi-Finalist at the St. Albans International Organ Competition in England, Audience Prize at Spivey International Organ Competition, Finalist in the Arthur Poister Competition, Second Prize in the MTNA National Wurlitzer Competition and Finalist, Region VI AGO Competition. She has been a featured artist at major venues in Washington D.C., New York City and across the Midwest. She has also given many workshops and masterclasses for the conventions, colleges and churches. Most recently she presented organ recitals at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, University of Arizona, Tucson, RLDS Temple in Kansas City, and at Christ the King Cathedral in Atlanta, Georgia. Shelly also performs frequently as a pianist. Dr. Moorman-Stahlman is the chair of the AGO National Committee on Professional Education and has taught in numerous POE's and has served as Dean for the Harrisburg AGO Chapter. |
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Brochure |
Highlights |
Schedule |
Faculty/Presenters
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Paul Jacobs made musical history at the age of 23 when, on the 250th anniversary of the death of J. S. Bach in 2000, he played the composer's complete organ music in an 18-hour non-stop marathon in Pittsburgh. Today, Mr. Jacobs, hailed for his solid musicianship, prodigious technique and vivid interpretive imagination in performances throughout the United States, Europe, South America, Asia, and Australia, is widely acknowledged for reinvigorating the American organ scene with a fresh performance style and "an unbridled joy of music-making" (Baltimore Sun). In 2003 Mr. Jacobs was invited to join the faculty of The Juilliard School, and the following year, he was named chairman of the organ department, one of the youngest faculty appointments in Juilliard's history.
Paul Carroll
is the Director of Music at St. Louis Church, Clarksville, Maryland. He holds Master and Bachelor of Music degrees in Organ from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University where he studied with Donald Sutherland from 2000-2005. Much sought after as a keyboardist, Mr. Carroll has performed as a soloist, an accompanist, and with orchestras in the United States, Italy, Russia, Germany, Austria, Spain and Israel as an organist, pianist, and harpsichordist.
Gregory D'Agostino,
with an international performing career that has taken him to three continents, has appeared at such well-known venues as New York's Lincoln Center, Charleston's Spoleto Festival USA, San Diego's Balboa Park, London's St. Paul's Cathedral, Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral, Radio Hall Bratislava, Hong Kong's St. John's Cathedral, and Tokyo's Suntory Hall. He has performed in festivals in Paris, London, St. Petersburg, Prague, Olomouc, Krakow, Zabrze, and Tokyo, and has appeared as soloist with Japan's NHK Symphony, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Slovak Radio Orchestra, Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Charleston Symphony, Fairfax Symphony, and the Fairfield Orchestra. For the 100th anniversary of the American Guild of Organists, Mr. D'Agostino performed two memorized concerts before overflowing crowds of 3,400 in New York. Recent performances have been in Poland, Czech Republic, Japan, and in New York City (Haydn Organ Concerto with the American Classical Orchestra).
Thomas Dressler
is known for exciting, passionate performances on the organ and harpsichord which combine warm musicality with historic techniques. He has been performing for thirty years, often on historic instruments. Notable instruments he has played in performance include:
Dennis Elwell
is in his 36th season as Minister of Music and Organist at the Overbrook Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, where he directs a multifaceted Music Program encompassing both professional and amateur singers and musicians, and which offers an annual Music Series. His regular weekly Overbrook Choir has performed in Europe as well as with other professional ensembles in orchestral performances.
Lou Carol Fix
, a native of North Carolina, is Artist/Lecturer of Organ at Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA, teaching organ, recorder and music history since 1985. She holds the B.M. degree in Organ from Salem College in NC, and M.M. and M.A. degrees in Organ and Musicology, respectively, from Indiana University--Bloomington. Her organ teachers have included Margaret Mueller, John Mueller and Wilma Jensen. She also studied the carillon with Jo Haazen at the Royal Carillon School in Mechelen, Belgium. In recent years Lou Carol has given papers and organ recitals at conventions of the Organ Historical Society (2003), Region III of the American Guild of Organists (2001), and the Bethlehem Conferences on Moravian Music. She has recorded for the Organ Historical Society on the 4-CD set of Historical Organs of Pennsylvania (2005), and has served as Dean and Archivist of the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the A.G.O. Her church music positions have included Lutheran, Methodist, Episcopal, Presbyterian and United Church of Christ congregations throughout the Northeast, the Midwest, and the South, and she currently is the organist and Director of Music at Peace-Tohickon Lutheran Church in Perkasie, PA. She also teaches music at Moravian Academy in Bethlehem, PA. Her interests include 17th-century organ performance practice and Moravian music in America.
She performed on the Heefner Organ Concert Series at Ursinus College in PA in 2004 and is scheduled to perform on the newly-restored Tannenberg organ in Winston-Salem, NC summer 2009.
The book, Music of the Moravian Church in America, ed. by Nola Reed Knouse (Rochester: Univ. of Rochester Press, 2008), includes Lou Carol's chapter on the organ in Moravian church music.
Pauline Fox,
AAGO, holds degrees in piano performance from Houghton College, in music history from Marywood University, and a Ph.D. in musicology from New York University. She has taught English, music theory, and history courses as adjunct instructor, performed in numerous community events, copyedited reference works for the University of Chicago Press and other publishers, and worked in the copyright department of Shawnee Press. An active member of the American Guild of Organists, she is currently a church music director in East Stroudsburg, PA, and tutors music students through East Stroudsburg University.
Ethel Geist
is the Organist for Abington Presbyterian Church where she plays for all services, participates in the Music at Abington Concert Series, and accompanies the choirs of this musically active congregation. Her Bachelor of Music Education degree (with honors) is from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, and her M.A. is from The Ohio State University. She taught secondary school choral music in Ohio and New Jersey while also involved in church music. Since retiring from teaching school, Mrs. Geist has studied organ with Dennis Elwell. She is a Past Dean of the SouthWest Jersey chapter and the Philadelphia chapter of the AGO.
Timothy Harrell
is organist/choirmaster at Trinity Episcopal Church in Solebury, PA. where he directs
and plays for two adult choral groups and two children's choirs. Previous positions
include Organist/Choirmaster at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Trenton, NJ, Director
of Music and Organist at Doylestown Presbyterian Church, Doylestown, PA,
Organist/Choirmaster at St. John's Episcopal Church in Olympia, WA and Organist at
Cradock Baptist Church in Portsmouth, VA. He is also University Organist at Lehigh
University where he teaches organ and is accompanist for Choral Union.
Russell Jackson
is Organist & Choirmaster at the Cathedral Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of the London College of Music where he was awarded a Fellowship and won the Organ Prize in his second year. Prior to his arrival in the United States in 1993, Mr. Jackson was Director of Music at the Civic and County Church of All Saints, Northampton, U.K., and has made several recordings on the Herald label to critical acclaim. In addition to his cathedral post he accompanies the Moravian Choir and is an Artist-Lecturer in Organ, and teaches both Organ and Choral Literature at Moravian College.
Michael Krentz
is Director of Music at The Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit, Emmaus, where he plays the organ and directs the children's and adult choirs. He received Bachelor, Master, and Doctor of Music degrees from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. He is a past-Dean of the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Michael has served in the leadership of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, including chairperson of ALCM's 1997 national conference, president of Region 1, and national Secretary-Treasurer. In addition to his position at Holy Spirit, Michael teaches organ, piano, and harpsichord, and lectures about music in the worship class at Moravian Seminary.
Jacqueline R. Kuba
is a free lance organist/choir director, educator, and adjudicator who served
Lehigh Valley area churches and public and private schools for the past 30
years. She received her undergraduate degree from Muhlenberg College in
Allentown, teacher certification from Moravian College, and has done post
graduate work at Westminster Choir College and the Lutheran Theological
Seminary in Philadelphia.
Mark Laubach
is regarded among the finest organists of his generation in the US.
Since winning first prize in the 1984 American Guild of Organists (AGO) National
Young Artists' Competition in Organ Performance, he has concertized throughout the
USA and Great Britain in some of the most notable concert venues, and continues to be
in high demand for solo performances throughout the US and abroad. He has played and
lectured for national and regional gatherings of the AGO and of the Association of
Anglican Musicians (AAM).
Nathan Laube
is a rising star among young classical musicians. A native of Chicago, Nathan began his music studies at age five with Donna Fortney (piano) and later studied at the Chicago Academy for the Arts with Dr. Elizabeth Naegele (organ), and Dr. Louis Playford (piano, music theory). At age 15, he was accepted as a full scholarship student at the renowned Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. At age 19, he is a fourth year student at The Curtis Institute, where he studies with Alan Morrison (organ) and Susan Starr (piano).
Marvin Mills
, organist at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Kensington, Maryland, is also music director of the National Spiritual Ensemble. Previous positions include Associate Minister of Music at National City Christian Church, Director of Music at All Souls Church, Unitarian, and University Organist at Howard University. Active with the District of Columbia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists since 1984, he has served as dean (1990-1992), board member, Foundation trustee, Regional Convention secretary, and chairman for regional and chapter competitions. He has also participated in the Guild's Pipe Organ Encounters for Youth and Adults. Mr. Mills was a featured recitalist in the Guild's 1992 National and 1996 Centennial National conventions. He opened the 1989 Wendell P. Whalum Concert Series at Morehouse College. Presented in recital by the Washington National Cathedral in 1989, he returned to appear on its 1995 and 2002 Summer Festival Series. As clinician, he has given workshops for the Unitarian Universalists Musician's Network, the Presbyterian Association of Musicians, Association of Disciples Musicians and for the American Guild of Organists, and the Smithsonian Institute. He has performed throughout the United States in such places as The Academy of Music, Philadelphia; The Kennedy Center; Wolf Trap; as well as historic churches in Krakow, Poland. He has appeared as guest artist with the Washington Male Chorale, the Concert Artists of Baltimore, the Washington Bach Consort, the Cathedral Choral Society, the Folger Consort, and Fairfax Chorale Society. In the spring of 1992 Mr. Mills performed the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach at All Souls Church, Unitarian. He made his west coast debut in July 1992 at the Spreckles Organ Pavilion International Organ Summer Concert Series in Balboa Park, San Diego, and his New York City recital debut in July 1993 at the Riverside Church. Concerto appearances include the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Johns Hopkins Symphony, the Peabody Symphony, and the Jacksonville Symphony. Mr. Mills has been a featured artist at the Shenandoah Bach Festival. Active as a vocal coach and accompanist, he can be heard on the recording Angels Watching Over Me with mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves.
Shelly Moorman-Stahlman
is Associate Professor of Music at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pennsylvania, where she teaches organ, piano, class piano, form and analysis, and church music courses. Her students have received top honors in numerous competitions. Prior to this position, she was the Director of Music at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Iowa City.