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Archived - Canon John Bruce Memorial Concerts 2010-2011
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The Reverend Canon John O. Bruce was a priest of the Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac who was enamored with the beautiful sound of the Abbey organ. Because of his friendship with the Norbertine Fathers and love of music, he established a fund for the renovation and upkeep of the organ console as well as for the presentation of organ concerts. Through Canon John's generosity, the concerts are free and open to the public so that all may share in the beauty of the Abbey and the organ music within its walls.
Please note: all concerts are on Saturday at 2:00 pm, open to the public with a free will offering.
2010-2011 Concert Dates Just Announced
| October 23, 2010 |
Christopher Herrick |
| December 4, 2010 |
Christopher Houlihan |
| April 9, 2011 |
Peter Conte |
| May 14, 2011 |
Joan Lippincott |
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Performers |
October 23, 2010 - Christopher Herrick |
Christopher Herrick’s performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach have brought him acclaim throughout the world. As one New York Times critic wrote after a performance of Bach at the Lincoln Center Festival, “He is a virtuoso, no question. He was at the peak of his considerable form, combining precision with panache, interpretive freedom with sheer joy in virtuosity. The playing was, in a word, triumphal.”
Former Westminster Abbey organist, Herrick has recorded many of his CD’s on Metzler organs in Switzerland; the BBS Henry Wood Promenade Concerts at the Royal Albert Hall; the opening concert at the Stockholm International Organ Festival and three inaugural concerts on the Rieger organ in Christchurch Town Hall, New Zealand.
In 2009, Herrick made two recordings – the Buxtehude series at the Tondheim Cathedral, Norway and the second in the Organ Fireworks series in Melbourne Town hall, Australia. After hearing the Organ Fireworks series, Gramaphone magazine observed the following, “The strengths of this hugely enjoyable and downright spectacular series lie in consistently first-rate recordings of some of the world’s most aurally stunning instruments, and Herrick’s playing which can only be described as unfailingly brilliant.’
The Good CD Guide in turn describes his playing as 'scholarly, erudite, infinitely rewarding and so easily communicative one is barely aware one is absorbing some of the most complex and intellectually demanding ideas.
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December 4, 2010 - Christopher Houlihan |
 Christopher Houlihan is one of the brightest stars in the new generation of American organists and is booked to perform from coast to coast in his debut season under professional representation.
During his senior year of college he made his orchestral debut with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra sharing the soloist spotlight with violinist Joshua Bell. Houlihan has "the charisma and energy of a major soloist" and "strong international potential," wrote the critic of The Hartford Courant.
In 2007, Towerhill Recordings released Houlihan’s first compact disc with the second CD released in 2009.
Houlihan spent a year in France, earning the "Prix de Perfectionnement" from the French National Regional Conservatory in Versailles (equivalent to a university artist's diploma in the US) while still an undergraduate. During his studies in Versailles with Jean-Baptiste Robin he also won "Le Prix des Amis de l'Orgue de Versailles." Houlihan served as Assistant Musician at the American Cathedral in Paris during his year in France.
He is a graduate of Trinity College in Connecticut where he studied with John Rose, his organ teacher from the age of 12. (John Rose has performed at the Abbey as well.) While at Trinity, where he was awarded the Helen Loveland Morris Prize in Music and graduated with honors, Houlihan served for a year as Assistant Organist at the Cathedral of St. Joseph and another year in the same role at Christ Church Cathedral, both in Hartford.
Late into his freshman year a group of his friends formed the "Houli Fans,” a club aimed at gathering fellow students to not only attend Houlihan’s organ recitals, but to cheer and shout their enthusiastic support. “Houli fans” has extended into a worldwide organization on Facebook. Its members are of all ages, but its newest frequently come from aspiring young organists who are excited by his performances (both live and on YouTube) which offer electricity and audience friendly accessibility.
Houlihan is currently a graduate student at The Juilliard School in New York, having been awarded two of the school's major scholarships which "support a small number of students who have demonstrated exceptional potential for success at Juilliard." At Juilliard, he is a student of Paul Jacobs.
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April 9, 2011 - Peter Conte |
 Peter Richard Conte is an organist whose great skill and innovative style can be completely enjoyed by any general audience-not just by other organists and organ buffs. Not many performers today offer a Bach Prelude and Fugue followed by Bizet's "Carmen" or a Strauss waltz. "Music making of the highest order...rich in nuance and virtuosity...Bravo Peter Richard Conte!”(The American Organist)
Peter Richard Conte is Grand Court Organist of the world famous Wanamaker Organ at the Macy's Philadelphia department store. When not touring, he performs on the six-manual, 28,000-pipe instrument twice daily, six days per week. The Wanamaker Organ is the largest fully functioning musical instrument in the world; Mr. Conte was appointed Grand Court Organist in 1989, and is the fourth person to hold that title since the organ first played in 1911.
Mr. Conte is highly regarded as a skillful performer and arranger of organ transcriptions. He has been featured several times on National Public Radio, "Good Morning America" and "World News Tonight." His monthly radio show, "The Wanamaker Organ Hour", airs on the first Sunday of each month, at 5 PM (Eastern).
He performs extensively throughout the United States and Canada and was a featured artist at the American Guild of Organists' National Convention in 2002, and at the International Organ Festival in Aosta, Italy, in September 2004. He has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, and with the Delaware Symphony. In addition to his concert career, Mr. Conte serves as Choirmaster and Organist of St. Clement's Church, Philadelphia, where he directs an eighteen-voice professional choir in music of the Anglo Catholic tradition.
Peter Richard Conte is an Associate of the American Guild of Organists, has served on the executive board of its Philadelphia Chapter, and has presented guild workshops on transcriptions and improvisation. Mr. Conte studied with Larry Smith and Robert Rayfield at Indiana University, Bloomington, where he was awarded the prestigious Performers' Certificate in Organ.
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May 14, 2011 - Joan Lippincott |
 Joan Lippincott has been acclaimed as one of America’s outstanding organ virtuosos. She performs extensively in the United States and has toured throughout Europe and Canada. She has been a featured recitalist at Lincoln Center in New York City, at the Spoleto USA Festival, at The American Bach Society Biennial, at the Dublin (Ireland) International Organ Festival and at conventions of the American Guild of Organists. She has performed on many of the most prominent organs in churches and universities throughout the United States, including Yale, Harvard, Duke, Stanford, Columbia, and Princeton. She has traveled widely in Europe, studying, playing, and performing in recital on historic and contemporary organs in Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, and France.
Dr. Lippincott has been especially in demand for Bach recitals and classes. She was recitalist at the Bach-Handel Tercentennial and she has performed at Bach Festivals in Arizona, Massachusetts (Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood), Michigan and New York. In 2001-2002 she performed a highly acclaimed series of eight Bach organ concerts on outstanding organs throughout New York City, called ‘Bach in the Big Apple’.
Lippincott presently devotes full time to concertizing and recording. Her many recordings on the GOTHIC label include music of Bach, Duruflé, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Widor, Alain, and Pinkham on major American organs.
She was Principal University Organist at Princeton University, 1993-2000, and is Professor Emerita of Organ at Westminster Choir College of Rider University. At Westminster, she was Head of the Organ Department, the largest organ department in the world, well known for the outstanding quality of work by students and faculty. Lippincott has served on summer faculties at the New England Conservatory of Music, University of Wisconsin, the Montreat Conference, the Evergreen Conference, and Bach Week at Columbia College.
A graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music and Westminster Choir College, where she was a student of Alexander McCurdy, she also studied at both the Union and Princeton Theological Seminaries.
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