Concerts

John W. W. Sherer has been hailed by critics as “a terrific musician,” “the man with the flying feet,” “an excellent communicator and a charming person.” Reviewers have praised him for his “great creativity and élan” and proclaimed, “As usual, Sherer communicated both the demanding and subtle qualities of the program through utilizing both his remarkable virtuoso technique and his sensitive musical sense to serve the requirements of the music.” “John’s program of contemporary organ music was both stimulating and captivating, leaving those present in awe of his technical competence and sensitivity.” Dr. Sherer has performed numerous recitals throughout the United States and England, including several for regional and national organist conventions.

Since 1996, Dr. Sherer has been the Organist and Director of Music for The Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago where 2,000 people worship each Sunday. USA Today recently picked Fourth Presbyterian Church as one of top ten places in America to be “enthralled by heavenly music.” This dynamic church has a 126-rank Aeolian-Skinner organ and nine choirs and instrumental groups including The Morning Choir, a twenty-six voice professional ensemble and Tower Brass, a professional octet. Dr. Sherer manages an active concert series at the church with over eighty events each year. Fourth Presbyterian Church was the second church in the United States to be selected for the BBC program, “Songs of Praise.” This program, broadcast to 40 million people around the world, featured the music of Fourth Presbyterian Church with Dr. Sherer at the organ. The Morning Choir and Dr. Sherer were in the Columbia TriStar motion picture “My Best Friend’s Wedding” filmed in part at The Fourth Presbyterian Church. In addition to his work at Fourth Presbyterian Church he is a frequent guest conductor with the Chicago Chamber Orchestra, has done numerous lectures and clinics on church music and is a published author and composer. He currently serves on the board of the Chicago Chapter of the American Guild of Organists in which he chairs the committee for Seminaries and Schools of Music and is the American Choral Directors Association Central Division Repertoire and Standards Chair for Music in Worship.

A native of Xenia, Ohio, Dr. Sherer is married to The Reverend Kara Wagner Sherer, an Episcopal priest, and has two daughters, Madeleine and Carlisle. He enjoys yoga, tai chi, bicycling, gardening, painting and anything related to the R.M.S. Titanic. He received two bachelor degrees, organ performance and choral music education, from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He earned two master’s degrees at Yale University, majoring in organ performance and art in religion and received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The Juilliard School.

Scott Dettra is Organist and Associate Director of Music at Washington National Cathedral, where he is the principal organist and assists with the direction of the Cathedral choirs. Quickly emerging as one of the finest concert organists of his generation, his performances are known for their clarity, rhythmic intensity, and musical elegance. In addition to his work at Washington National Cathedral, Mr. Dettra is also Keyboard Artist of the Washington Bach Consort and organist of The Crossing, Philadelphia’s new music choir.

Recent and upcoming performances include appearances at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco; the Cadet Chapel, West Point, New York; Ocean Grove Auditorium, New Jersey; Methuen Memorial Music Hall, Massachusetts; Princeton University Chapel; the Church of the Advent, Boston; the Spreckels Organ Pavilion, San Diego; and Saint Thomas Church, New York. Additionally, Mr. Dettra has performed at national conventions of the American Guild of Organists and the Association of Anglican Musicians. At the 2010 AGO national convention, he was organist for the opening convocation, a Bach Vespers service, and was featured as soloist in Samuel Barber’s Toccata Festiva with the National Gallery Orchestra.

His debut recording, Tongues of Fire, features French music performed on the 325-rank organ of the Cadet Chapel at West Point, and may be found on the Pro Organo label. Majestus, a new recording on the Loft label, features large-scale organ favorites performed on the Great Organ of Washington National Cathedral.

A native of Wilmington, Delaware, Mr. Dettra holds two degrees from Westminster Choir College and has also studied jazz piano at Manhattan School of Music. He has previously held positions at St. Paul’s Parish, K Street in Washington; St. Mark’s Church, Philadelphia; and Trinity Church, Princeton. Additionally, he was accompanist of the American Boychoir for several years. His principal organ teachers have been Joan Lippincott, Dennis Keene, and his father, Lee Dettra.

Stephen Tharp, hailed as "the organist for the connoisseur" (Organ magazine, Germany), "the thinking person’s performer" (Het Orgel), "every bit the equal of any organist" (The American Organist magazine) and "the consummate creative artist" (Michael Barone, Pipedreams), is recognized as one of the great concert organists of our age. Having played more than 1300 concerts across 36 tours worldwide, Stephen Tharp has built one of the most well-respected international careers in the world, earning him the reputation as the most traveled concert organist of his generation. He is listed in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World.

His list of performances since 1987 includes such distinguished venues as St. Bavo, Haarlem; The Royal Albert Hall, London; St. Eustache, Paris; Ste. Croix, Bordeaux; The Hong Kong Cultural Centre; the Town Halls of Sydney and Adelaide, Australia; Tchaikovsky Hall, Moscow; the Tonhalle, Zürich; the Duomo, Milano, Italy; the cathedrals in Berlin, Köln, München, Münster and Passau, and the Gewandhaus, Leipzig, Germany; Antwerp Cathedral, Belgium; Dvorak Hall, Prague; the Hallgrimskirkja, Reykjavik, Iceland; The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas; Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles; The Kimmel Center, Philadelphia; The Riverside Church, New York City; Rice University, Houston; Spivey Hall, Atlanta; and Severance Hall, Cleveland.

He has given master classes at Yale University; Westminster Choir College; the Cleveland Institute of Music, Bethel University (St. Paul, MN); the Hochschulen für Musik in Stuttgart, Trossingen and Bochum (Germany); and for chapters of the AGO. He has also adjudicated for competitions at the Juilliard School and Northwestern University.

Stephen Tharp remains an important champion of new organ music, and continues to commission and premiere numerous compositions for the instrument. The first such piece was Jean Guillou’s symphonic poem Instants, Op. 57, which Tharp premiered at King’s College, Cambridge, England in February 1998. Works dedicated to him include George Baker’s Variations on "Rouen" (2010); David Briggs’ Toccata Labyrinth (2006); Samuel Adler’s Sonata (2005); Eugenio Fagiani’s Psalm 100 (2009) and Stèle (2003); Thierry Escaich’s Trois Poèmes (2002); Philip Moore’s Sinfonietta (2001); Anthony Newman’s Tombeau d'Igor Stravinsky (2000), Toccata and Fuga Sinfonica on BACH (1999) and the Second Symphony (1992); Martha Sullivan's Slingshot Shivaree for Organ and Percussion (1999); and Morgan Simmons Exercitatio Fantastica (1997). Himself a composer, Tharp was commissioned by Cologne Cathedral, Germany to compose for Easter Sunday, 2006 his Easter Fanfares for the inauguration of the organ’s new en chamade Tuba stops.

In April 2008, Stephen Tharp was named the Official Organist for the NY visit of Pope Benedict XVI, playing for three major events attended by more than 60,000 people that were broadcast live worldwide. Mr. Tharp’s playing has also been heard on both English and Irish national television, on Radio Prague, orgelnieuws.nl in the Netherlands, and in the U. S. on American Public Media’s Pipedreams. In November 2005, Pipedreams broadcast an entire programme dedicated exclusively to his career, making him one of the few organists in the world so honoured.

He is also an active chamber musician nationwide, having performed on organ, piano and harpsichord with artists such as Thomas Hampson, Itzhak Perlman, Jennifer Larmore, Rachel Barton Pine, the American Boychoir (James Litton, conductor), the St. Thomas Choir (John Scott, conductor, in Duruflé’s Requiem), and at Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Alice Tully Hall and Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. His 14 solo organ recordings can be found on the JAV, Aeolus, Naxos, Organum and Ethereal

His commercial release The Complete Organ Works of Jeanne Demessieux on Aeolus Recordings, received the 2009 Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, Germany’s premier critic’s prize for recordings, as well as the French 5 Diapason award. The release was celebrated in October 2010 with Mr. Tharp’s performance of the complete Demessieux works live over three concerts at New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Stephen Tharp plays St. Bavo, Haarlem, The Netherlands on the JAV label was called "the most beautiful CD of 2009" by Resmusica in France.

Stephen Tharp earned his BA degree, magna cum laude, from Illinois College, Jacksonville, IL and his MM from Northwestern University, Chicago, where he studied with Rudolf Zuiderveld and Wolfgang Rübsam, respectively. He has also worked privately with Jean Guillou in Paris.

He is currently Artist-in-Residence at Grace Church (Episcopal), New York City. He also served as Organist at St. Patrick's Cathedral from 1995-1997 and the Associate Organist at St. Bartholomew's, NYC, from 1998-2002. For more information, see www.stephentharp.com