Stephen J. Tharp (born 12 April 1970) is an American

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

.Stephen Tharp website
Retrieved 11 May 2023.

Education and training

Tharp received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from

Illinois College Illinois College is a private liberal arts college in Jacksonville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church (USA). It was the second college founded in Illinois but the first to grant a degree (in ...

and a

Master of Music The Master of Music (MM or MMus) is, as an academic title, the first graduate degree in music awarded by universities and conservatories. The MM combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization (usually performance in singing or i ...

degree from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

, where he studied with Rudolf Zuiderveld and

Wolfgang Rübsam Wolfgang Friedrich Rübsam (born October 16, 1946, in Gießen) is a German-American organist, pianist, composer and pedagogue. Biography After his musical training with Erich Ackermann in Fulda, Germany, Rübsam studied at the Musikhochschule in ...

, respectively. He also studied privately in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

with

Jean Guillou Jean Victor Arthur Guillou (18 April 1930 – 26 January 2019) was a French composer, organist, pianist, and pedagogue. Principal Organist at Saint Eustache in Paris, from 1963 to 2015, he was widely known as a composer of instrumental and voca ...

Career

From 1995 to 1997 Tharp served as organist at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, and from 1998 to 2002 he was associate organist at St. Bartholomew's Church in the same city. In 2008 he was selected as the official organist during Pope Benedict XVI's visit to New York, playing at three major events that were attended by more than 60,000 people. Tharp was an artist-in-residence at Grace Church in New York for the 2013−2014 season, and since then has been an artist-in-residence at St. James's Church on Madison Avenue. Tharp has performed extensively as a concert organist, having played at over 1,600 concerts during 62 tours worldwide. He has given masterclasses at venues such as

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

Westminster Choir College Westminster Choir College (WCC) is a historic conservatory of music, currently operating on the campus of Rider University, in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Rider's College of Arts and Sciences (the college under which the historic institution has ...

and

Cleveland Institute of Music The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is a private music conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio. The school was founded in 1920 by a group of supporters led by Martha Bell Sanders and Mary Hutchens Smith, with Ernest Bloch serving as its first dire ...

, and has served on juries for competitions at

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

and

. In addition to being a composer and transcriber in his own right, Tharp is a frequent performer of modern works, having premiered those of Philip Moore, Anthony Newman,

Thierry Escaich Thierry Joseph-Louis Escaich (born 8 May 1965) is a French organist and composer. Life Born in Nogent-sur-Marne, Escaich studied organ, improvisation and composition at the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSMDP), where he won eight First Prizes a ...

and others. He also plays the piano and harpsichord. Tharp has recorded numerous CDs, including works by

Jeanne Demessieux Jeanne Marie-Madeleine Demessieux (14 February 1921 – 11 November 1968) was a French organist, pianist, composer, and teacher. She was the chief organist at Saint-Esprit for 29 years and at La Madeleine in Paris starting in 1962. She performed ...

Marcel Dupré Marcel Jean-Jules Dupré (; 3 May 1886 – 30 May 1971) was a French organist, composer, and pedagogue. Early life and education Born in Rouen into a wealthy musical family, Marcel Dupré was a child prodigy. His father Aimable Albert Dupré ...

Louis Vierne Louis Victor Jules Vierne (8 October 1870 – 2 June 1937) was a French organist and composer. He was the organist of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1900 until his death. As a composer, much of his output was Organ (music), organ music, including six ...

and

Charles-Marie Widor Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor (21 February 1844 – 12 March 1937) was a French organist, composer and teacher of the late Romantic era. As a composer he is known for his ten organ symphonies, especially the toccata of his fifth organ sympho ...

.Stephen Tharp website: Recordings
Retrieved 11 May 2023.

Awards and recognition

Tharp has been described as "one of the most brilliant concert organists around these days". His recording of the complete organ works of Jeanne Demessieux won the

Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik Preis is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alfred Preis (1911–1993), Austrian architect * Ellen Preis (Ellen Müller-Preis) (1912–2007), German-born Austrian Olympic champion foil fencer * Mary Louise Preis (born 1941), ...

in 2009. In 2011 he was named International Performer of the Year by the New York City chapter of the

American Guild of Organists The American Guild of Organists (AGO) is an international organization of academic, church, and concert organists in the US, headquartered in New York City with its administrative offices in the Interchurch Center. Founded as a professional educa ...

, and in 2015 he won the

Paul Creston Paul Creston (born Giuseppe Guttoveggio; October 10, 1906 – August 24, 1985) was an American composer of classical music. He composed six symphonies and several concertante works for violin, piano, accordion, marimba and saxophone. Biography B ...

Award. Listed in ''

Who's Who in America Marquis Who's Who, also known as A.N. Marquis Company ( or ), is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in A ...

'' and ''

Who's Who in the World Marquis Who's Who, also known as A.N. Marquis Company ( or ), is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in A ...

'', Tharp has also featured in a number of programs on

American Public Media American Public Media (APM) is an American company that produces and distributes public radio programs in the United States, the second largest company of its type after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and o ...

's Pipedreams.

Discography

* ''Louis Vierne: Complete Organ Symphonies, Vol. III'', Aeolus (2019) * ''Stephen Tharp: The St. James's Recital'', Aeis (2016) * ''Variations on "Rouen" (Iste Confessor)'', iTunes (2012) * ''Stephen Tharp Plays Bach's Goldberg Variations'', JAV Recordings (2011) * ''Organ Classics from Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York City'', JAV Recordings (2010) * ''Stephen Tharp Plays the Organ at Saint Bavo, Haarlem'', JAV Recordings (2009) * ''Jeanne Demessieux: The Complete Organ Works'', Aeolus (2009) * ''Duruflé: Messe Cum Jubilo'', JAV Recordings (2009) * ''Hymns Old and New'', JAV Recordings (2008) * ''Stephen Tharp Plays the Anderson Organ'', JAV Recordings (2007) * ''Marcel Dupré: Le Chemin de la Croix'', JAV Recordings (2005) * ''The Widor Mass, Op. 36'', JAV Recordings (2005) * ''The Art of the Symphonic Organist, Vol. II'', JAV Recordings (2004) * ''Stephen Tharp at St. Sulpice, Paris, France'', JAV Recordings (2002) * ''Stephen Tharp: Debut in Europe'', Organum Classics (2001) * ''Stephen Tharp at Trumbull'', Ethereal Recordings (1999) * ''World Premieres and Transcriptions, Vol. I'', Ethereal Recordings (1998) * ''Legendary Organ Works, Vol. I'', Ethereal Recordings (1997) * ''Mendelssohn: The Six Organ Sonatas'', Naxos (1996)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tharp, Stephen 1970 births Living people Illinois College alumni Northwestern University alumni American organists American male organists 21st-century American organists 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American keyboardists