TODD WILSON

Biography

Regarded across America and around the world as one of today’s finest concert organists, Todd Wilson is head of the Organ Department at The Cleveland Institute of Music, and Director of Music and Worship at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio. In addition, he is Curator of the E.M. Skinner pipe organ at Severance Hall (home of The Cleveland Orchestra), and House Organist for the newly-restored Aeolian organ at the Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens in Akron, Ohio.

CHURCH AND ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

Mr. Wilson previously held positions as Director of Music and Organist at The Church of the Covenant (Presbyterian) in Cleveland for nineteen years, and from 1989 through 1993 he was Head of the Organ Department at Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music in nearby Berea, performing in their annual Bach Festivals. Prior to these positions, he served as Organist and Master of the Choristers at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City, New York. In New York, he taught on the faculties of Adelphi and Hofstra Universities and was organist of the George Mercer School of Theology.

CONCERT ENGAGEMENTS

Todd Wilson has been heard in concert in many major cities throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan, including concerts at Symphony Hall (Birmingham, UK), Los Angeles’ Walt Disney Concert Hall, Chicago's Orchestra Hall, Cleveland’s Severance Hall, Dallas’ Meyerson Symphony Center, and Uihlein Hall in Milwaukee. In 1992 he was a recitalist for Austrian Radio in Vienna, as well as in concert with the Slovakian Radio Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Samuel Barber’s “Toccata Festiva.” During June of the same year, he performed Jean Langlais’ “Piece in Free Form” and Howard Hanson’s “Concerto for Organ, Strings and Harp” with members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as part of the National Convention of the American Guild of Organists. Also in 1992 he played the “Antiphonal Fantasy” by Norman Dello Joio with the Naples (Florida) Philharmonic, followed by a recording of it, along with works by Ives and Persichetti with that orchestra for Summit Records. In July of 1996 he was featured in the opening concert of the Centennial National Convention of the American Guild of Organists, at St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York City. In October of that same year he played two concerts with orchestra as part of the festivities dedicating the new organ given by Van Cliburn at the Broadway Baptist Church in Ft. Worth, Texas. In May of 2001 Mr. Wilson made his solo debut with the Cleveland Orchestra on the newly restored E. M. Skinner organ at Severance Hall in two performances of the Symphonie Concertante by Joseph Jongen, and in October 2002 he again appeared with the Cleveland Orchestra in four performances of the Organ Symphony by Aaron Copland. In June 2003 he dedicated the organ in the new 21,000-seat Mormon Conference Center in Salt Lake City, in October 2004 he was organ soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra on the first orchestra subscription series concerts featuring the new organ at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and in January 2005 he presented his first solo recital in Tokyo, Japan.

RECORDINGS

Mr. Wilson’s latest CDs on the JAV label feature a live recital of American music from the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, and “Live from Severance Hall”: a concert of music for trumpet and organ with Michael Sachs, Principal Trumpet of The Cleveland Orchestra. Other CDs on the JAV label are “Music for Cello and Organ” with his daughter, Rachel (released in September, 2003), “George Thalben- Ball and Friends” (released July 2001), and “Frank Bridge and Friends” featuring the complete organ works of Frank Bridge (released June 2000). He plays a variety of Christmas music on “A Joyous Celebration,” the inaugural recording (2001) of the recently restored E. M. Skinner organ in Cleveland’s Severance Hall, which is available from The Cleveland Orchestra. Mr. Wilson’s CDs for Delos International include: the Complete Organ Works of Maurice Duruflé; the Widor “Symphonie Romane” plus works by Jongen, Langlais, Bonnet, Demessieux and Dupré; “In a Quiet Cathedral,” a two-disc collection of meditative organ music. “Double Forte,” a recording of duo organ works with David Higgs, was released in 1996. He is heard playing and directing on a CD of American choral and organ music from Cleveland's Church of the Covenant. Earlier recordings include a Disques du Solstice recording of Tournemire organ works on the organ of Chartres Cathedral, and works by Duruflé, Guillou and Robinson at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in New York City (Gothic).

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Mr. Wilson received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, where he studied organ with Wayne Fisher and piano with John Quincy Bass. Further coaching in organ repertoire was with Russell Saunders at The Eastman School of Music. An active member of the American Guild of Organists, Mr. Wilson holds the Fellow and Choirmaster certificates from that institution, and won the S. Lewis Elmer Prize for the highest national exam score in 1982. He has been a featured recitalist at many Guild conventions.

COMPETITION/ADJUDICATION BACKGROUND

He has won numerous competitions, including the prestigious French Grand Prix de Chartres, the Fort Wayne Competition, the Strader National Scholarship Competition and the national competition sponsored by the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles. A sought-after adjudicator, Mr. Wilson has been a member of the jury for many of the world’s most prestigious competitions such as The Nürnberg Competition (Germany), the Dallas Competition, the Royal College of Organists’ Performer of the Year Competition, the Calgary International Organ Festival and Competition, the St. Alban’s International Organ Festival (England), the Grand Prix de Chartres and the Toulouse Festival Competitions (France), the American Guild of Organists National Young Artists Competition, and the Ft. Wayne Competition.

CHURCH MUSIC/WORKSHOPS

Having grown up in the men and boys choir of Trinity Church in Toledo, the choirs and music of the Anglican tradition have been an influential part of Mr. Wilson's musical life. During 1978-79 he served as a visiting assistant in music at Canterbury Cathedral in England under Dr. Allan Wicks. At the Cathedral of the Incarnation, Mr. Wilson directed one of the longest-running choirs of men and boys in continuous existence in the United States. Mr. Wilson frequently presents workshops on English choral and organ music, as well as on service playing. An active interest in improvisation has led to his popular improvised accompaniments to classic silent films. He has been organ clinician at the Evergreen Conference (for Episcopal church musicians) in Colorado, twice at the Montreat Conference on Worship and Music, at the National Music Camp at Interlochen and for the Presbyterian Association of Musicians. In 1992 and 1993 he was the director of the Pipe Organ Encounter for the AGO, held in Cleveland.

Current as of March 2010