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David Hurd: Introduction, Passacaglia, and Fugue on Windham

David Hurd: Introduction, Passacaglia, and Fugue on Windham (2022), commissioned by the Victoria Bach Festival, Victoria, Texas,  for Renée Anne Louprette.

The world premiere was presented at First United Methodist Church, Victoria, Texas on June 9, 2022. The present recording was made at the Cathedral of Uppsala, Sweden, on July 23, 2022. Organ by Fratelli Ruffatti, four manuals, with twin consoles, 2009: 
https://ruffatti.com/ru/specs/uppsala.html

David Hurd is widely recognized as one of the foremost church musicians and concert organists in the United States, with a long list of awards, prizes, honors, and achievements, and immeasurable expertise in organ performance, improvisation, and composition.  From 1976 until 2015, David Hurd was a faculty member at The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church in New York City, as Director of Chapel Music, Organist, and Professor of Church Music. From 1998–2013 he was Music Director and Organist at Church of the Holy Apostles (Episcopal) in New York City. Dr. Hurd is now Organist/Choirmaster of the famed Church of St. Mary the Virgin at Times Square.

See David Hurd’s Artist Spotlight at https://www.thediapason.com/artists/david-hurd

David Hurd is represented by Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists: 
www.concertartists.com  

Hailed by The New York Times as “splendid,” and “one of New York’s finest organists”, Renée Anne Louprette performs widely as organ recitalist, accompanist, and teacher. Ms. Louprette is College Organist and Assistant Professor of Music at Bard College in New York. Renée Anne Louprette is represented by Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists: 
www.concertartists.com  

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Michael Hey and Christiana Liberis play Bach

Michael Hey and Christiana Liberis play J. S. Bach’s Violin Concerto in E Major, BWV 1042, at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York City.

Two classically trained musicians, both with broad musical interests and a variety of work in many of New York City’s musical circles, Michael Hey and Christiana Liberis embarked on a partnership in 2017 to bring a new and fresh approach to the organ and violin repertoire. They continue to explore and create different styles and genres of music for these two instruments.

In 2015, Michael Hey was appointed Associate Director of Music and Organist of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, where one of his first major tasks was to perform for the first U.S. visit of Pope Francis. Michael plays at the Cathedral for services throughout the week which are broadcast on Sirius XM radio, television, and online. Not exclusively a solo organist, Michael enjoys playing piano and collaborating with other artists. He is a graduate of The Juilliard School where he received his B.M. and M.M. degrees in organ performance under Paul Jacobs. www.michaelhey.com

Born in Italy of Italian, Greek, and Polish heritage, violinist/violist Christiana Liberis is a performer of international reach. Based in New York City, Christiana has been heard in concert venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Madison Square Garden, and Radio City Music Hall. Christiana’s most recent work encompasses various commercial recording sessions for Philip Glass, recording for the 2021 Superbowl LIV, playing on director Lulu Wang’s new short film “Nian” for Apple-shot entirely on an iPhone 12 Pro Max and in celebration of the Chinese New Year, and performing in a string quartet for a televised special on Bravo for the launch of Brooklyn Point with Ryan Serhant of “Million Dollar Listing.” www.christianaliberis.com

The Hey-Liberis Duo is represented in North America exclusively by Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists, LLC. 
www.concertartists.com 

See their artist spotlight at https://www.thediapason.com/artists/michael-hey-and-christiana-liberis

Joshua Stafford plays Karg-Elert's Nearer My God to Thee

Joshua Stafford plays Nearer, My God, to Thee, by Karg-Elert, on the Massey Memorial Organ, Chautauqua Institution.

In April 2021, Joshua Stafford was installed as the Director of Music Ministries and Organist at Riverside Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville, Florida. Prior to his Jacksonville appointment, he was director of music at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown, New Jersey, from 2013–early 2021. In 2020, he was named Director of Sacred Music and the Jared Jacobsen Chair Organist of the Chautauqua Institution in western New York State.

A native of Jamestown, New York, Mr. Stafford received the Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2010 as a scholarship student of Alan Morrison. In 2012 he received his Master of Music degree from the Yale School of Music as a student of Thomas Murray (organ performance) and Jeffrey Brillhart (organ improvisation). Joshua was the recipient of both a full-tuition scholarship and the Robert Baker Award, given to a first year organ student who exhibits exceptional promise and achievement in their field of study.

See his artist spotlight: https://www.thediapason.com/artists/joshua-stafford

Joshua Stafford is represented in North America exclusively by Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists, LLC. 
www.concertartists.com 

Renée Anne Louprette

Renée Anne Louprette (photo credit: Joshua South)

"She presented herself as a communicative player with no shortage of imaginative ideas, with
fingers fully capable of backing them up, and with feet which are not just nimble on the pedals, 
but every bit as expressively articulate as her fingers." (Michael Dervan, The Irish Times)

Hailed by The New York Times as “splendid,” and “one of New York's finest organists,” Renée Anne Louprette maintains an international career as organ recitalist, collaborative artist, conductor, and teacher, and is director of the National Competition in Organ Improvisation. She is associated with several distinguished music programs in the New York City area, having served as Associate Director of Music at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, Associate Director of Music and the Arts at Trinity Wall Street, Organist and Associate Director at the Unitarian Church of All Souls, and Director of Music at the Church of Notre Dame.

Ms. Louprette is a U.S.-Romanian Fulbright Scholar who spent the Fall 2022 season in Brașov, Transylvania, completing research on historic Romanian pipe organs. She is Assistant Professor of Music and College Organist at Bard College and a member of the faculty of Bard College Conservatory, where she directs the Bard Baroque Ensemble and leads an annual Bach cantata series. She has directed the organ program at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University since 2013 and is a former faculty member at the Manhattan School of Music, The Hartt School of the University of Hartford, and the John J. Cali School of Music of Montclair State University. 

Ms. Louprette’s European festival recital appearances include Internationaler Orgelsommer, Stuttgart, Germany; Magadino, Switzerland; In Tempore Organi, Italy; Ghent and Hasselt, Belgium; Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark; Uppsala and Lund cathedrals, Sweden; Bordeaux Cathedral and Toulouse Les Orgues, France, and Organ Nights in Brașov, Romania. In 2018, she made her solo debuts at the Royal Festival Hall in London and the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. She has performed throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland, including at Westminster Abbey and the Temple Church in London, St. Giles Cathedral Edinburgh and Dunblane Cathedral (Scotland), Galway Cathedral and Dún Laoghaire (Ireland). 

Her recording of J. S. Bach’s "Great Eighteen Chorales" on the Metzler organ of Trinity College, Cambridge, England, was named a classical music Critics' Choice 2014 by The New York Times. “Une voix française | A French Voice”—her recording of 20th-century French organ repertoire on the Mander organ of St. Ignatius Loyola in New York—received top reviews in British journals Choir & Organ and Organists’ Review and the Dutch journal Orgelniews. Her current recording of Bach’s Clavier-Übung III performed on the Craighead-Saunders organ of Christ Church, Rochester, New York, is scheduled for release in 2023. 

As a collaborative keyboardist, Ms. Louprette has performed with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in Brisbane, Australia, the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, the American Brass Quintet, Voices of Ascension, Clarion Music Society, American Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Dance Project, The Dessoff Choirs, Oratorio Society of New York, and Piffaro, among many other ensembles. She has partnered with traditional Irish musician Ivan Goff, with whom she debuted at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles presenting the world premiere of a new work for uilleann pipes and organ by Eve Beglarian, commissioned for the Louprette-Goff duo by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The duo released their album “Bright Vision” to critical acclaim in 2019. The 2021-2022 season featured a join recital in Cluj-Napoca with Romanian saxophonist Zoltán Réman, concerto debuts with The Orchestra Now at the Bard Music Festival “Nadia Boulanger and her World” and with the Auburn Symphony Orchestra at Benaroya Hall in Seattle for the national convention of the American Guild of Organists. 

Ms. Louprette has conducted performances by professional choirs in the greater New York City area accompanied by members of Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, and the Orchestra of St. Ignatius Loyola, including the acclaimed U.S. premiere of John Tavener’s Requiem as co-conductor with Kent Tritle. She was selected as a conducting fellow of the Mostly Modern Festival in 2019, premiering several new works with the New York-based American Modern Ensemble. 

Renée Anne Louprette holds a Master of Music degree in conducting from Bard College Conservatory, a Bachelor of Music degree summa cum laude in piano performance and Graduate Professional Diploma in organ performance from The Hartt School, University of Hartford. She was awarded a Premier Prix - mention très bien from the Conservatoire National de Région de Toulouse, France and a Diplôme Supérieur in organ performance from the Centre d’Études Supérieures de Musique et de Danse de Toulouse where she studied with Michel Bouvard and Jan Willem Jansen (interpretation) and Philippe Lefebvre (improvisation). She completed additional studies in organ with Dame Gillian Weir, James David Christie, and Guy Bovet.

Renée Anne Louprette is represented in North America exclusively by Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists, LLC. 
www.concertartists.com
E-mail:  [email protected]
Phone: 860-560-7800
10 Abbott Lane, Dearborn, MI 48120-1001

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