Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast All the Stops Podcast

Multiple award winning organist and conservatory professor, Michael Unger, and I sit down to talk about the patchwork of projects many organists find themselves pursuing. Plus, we get into how the competition circuit can be a challenge to your self-perception as an artist.

It's the first week of All The Stops, and I'm the guest!! We're talking about social media, young organists, and the way things are shifting in the field.

Get ready to jump into the King of Instruments on the All The Stops Podcast, hosted by award winning organist and TikToker, Wesley Hall aka @Westpiper. Each episode features in-depth conversations with the best people in the industry from performers to builders and everything in between. It's time to pull out All The Stops!

Amanda is a virtuoso organist who came to the instrument late in high-school, but after switching majors in college she threw herself down a path that led to competition victories, artist management, and university teaching. It's never too late to be your true self!

In this episode we talk with Walden Moore about program building, children's choirs, mentorship, and how to know when you're already working at your dream job.

Interfaith worship is a challenge and opportunity like nothing else, and at Harvard, it's a way of life. David von Behren and I get into it in this episode, plus we talk organs, rep, and spaces at that school in Cambridge...

Acclaimed organist, Christopher Houlihan, and I sit down to talk about his innovative project performing the complete symphonies of Vierne across America. Then we talk about what it's like to run an organ competition and festival for young musicians. Finally, we chat about pairing organ and orchestra!

British content creator, Inspector Organ, joins us to talk about his exciting world exploring churches old and new looking for fascinating historical gems!

Jeffrey approaches the organ from the fascinating perspective of a singer. The instrument breathes and sings, like a mechanical choir! We get into it in this episode, plus a look at life on Nantucket and the special instruments that bring New England's past to life!

Christoph has a really unique and fun-loving approach to musicmaking, and we get into all of it in this episode. From his roots studying in Germany as a kid, to Boston, to LA, laughs are plentiful, and interesting concepts abound.

The AGO is the largest musician's guild in the world, and every chapter is different. In this episode we sit down with the Dean of a big city chapter (Boston) and a midsize city chapter (Worcester) to talk about how they approach the growth and flourishing of the instrument.

Janet Yieh shares her insights into the sacred music scene in NYC, and discusses the role that choral singing is playing in the lives of young people seeking connection. We also talk about a fascinating project highlighting the work of women composers and her experiences balancing the rigorous life at Julliard with the sacred music world.

Who says 13 is unlucky? Dr. Caroline Robinson joins me to talk about her extraordinary career spanning church music, academia, and performance, plus some thoughts on positivity about our world!

We've gone video! And it's time for me to interview myself again, and give some updates on how things are looking in the field of the Pipe Organ. Write to us at info@allthestopsmedia.com with your thoughts and ideas!

It's our first episode about building and maintaining pipe organs, and there was only one place to turn! Jonathan Ortloff is a successful organ builder who started his own company and understands organs deeply from both the performance and maintenance side of things. We talk tuning, voicing, and building in a rich and full Episode number 14!

A tale of two institutions in the Pacific Northwest with two wonderful friends and colleagues. Innovative projects and the patchwork of pursuits in the organ world!

Finally, we have a Roman Catholic voice on the show to talk all things chant, tradition, and the future of church music, and who better than Patrick McGuire! A great episode with a passionate and talented figure in the Catholic music realm!

This week it's time for something a little different: a pastoral perspective! Rev. Brent Newberry is the Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Worcester, MA, and he's full of keen insights from across the chancel and behind the pulpit! Plus, we play Organ Trivia!!

In this episode, we get content creator, Laura Felicity's perspective on everything from contemporary influencing, to gender and the organ, and so much more! She's a graduate student at Rice University, and she's making sure new audiences learn about the King of Instruments through her informational and lifestyle content!

It's time to talk about the piano to organ pipeline: identity, technique and so much more! Tate Addis is a fabulous musician who studied both instruments seriously alongside one another, but who underwent a shift in identity and pivoted to being a pipe organist. That doesn't mean the instruments don't continue relate to each other in his approach to music, though. We get into the details here alongside some very meaningful insights about making art and doing the hard thing.

James Kealey is a renowned English concert organist, but he first wanted to be an airline pilot! Many organists have pivoted careers from pipes to planes, so what's the connection? We get into this and so much more on this fabulous episode of All The Stops!

What do you do when your pipe organ is decimated by a hurricane? You build a bigger better pipe organ. We get into the fascinating process with acclaimed organist, Dexter Kennedy, talking about picking a builder and designing an instrument while balancing the needs of choral accompaniment, congregational singing, and repertoire.

Seyi James Ayinde, aka "GenZ Organist" is a dynamic and creative young organist in Nigeria redefining perceptions of Pipe Organ in Africa. In this episode, I learn so much about music in Nigeria and hear from Seyi on his plans to innovate and develop perception of the instrument and sacred music for his generation!

There has been so much progress when it comes to representation of excellent women composers, but there's more work to be done! Susan Jane Matthews, founder of "A Great Host of Women Composers" and Vice President of the Association of Anglican Musicians talks with me about creating a database of women composers and helping to guide the field of sacred music toward a more inclusive destination.

Jessica French is an acclaimed composer, and she shares about her work as well as her colorful experiences of music as a synesthete. We have a lighthearted and enlightening discussion from color experience to compositional style and idiomatic writing, and everything in between!

International concert organist, Katelyn Emerson, has lived in France, Germany, the UK and the US, and she talks about the subtle and not-so-subtle differences in the instruments and organ scenes. Plus, she shares some of the fascinating work she's doing as a PhD Candidate at the University of Cambridge! We sadly experienced some audio streaming issues, so please forgive the fuzzy vocals. We hope to have it all sorted for next week's show!

Damin Spritzer takes a break from performing, teaching, and sacred music, to explain how they reinforce one another. She's just as good at talking about the world of organ music as she is at interpreting it! Another week of sound quality issues... we'll have it sorted next week!