Robert McCormick
Robert McCormick
Concert Organist
“ . . . ..technical wizardry and superb musicianship.” (Michael Caruso, Chestnut Hill Local, Philadelphia, PA, 2020)
Described by Choir & Organ as “indomitable and immensely gifted” and by The Macon Telegraph as “an artist of rare sensitivity and passion,” Robert McCormick is widely heralded by his colleagues as one of the finest concert and church musicians of this era. Known for his creative and unique abilities in organ improvisation, Mr. McCormick was named a semi-finalist in the 2005 St. Albans International Organ Festival Improvisation Competition, the only American to merit that distinction. Concert appearances across the United States include Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, the Summer Organ Festival at the Riverside Church (New York), the Pittsburgh Organ Artists Series, the East Texas Organ Festival, Basically Bach Festival at St. Peter’s Lutheran (New York), the Great Organists series at St. John’s Cathedral in Albuquerque (New Mexico), the Atlanta Summer Organ Festival, and recent recitals and workshops for Harrisburg, PA, Little Rock, AR, and Tulsa, OK, American Guild of Organists chapters, among many others. He presented workshops in organ improvisation at the 2024 National Convention of the AGO in San Francisco. His concerto appearances with orchestra include Samuel Barber’s Toccata Festiva, Camille Saint-Saëns’ “Organ” Symphony, and Joseph Jongen’s Symphonie Concertante. He has been a featured artist and clinician at numerous conventions and conferences of the Association of Anglican Musicians and the Royal School of Church Music in America, playing recitals and services, and leading workshops in choir training, service playing, and organ improvisation.
As a composer, his choral and organ works are published by Encore (UK) and Selah and have been performed throughout the U.S. and in Europe. His recording from St. Paul’s, K Street, We Sing of God, was released in June 2010 on the Pro Organo label. Choir & Organ’s review of the disc describes the choir as “one of the most responsive and adaptable choirs on the Eastern seaboard” and further states that “[McCormick] also shines at the organ.”
Mr. McCormick is the Director of Music and Organist at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia. This follows immediate past tenures at Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont (Bryn Mawr), PA, and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Philadelphia—parishes deeply rooted in the Anglo-Catholic tradition. From 2008 to 2016, he was Director of Music at St. Paul’s Parish, K Street, Washington, D.C. Under his direction there, the St. Paul's choirs performed at conventions of the AGO, the Organ Historical Society, and the Association of Anglican Musicians, and were heard nationally on the radio programs Pipedreams and With Heart and Voice. From 2001 to 2008 he served as Organist and Music Director at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, New York. He served for two years as sub-dean of the New York City chapter of the AGO and was co-chairperson of the 2014 National Conference of the Association of Anglican Musicians.
He holds the Bachelor of Music degree in organ performance, summa cum laude, from Westminster Choir College, studying with Robert Carwithen. During his time at Westminster, he was also Assistant Organist at Trinity Church, Princeton. Further study in repertoire and improvisation was with McNeil Robinson.
Robert McCormick 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
