Larry Tremsky retires

Larry Tremsky retired in January 2026 from the Cathedral of the Incarnation (Episcopal), Garden City, Long Island, New York, where he was principal organist and choirmaster. He came to the cathedral in July 2000 and directed a large and active music program that included training boy and girl choristers, conducting the cathedral choir composed primarily of professional singers, and overseeing a concert series. His tenure also saw the rebuilding of the cathedral’s 1986 Casavant organ (four manuals/103 ranks), refurbishing the thirteen tower bells that had originally been acquired from the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition in 1876, and purchasing a Taylor and Boody continuo organ. Under his direction, the cathedral choir performed in Boston, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Montreal, England, and Scotland. He was also the organist for choirs from the United States touring the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, and Austria, as well as serving as accompanist for numerous choral recordings.

A native of Ohio, Tremsky earned a Bachelor of Music degree in organ performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and a Master of Music degree in church music from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. From 1982–1992 he served as associate organist-choirmaster at Holy Name Catholic Cathedral in Chicago, Illinois, where he assisted Richard Proulx. His time at Holy Name included serving on the committee that selected a new organ (four manuals/117 ranks) from D. A. Flentrop Orgelbouw of Zaandam, the Netherlands, the largest mechanical-action organ imported into the United States at that time.

In 1992 Tremsky became director of music at Grace Episcopal Church in Utica, New York, rebuilding the choir program. He was also part of the staff of the Montreal Boys Choir Course (MBCC) for many years, including eight years as executive director. MBCC was at that time the oldest continuously running choral training course, bringing together boys and teens from across the United States and Canada to spend an intensive week studying and performing under the direction of a UK guest conductor.

In January Tremsky moved to Lviv, Ukraine, where he founded the Lviv Early Music Foundation, a registered charitable organization devoted to strengthening the country’s early music community through performance, education, and providing young Ukrainian musicians with instruments modeled on historical examples. 

Information on this unique new project: lvivearlymusic.org.