St. John's Cathedral, Denver, appoints new organist & director of music

Saint John’s Cathedral announced the appointment of Mr. Stephen Tappe, M.Mus., M.A.R., as Organist and Director of Music, beginning July 1, 2004. The Very Reverend Peter Eaton, Rector and Dean of Saint John’s commented that “Stephen’s appointment represents an important new beginning in our life at Saint John’s. Ours is a place that has long been a musical leader in Denver, and in the national Church. Under Stephen’s guidance, we can look forward to musical excellence in our worship and in our other music programs. He brings a particular passion for working with children’s choirs, inviting our young people through music more deeply into our common prayer.”


Stephen Tappe has nearly thirty years of experience in church music, and degrees in musical composition, organ performance, and liturgy. Stephen has been the Organist and Director of Music at Trinity Church, Tulsa, for the last eight years. He has also directed the prestigious Tulsa Boy Singers for six years, and founded in Tulsa a highly acclaimed Royal School of Church Music summer program which draws children from fine choral programs from around the country.


Cathedral website: www.sjc-den.org/
Prior to working at Trinity, Stephen was the Parish Musician and Liturgist for the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Jacksonville, FL. In Jacksonville, he also was the Temple Organist at Congregation Ahavath Chesed, and was the harpsichordist and organist for the Brandenburg Ensemble. Stephen has a Master of Music degree in organ performance from the Yale School of Music and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, and a Master of Arts in Religion degree with a concentration in liturgy from Yale Divinity School and the YISM; and a bachelor of music degree in composition (cum laude) from the Hartt School of Music. He also attended the Boston Conservatory of Music.


This appointment is the result of an extensive 9-month search that received over 100 applications from around the world. The advisory committee, co-chaired by The Reverend Canon Poulson Reed and parishioner Terry Fowler, included Cathedral choir members, parents of members of the Cathedral’s children’s choirs, and experts in music and liturgy including John Kuzma, Minister of Music at Montview Presbyterian Church, and Kathy Brantigan, Executive Director of the Denver Brass and a member of our brass quintet in residence, the Aries Brass.