“Stephen Tharp is the best organist in America."
The Diapason

"...performed colorfully, rousing and splendid..."
The New York Times

“Stephen Tharp had the riskiest billing, closing out the (Boston AGO National) Convention in the only recital before the entire gathering. Tharp responded with the performance of a lifetime [...] the whole thing so dazzlingly executed as to emboss itself upon the memory."
Choir & Organ Magazine

"Stephen Tharp plays as if the music were in his life-blood: musical, spacious, accurate, persuasive, convincing."
Organists’ Review

"Tharp is 'authoritative, impassioned, supremely musical and technically impeccable'."
The American Organist

"... Stephen Tharp, one of the most brilliant concert organists around these days...."
The Dallas Morning News

“Brilliant. Perhaps no more need be said. Mr. Tharp nearly had his audience on its feet following his first piece."
The Console Crier, Chicago Chapter, American Guild of Organists

“With Mr. Tharp, the magic is always there."
Bachtrack.com

Stephen Tharp, hailed as “the organist for the connoisseur" (organ - Journal für die Orgel, Germany), “the thinking person’s performer" (Het Orgel), “every bit the equal of any organist" (The American Organist" magazine) and “the consummate creative artist" (Michael Barone, Pipedreams), is recognized as one of the great concert organists of our age.
Having played more than 1600 concerts across more than 60 tours worldwide, Stephen Tharp has built one of the most well-respected international careers in the world, earning him the reputation as the most traveled concert organist of his generation. He is listed in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World, and has been given the 2011 International Performer of the Year Award by the New York City chapter of the American Guild of Organists. In May 2015, he was given the Paul Creston Award which recognizes artistic excellence by a significant figure in church music and the performing arts.

His list of performances since 1987 includes such distinguished venues as St. Bavo, Haarlem; Notre-Dame de Paris, St. Eustache, Paris; Notre Dame de Chartres; Ste. Croix, Bordeaux; Auditorium Maurice Ravel, Lyon; The Hong Kong Cultural Centre; the Town Halls of Sydney and Adelaide, Australia; Tchaikovsky Hall, Moscow; the Tonhalle, Zürich; the Philharmonc Halls in Berlin and Luxembourg; the Duomo, Milano, Italy; the cathedrals in Berlin, Köln, München, Münster, Passau und Monaco, and the Gewandhaus, Leipzig, Germany; the Frauenkirche, Dresden; Igreja da Lapa, Porto, Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Lissabon; Antwerp Cathedral, Belgium; Dvorak Hall, Prague; the Hallgrimskirkja, Reykjavik, Iceland; The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas; Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles; The Kimmel Center, Philadelphia; The Riverside Church, New York City; Rice University, Houston; Spivey Hall, Atlanta; and Severance Hall, Cleveland.

He has given master classes at Yale University; Westminster Choir College; the Cleveland Institute of Music, Bethel University (St. Paul, MN), Rice University (Houston, TX); the Hochschulen für Musik in Stuttgart, Trossingen and Bochum (Germany); and for chapters of the American Guild of Organists. He has also adjudicated for competitions at the Juilliard School, Northwestern University and served more recently as Juror for the Grand Prix de Chartres 2018.

Stephen Tharp remains an important champion of new organ music, and continues to commission and premiere numerous compositions for the instrument. The first such piece was Jean Guillou’s symphonic poem Instants, Op. 57, which Tharp premiered at King’s College, Cambridge, England in February 1998. Works dedicated to him include George Baker’s Prière Grégorienne (2018), Danse Diabolique (2016), Variations on “Rouen" (2010); David Briggs’ Toccata Labyrinth (2006); Samuel Adler’s Sonata (2005); Eugenio Fagiani’s Psalm 100 (2009) and Stèle (2003); Thierry Escaich’s Trois Poèmes (2002); Philip Moore’s Sinfonietta (2001); Anthony Newman’s Tombeau d'Igor Stravinsky (2000), Toccata and Fuga Sinfonica on BACH (1999) and the Second Symphony (1992); Martha Sullivan's Slingshot Shivaree for Organ and Percussion (1999); and Morgan Simmons Exercitatio Fantastica (1997). Himself a composer, Tharp was commissioned by Cologne Cathedral, Germany to compose for Easter Sunday, 2006 his Easter Fanfares for the inauguration of the organ’s new en chamade Tuba stops, as well Disney’s Trumpets, composed in February 2011 for the organ at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, where it was premiered by the composer the following month.

In April 2008, Stephen Tharp was named the Official Organist for the NY visit of Pope Benedict XVI, playing for three major events attended by more than 60,000 people that were broadcast live worldwide. Mr. Tharp’s playing has also been heard on both English and Irish national television, on Radio Prague, orgelnieuws.nl in the Netherlands, and in the U. S. on American Public Media’s Pipedreams. In both 2005 and 2011, Pipedreams broadcast entire programs dedicated exclusively to his career, making him one of the few organists in the world so honored.

He is also an active chamber musician nationwide, having performed on organ, piano and harpsichord with artists such as Thomas Hampson, Itzhak Perlman, Jennifer Larmore, Rachel Barton Pine, the American Boychoir (James Litton, conductor), the St. Thomas Choir (John Scott, conductor, in Duruflé’s Requiem), and at Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Alice Tully Hall and Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. His 16 solo organ recordings can be found on the labels Acis Productions, JAV Recordings, Aeolus, Naxos, Organum and Ethereal, and are available from the Organ Historical Society (www.ohscatalog.org), JAV Recordings (www.pipeorgancds.com) and Amazon (www.amazon.com).

His commercial release The Complete Organ Works of Jeanne Demessieux on Aeolus Recordings, received the 2009 Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, Germany’s premier critic’s prize for recordings, as well as the French 5 Diapason award. The release was celebrated in October 2010 with Mr. Tharp’s performance of the complete Demessieux works live over three concerts at New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Stephen Tharp plays St. Bavo, Haarlem, The Netherlands on the JAV label was called “the most beautiful CD of 2009" by Resmusica in France.

Stephen Tharp earned his BA degree, magna cum laude, from Illinois College, Jacksonville, IL and his MM from Northwestern University, Chicago, where he studied with Rudolf Zuiderveld and Wolfgang Rübsam, respectively. He has also worked privately with Jean Guillou in Paris.


STEPHEN THARP

Deutsche Biographie

“Stephen Tharp ist der beste Organist in Amerika."
(The Diapason)

“Der perfekte Virtuose…."
(Die Abendzeitung, München)

"...spielte farbenreich, mitreissend und brilliant..."
(The New York Times)

„Stephen Tharp, der in weiten Kreisen als einer der brillantesten in der gegenwärtigen Schar der Konzertorganisten gilt, erwies sich als eine Musikerpersönlichkeit mit großartigem Können.“
(The Dallas Morning News)

Stephen Tharp, gepriesen als “der Organist für den Kenner“ (organ - Journal für die Orgel, Deutschland), als „der Interpret für den Intellektuellen“ (Het Orgel), als „in allen Details jedem Orgelvirtuosen gleichrangig“ (Zeitschrift The American Organist) und als „der umfassende kreative Künstler“ (Michael Barone, Pipedreams), ist anerkannt als einer der großen Konzertorganisten unserer Zeit.
Nachdem er über 60 weltweite Konzerttourneen als Solist und mehr als 1600 Konzerte weltweit gespielt hat, hat er eine derjenigen internationalen Karrieren fest etabliert, die von den Kritikern allüberall am meisten Anerkennung und Ansehen erfahren; sie brachte ihm den Ruhm ein, der Konzertorganist seiner Generation zu sein, der am meisten und weitesten auf Tourneen unterwegs ist.
Stephen Tharp ist in dem Kompendium 'Who’s Who in America' und 'Who's Who in the World" für seine ausgezeichneten Errungenschaften in der Musik eingetragen.

Seine umfassende Liste von Aufführungen seit 1987 enthält so herausragende Konzertorte wie St. Bavo, Haarlem; Notre-Dame de Paris, St. Eustache, Paris; Notre-Dame de Chartres; Ste. Croix, Bordeaux; Maurice Ravel Auditorium, Lyon; die Berliner und Luxemburger Philharmonien,The Hong Kong Cultural Centre; die Town Halls von Sydney und Adelaide, Australien; den Tschaikowsky Saal, Moskau; die Tonhalle Zürich; den Dom von Mailand, Italien; die Dome zu Köln, München, Speyer, Passau, Berlin, Essen, Münster, Paderborn , Würzburg und Monaco; das Gewandhaus Leipzig; das Konzerthaus Dortmund; die Frauenkirche Dresden; Igreja da Lapa, Porto, Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Lissabon; die Kathedralen von Antwerpen, Belgien; die Dvořák- Halle, Prag; die Hallgrímskirkja, Reykjavik, Island; The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas; The Walt Disney Hall, Los Angeles; The Kimmel Center, Philadelphia; The Crystal Cathedral, Garden Grove, California; The Riverside Church, New York City; Rice University, Houston; Spivey Hall, Atlanta; Severance Hall, Cleveland; Symphony Center, Chicago; sowie Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles.

Er war zentral vorgestellter Künstler bei nationalen wie regionalen Zusammenkünften des Amerikanischen Organistenverbandes (American Guild of Organists - AGO) und hielt Meisterkurse an der Yale University, am Westminster Choir College, dem Cleveland Institute of Music, der Bethel University, St. Paul, Minnesota, an den Hochschulen für Musik in Stuttgart, Trossingen und Bochum, sowie für die AGO.
Er war außerdem Mitglied der Jury bei Wettbewerben an der Juilliard School, der Northwestern University, sowohl des Grand Prix de Chartres 2018.

Stephen Tharp bleibt ein wichtiger Vertreter neuer Orgelmusik, vergibt immer neue Kompositionsaufträge und spielt zahlreiche Uraufführungen von Kompositionen für das Instrument. Das erste solche Stück war Jean Guillous symphonische Dichtung Instants, op. 57, die Tharp am King’s College, Cambridge, England, im Februar 1998 zur Uraufführung brachte.
Unter den nachfolgend ihm gewidmeten Werken waren Martha Sullivans Slingshot Shivaree for Organ and Percussion (1999), Anthony Newmans Toccata and Fuga Sinfonica on B-A-C-H (1999), sein Tombeau d’ Igor Stravinsky (2000); Philip Moores Sinfonietta (2001), Thierry Escaichs Trois Poèmes (2002), Eugenio Fagianis Stèle and Psalm 100 (2003; 2009), Samuel Adlers Sonata (2005), David Briggs’ Toccata Labyrinth (2006), und George Bakers Prière Grégorienne (2018), Danse Diabolique (2016) und Variations on Rouen (2010). Schon 1992 und 1995 hatte er die Uraufführungen der ihm gewidmeten Werke von Anthony Newmans Second Symphony und Morgan Simmons’ Sequencia Pedalia gespielt.

Als Komponist erhielt er selbst vom Kölner Dom den Auftrag, für Ostersonntag 2006 zur Einweihung der neuen Tuba- Hochdruckregister seine Easter Fanfares zu schreiben.

Im April 2008 war Stephen Tharp der Offizielle Organist für den Besuch Papst Benedikts XVI. in New York. Sein Orgelspiel wurde live übertragen vom Englischen und Irischen Nationalen Fernsehen, von Radio Prag, orgelnieuws.nl in den Niederlanden, und in den USA im öffentlichen amerikanischen Sender Pipedreams (www.pipedreams.org).
Im Jahr 2005 und 2011 strahlte Pipedreams zwei komplette Sendungen aus, die ausschließlich seiner Karriere gewidmet war, was ihn zu einem der ganz wenigen Organisten weltweit machte, die derart geehrt wurden.

Er ist auch in ganz Amerika als Kammermusiker aktiv, der an der Orgel, dem Klavier und dem Cembalo gemeinsame Konzerte gab mit Künstlern wie Thomas Hampson, Itzhak Perlman, Jennifer Larmore, Rachel Barton Pine, The American Boychoir (Leitung: James Litton) und dem St. Thomas Choir (Leitung: John Scott, in Duruflés Requiem) an Orten wie der Carnegie Hall, dem Metropolitan Museum of Art, der Alice Tully Hall und Avery Fisher Hall im Lincoln Center.

Seine 16 Solo- Orgelaufnahmen sind bei den Labels Acis Productions, JAV Recordings, Aeolus, Organum, Ethereal zu finden und sind von der Organ Historical Society (OHS) (www.ohscatalog.org), JAV Recordings (www.pipeorgancds.com) und Amazon (www.amazon.com) erhältlich.

Seine CD- The complete works of Jeanne Demessieux- hat im Februar 2009 sowohl "5 DIAPASON" der renommierten französischen Fachzeitschrift Diapason als auch den"Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik" (Mai 2009) erhalten.
Die Veröffentlichung wurde im Oktober 2010 in drei Live-Konzerten in der Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City gefeiert.

Die CD Stephen Tharp plays St. Bavo, Haarlem, The Netherlands, die beim JAV Label erschienen ist, wurde als “die schönste CD des Jahres 2009" von Resmusica in Frankreich bezeichnet.

Im Februar 2012 wurde ihm im Rahmen seines Preisträgerkonzertes der "2011 International Performer of the Year" Award des New York City Verbundes der American Guild of Organists (AGO) verliehen und im Mai 2015 hat er die Paul Creston Auszeichnung erhalten, die bedeutenden Figuren in der Kirchenmusik und der darstellenden Kunst verliehen wird.

STEPHEN THARP

Biographie française

"Stephen Tharp est le meilleur organiste dans les États-Unis."
(The Diapason)

"... Il a joué coloré, enivrant et brillant ..."
(The New York Times)

Stephen Tharp, salué comme "le parfait virtuose" par le journal munichois ‘Die Abendzeitung’, figure parmi les organistes de concert les plus actifs dans le monde.

Depuis plus de dix ans, son succès lui fait donner plus de 60 concerts par an dans le monde entier. Il est depuis longtemps reconnu sur la scène internationale comme l'un des interprètes au style le plus sûr et à l'éclectisme le plus intelligent de notre temps.

Ayant déjà occupé le poste d'organiste et directeur des concerts à la cathédrale St Patrick de New York, Stephen Tharp est devenu l'un de ces rares organistes pour qui le seul objectif artistique est le concert, l'enregistrement et l'enseignement.

Depuis 1987, ses plus des 1600 concerts mondiales et plus des 60 tournées internationales en tant que soliste aux États-Unis, au Canada, en Europe, en Asie et en Australie l'ont amené à se produire dans des lieux aussi célèbres que l'église St Bavo de Haarlem (Pays-Bas), la cathédrale Notre-Dame et l'église St Eustache, Paris; Notre-Dame de Chartres; Ste. Croix, Bordeaux; Auditorium Maurice Ravel, Lyon; les philharmonies de Berlin et Luxembourg, le Centre Culturel de Hong Kong, la Tonhalle de Zürich, le Dôme de Milan, les cathédrales de Berlin, Cologne, Munich, Passau, Essen, Speyer, Berlin, Würzburg et Monaco, la Basilique de Weingarten, le Gewandhaus et l'église St Thomas de Leipzig, l'église de Notre-Dame à Dresden, l'église da Lapa au Porto et Mosteiro dos Jerónimos à Lisbonne, la Hallgrímskirkju de Reykjavik; la cathédrale d'Aarhus (Danemark), le Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center à Dallas, le Walt Disney Hall à Los Angeles, le Woolsey Hall de l'université de Yale, le Jack Singer Hall à Calgary (Canada), la Grace Cathedral de San Francisco, la Crystal Cathedral de Garden Grove (Californie), l'université Rice de Houston, la cathédrale Notre Dame des Anges de Los Angeles, le Spivey Hall à Atlanta, le Museum of Art and Severance Hall à Cleveland; et l'Orchestra Hall à Chicago.

Ardent défenseur de la musique d'aujourd'hui, Stephen Tharp commande régulièrement de nombreuses compositions nouvelles pour orgue et les crée. La première fut Instants - Poème Symphonique, Op. 57 de Jean Guillou, que Stephen Tharp créa au King's College de Cambridge en février 1998.
Ensuite, les œuvres dont il fut le dédicataire sont les suivantes:
Prière Grégorienne en 2018, Danse Diabolique en 2016 et Variations on Rouen de George Baker en 2010, Toccata Labyrinth de David Briggs en 2006, Sonata de Samuel Adler en 2005, Stèle d'Eugenio Fagiani en 2003 et Psalm 100 en 2009, Trois Poèmes, de Thierry Escaich en 2002, Sinfonietta de Philip Moore en 2001, de Anthony Newman : Tombeau d'Igor Stravinsky (2000), Toccata and Fuga Sinfonica on BACH (1999) et la Second Symphony (1992), Slingshot Shivaree for Organ and Percussion de Martha Sullivan en 1999, et (1997) suite pour pédalier solo, par Morgan Simmons, compositeur de Chicago.

Stephen Tharp est titulaire d'une maîtrise d'orgue de l'université Northwestern, où il fut l'élève de Wolfgang Rübsam, titulaire de l'orgue de la chapelle Alice Miller de l'université, et claveciniste de l'Ensemble de musique de chambre de l'université Northwestern.
Il détient une licence d'orgue, de piano et d'accompagnement, avec mention "Très bien", de l'Illinois College de Jacksonville, où il travailla l'orgue avec Rudolf Zuiderveld et le piano avec Garrett Allman.

En 2005 et 2011, Pipedreams a diffusé des programmes entièrement dédiés exclusivement à sa carrière, faisant de lui l'un des organistes peu dans le monde ainsi honoré.
En avril 2008, Stephen Tharp a été l'organiste officiel de la visite du pape Benoît XVI à New York jouant pour trois offices majeurs qui ont été télévisés en direct dans le monde entier en présence de plus de 60.000 personnes.

Étant lui-même un professeur doué, Stephen Tharp est célèbre pour ses idées sur la musique des XIXème et XXème siècles ainsi que pour ses transcriptions pour orgue d'œuvres rares pour orchestre ou pour piano.
On peut trouver les 16 enregistrements commerciaux sur le site de Acis Productions, JAV Recordings, de la Organ Historical Society et celui de Aeolus.

L’Édition de l'intégrale des œuvres de Jeanne Demessieux a reçu 5 DIAPASON en février de 2009 ainsi que le prestigieux "Prix de la critique du disque" en Allemagne en mai 2009.
La publication fut célébrée en octobre 2010 avec trois récitals dans la Cathédrale de St. John the Divine à New York.
Le CD Stephen Tharp plays St. Bavo, Haarlem, The Netherlands était désigné comme “le plus beau CD de l’année 2009" par Resmusica en France.

En février de 2012, Stephen Tharp a reçu le prix d’artiste international de l’année 2011 (2011 International Performer of the Year Award) de l’association locale de New York de l'American Guild of Organists (AGO) et le prix Paul Creston en mai de 2015.

STEPHEN THARP

Biografia italiana

"Stephen Tharp è il miglior organista negli stati uniti."
(The Diapason)

“Il Perfetto Virtuoso…."
(Die Abendzeitung, München, Germania)

" …Ha suonato colorate, inebriante e brillante ..."
(The New York Times)

“Tharp viene considerato uno tra i più brillanti organisti odierni, riconosciuto come musicista dotato di una formidabile personalità."
The Dallas Morning News

Recensito entusiasticamente dal New York Times per aver “eseguito con vivaci colori in modo entusiastico e splendido"; salutato come “profondo conoscitore dell’organo" dalla rivista Tedesca organ - Journal für die Orgel; “l’esecutore della persona che pensa" dal magazine Olandese Het Orgel; “ogni pezzo all’altezza dell’organista" in The American Organist, Stati Uniti; “l'artista navigato e creativo" da Michael Barone nella trasmissione radiofonica Pipedreams, Usa. Stephen Tharp è riconosciuto quale uno dei più grandi organisti del nostro tempo ed attraverso più di 60  tournées intercontinentali e circa 1600 concerti, si è costruito una delle più rispettate carriere concertistiche.
È incluso nelle pubblicazioni Who's Who in America e Who's is Who in the World.

Si è prodotto, a partire dal 1987, sugli strumenti più prestigiosi: St. Bavo, Haarlem; St. Eustache, Paris e Ste. Croix, Bordeaux; Auditorium Maurice Ravel, Lyon; Hong Kong Cultural Centre; le Town Halls di Sydney and Adelaide; Sala Tchaikovsky, Moscow; Tonhalle, Zürich; Duomo, Milano; la filarmonica di Berlino e d'il Lussemburgo; le Cattedrali di Notre-Dame de Paris e Chartres, Berlin, Köln, München, Münster, Essen, Speyer, Passau e Monaco, oltre alla sala del Gewandhaus di Leipzig; la chiesa di Nostra Signora, Dresden, la chiesa da Lapa, Porto et Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Lisbona; Cattedrale di Antwerp; Sala Dvorak, Prague; Hallgrimskirkja, Reykjavik; Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas; Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles; Kimmel Center, Philadelphia; Riverside Church, New York City; Rice University, Houston; Spivey Hall, Atlanta; e la Severance Hall, Cleveland.
Ha tenuto master classes alla Yale University; per il Westminster Choir College; per la Cleveland Institute of Music, Bethel University (St. Paul, MN), Rice University (Houston, TX); alle Hochschulen für Musik di Stuttgart, Trossingen e Bochum (Germany); e per la AGO. È stato anche nelle commissioni per gli esami della Juilliard School, della Northwestern University e da Grand Prix de Chartres 2018.

Stephen Tharp è anche un punto di riferimento per la creazione di nuova musica, in quanto ha commissionato una quantità di nuove composizioni per questo strumento. La prima di queste è stata Instants, poema sinfonico Op. 57, di Jean Guillou, che Tharp ha eseguito al King’s College, Cambridge, UK nel Febbraio 1998. A questo sono seguiti una serie di belle collaborazioni che hanno portato alla creazione di numerose pagine che a lui sono stati dedicati: George Baker, Prière Grégorienne (2018), Danse Diabolique (2016) e Variations on “Rouen" (2010); David Briggs, Toccata Labyrinth (2006); Samuel Adler, Sonata (2005); Eugenio Fagiani, Psalm 100 (2009) e Stèle (2003); Thierry Escaich, Trois Poèmes (2002); Philip Moore, Sinfonietta (2001); Anthony Newman, Tombeau d'Igor Stravinsky (2000), Toccata and Fuga Sinfonica on BACH (1999) e la sua Second Symphony (1992); Martha Sullivan, Slingshot Shivaree for Organ and Percussion (1999); Morgan Simmons, Exercitatio Fantastica (1997). Compositore egli stesso, ha ricevuto dalla Cattedrale di Colonia la commissione per comporre per la Pasqua 2006, le Easter Fanfares per l'inaugurazione dei nuovi registri di Tuba dell'organo. Mentre nel Febbraio 2011 ha terminato la composizione delle Disney's Trumpets per l'organo della Walt Disney's Concert Hall (dove il brano ha conosciuto la sua prima esecuzione assoluta – ad opera del compositore stesso – nello scorso mese di Marzo.

Nell'Aprile 2008, Stephen Tharp è stato richiesto per essere Official Organist per la visita a New York di Papa Benedetto XVI, suonando alle tre celebrazioni maggiori e trasmesse in tutto il mondo. Tharp è anche stato protagonista di una puntata speciale del programma radio Pipedreams nel Novembre 2005, dedicata eccezionalmente ed esclusivamente alla sua figura, facendolo così divenire uno dei pochi organisti al mondo a godere di questo onore. L'organista Americano è stato anche trasmesso dai canali televisivi nazionali in Irlanda e Gran Bretagna, oltre che nei programmi di Radio Praga, di orgelniews.nl (Olanda) e, naturalmente, su Pipedreams negli Stati Uniti.

Stephen Tharp è anche attivo come musicista da camera in tutti gli Stati Uniti quale organista, pianista e cembalista ed ha collaborato con: Thomas Hampson; Itzhak Perlman; Jennifer Larmore; Rachel Barton Pine; the American Boychoir diretto da James Litton; il St. Thomas Choir, diretto da John Scott nel Requiem di Duruflé. Con esibizioni anche presso: la Carnegie Hall, il Metropolitan Museum of Arts, la Alice Tully Hall, la Avery Fisher Hall ed il Lincoln Center sempre a New York. La sua prima registrazione come organista solista è stata a 16 anni. Ha inciso per: JAV, Aeolus, Naxos, Organum ed Ethereal. E sono disponibili anche presso la Organ Historical Society, JAV Recordings, Acis Productions ed Aeolus.

La sua incisione de The Complete Organ Works of Jeanne Demessieux per Aeolus Recordings, ha ricevuto il 2009 Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, premio della critica tedesca, come pure il premio francese 5 Diapason. Questa registrazione è stata festeggiata nell'Ottobre 2010 con l'esecuzione live dell'omnia di Jeanne Demessieux in tre concerti sullo strumento della Cattedrale di St. John the Divine a New York.
Mentre il suo disco Stephen Tharp plays St. Bavo, Haarlem, in Olanda per l'etichetta JAV è stato definito “il più bel disco del 2009" dalla rivista specializzata Francese Resmusica.

Stephen Tharp ha conseguito il suo BA, magna cum laude, nell'Illinois College, Jacksonville, IL ed il suo MM nella Northwestern University, Chicago, dove è stato studente di Rudolf Zuiderveld e Wolfgang Rübsam. Ha anche lavorato privatamente a Parigi con Jean Guillou.

Nel febbraio del 2012, Stephen Tharp ha ricevuto il premio per l'artista internazionale dell'anno 2011 (2011 International Performer of the Year Award) della associazione locale di New York d'il American Guild of Organists (AGO) e il premio Paul Creston 2015 nel maggio del 2015.

STEPHEN THARP

Biografia portuguesa

'Stephen Tharp é o melhor organista da América."
(The Diapason)

".... Ele tocou colorido, vibrante e brilhante."
(The New York Times )

Stephen Tharp é considerado, segundo a crítica musical mundial, um dos mais brilhantes e activos organistas da actualidade.
Tendo tocado cerca de 1600 concertos em mais de 60 digressões em todo o mundo, Stephen Tharp estabeleceu uma das mais respeitadas carreiras internacionais do mundo, o que lhe deu a reputação de ser o organista que mais viajou de sua geração. Ele está incluido no “Quem é Quem na América" e “Quem é Quem no Mundo" (Who’s Who in America e Who’s Who in the World).
Desde 1987 tem tocado em locais distintos como St. Bavo, Haarlem, Notre-Dame de Paris, St. Eustache, Paris; Notre-Dame de Chartres; St. Eustache, Paris; Ste. Croix, Bordeaux; Maurice Ravel Auditorium, Lyon; o Centro Cultural de Hong Kong; as filarmónicas de Berlim e do Luxemburgo; as Câmaras Municipais de Sydney e Adelaide, Austrália; Tchaikovsky Hall, Moscow, a Tonhalle, de Zurique, o Duomo, Milão, Itália; as catedrais em Berlim, Colónia, Munique, Münster, Passau e Monaco, e o Gewandhaus, de Leipzig, Alemanha; Frauenkiche Dresden (Igreja da Nossa Senhora), Igreja da Lapa, Porto e Monsteiro dos Jerónimos, Lisboa, Catedral de Antuérpia, Bélgica; Dvorak Hall, Praga; a Hallgrimskirkja, Reykjavik, Islândia; o Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, em Dallas; Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, o Centro Kimmel, Filadélfia, o Riverside Church, New York City; Universidade Rice, em Houston, Spivey Hall, Atlanta, e Severance Hall, Cleveland.

Realizou aulas de mestrado na Universidade de Yale; Westminster Choir College, o Cleveland Institute of Music, Bethel University (St. Paul, MN), a Hochschulen für Musik, em Stuttgart, Trossingen e Bochum (Alemanha), e para os capítulos da Guilda Americana de Organistas (AGO). Ele também é membro de júris de reputados Concursos Inernactionais de Música como o Grand Prix de Chartres.

Stephen Tharp continua a ser um representante importante de música contemporânea para órgão, e continua a comissão e a estréia de numerosas composições para o instrumento. A primeira peça foi “Instantes sinfônicas" de Jean Guillou do poema, op. 57, que Tharp estreou no Kings College, em Cambridge, Inglaterra, em Fevereiro de 1998. Funciona dedicado a ele incluem Prière Grégorienne (2018), Danse Diabolique (2016) e Variações sobre 'Rouen' (2010) de George Baker; Labyrinth Toccata (2006) de David Briggs; Sonata de Samuel Adler (2005), Salmo de 100 (2009) e Estela (2003) de Eugenio Fagiani; Trois Poèmes (2002) de Thierry Escaich; Sinfonietta (2001) de Philip Moore; Tombeau d'Igor Stravinsky (2000), Toccata e Fuga Sinfônica de BACH (1999) e Segunda Sinfonia (1992) de Anthony Newman; Shivaree Slingshot para Órgão e Percussão (1999) de Martha Sullivan; e Exercitatio Fantastica (1997) de Morgan Simmons. Sendo ele próprio um compositor, Tharp foi encarregado pela Catedral de Colónia, Alemanha a compor a obra “Fanfarras de Páscoa" para a inauguração do órgão novo en Chamade Tuba para o Domingo de Páscoa do ano de 2006, assim como ‘Trompetas da Disney’, composto em fevereiro de 2011 para o órgão no Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, que foi estreada pelo próprio compositor no mês seguinte.

Em abril de 2008, Stephen Tharp foi nomeado organista oficial da visita a Nova Iorque do Papa Bento XVI, tocando para três grandes eventos assistidos por mais de 60.000 pessoas, que foram transmitidos ao vivo em todo o mundo. A sua música também foi ouvida na televisão inglêsa e irlandesa nacional, na Rádio Praga, orgelnieuws.nl na Holanda, e nos EUA em pipedreams de American Media Público. Em 2005 e 2011, pipedreams transmitiu programas inteiros dedicados exclusivamente à sua carreira, tornando-o um dos organistas poucos no mundo tão honrado.

Ele também é um músico de câmara activa em todo o país, tendo realizado no piano, órgão e cravo com artistas como Thomas Hampson, Itzhak Perlman, Jennifer Larmore, Rachel Barton Pine, o Boychoir americano (James Litton, condutor), o Coro de St. Thomas (John Scott, regente, em Requiem Duruflé), e no Carnegie Hall, o Metropolitan Museum of Art, Alice Tully Hall e Avery Fisher Hall no Lincoln Center. Suas 16 gravações solo de órgão podem ser encontradas no Acis Productions, JAV Recordings, Aeolus, Naxos, Organum e Ethereal, e estão disponíveis atravez da Sociedade Órgão Histórico (www.ohscatalog.org), JAV Recordings (www.pipeorgancds.com) e Amazon (www.amazon.com).

Seu lançamento comercial ‘As Obras Completas de órgãos de Jeanne Demessieux’ sobre Recordings Aeolus, recebeu o 2009 Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, prêmio crítico da Alemanha para as gravações, bem como o prêmio francês Diapason 5. O lançamento foi celebrado em outubro de 2010 com o desempenho do Sr. Tharp das obras completas de Jeanne Demessieux ao longo de três concertos na Catedral de Nova Iorque de St. John the Divine. Stephen Tharp toca St. Bavo, Haarlem, Países Baixos no rótulo JAV foi chamado "CD mais bonito de 2009" por Resmusica na França.

Stephen Tharp obteve seu diploma de bacharel, magna cum laude, de Illinois College, Jacksonville, IL e o seu Mestrado de Música de Northwestern University, Chicago, onde estudou com Rudolf Zuiderveld e Rübsam Wolfgang, respectivamente. Ele também trabalhou em particular com Jean Guillou em Paris.

Em fevereiro de 2012, Stephen Tharp recebeu o prémio “2011 International Performer of the Year" do Capítulo Nova Iorquino do Sindicato Americano de Organistas, chamado AGO (American Guild of Organists) e em maio de 2015 recebeu o prémio Paul Creston que reconhece a excelência artística duma figura significativa na música sacra e das belas artes.