All the Stops Podcast

You don't have to choose between musical excellence and innovation, and Machelle Horsley is here to talk about it! From hundreds of families at "Pipescreams" to methods for engaging the youth of today, she talks about dynamism, flexibility, and a willingness to meet students where they are.

Scholar, Iain Quinn, is here to talk about his wide-ranging scholarship and his work shaping the next generation of sacred musicians. He also shares some excellent music from the most overlooked English Sonata composers.

What happens when you get thousands of organists together at a convention? That's for another podcast... but Nicole Marane is here to tell us how you make it happen. A native of Australia, Nicole has an impressive career in the performance and sacred music space, but she has somehow found time to work with the AGO on youth and adult endeavors, alike!

Young artist and content creator, Brody Bett is here to talk about his passion and hopes for the future. A SAG actor and voiceover artist who has helped create and voice characters for Nickelodeon, Amazon and Netflix, and traveled the US in multiple Broadway National Tours, Brody is passionate about the pipe organ and plans to go to school to pursue his passion!

Organist, conductor, and composer, Sarah MacDonald, is a legend! Fellow and Director of Music at Selwyn College, Cambridge, and Director of the girl choirsters at Ely Cathedral, we ask her about all things choir! Plus, we talk Royal College of Organists, and her path to composition and the King of Instruments!

Playing the organ can be very solitary, but not where Dr. Timothy Olsen teaches! UNC School of the Arts is a place where highschoolers and college students are working together in the same program, and mentorship and encouragement abound. In this episode, we talk about this unique program and some amazing instruments in the area!

It's never been done before... Nobody has ever performed the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach live since he died in 1750. It's happening now, and it's gonna take over 10 years! Globally acclaimed choral conductor, Chris Shepard, is here to talk us through the process of this amazing project!

A leader in sacred music in America, Colin Lynch suffered a stroke, but he didn't let it get him down. Through his incredible determination and the power of community, he resumed his incredible work, mentoring and developing intergenerational choirs and performing music at the highest levels in one of the most important centers of worship in the United States. Prepare to be inspired!

Dave Brown joins us from Buzard Pipe Organ Builders to talk building and restoration! We discuss how young people can go about getting into organ building, plus some of the changes that have taken place over Dave's time in the field.

We've made it 30 Episodes and All The Stops Podcast is already a top 25% podcast and still growing! We talk about the show and future plans, but our main focus is John Cage's massive piece, ASLSP (As SLow aS Possible) which just had a major chord shift after almost 25 years of being performed in Halberstadt, Germany. Thanks for sticking with us here on the show, and here's to 30 more episodes!

Dr. Jordan Prescott joins us to talk about the music of Herbert Howells, a composer who, he argues, has been widely mischaracterized. We have fascinating discussions about musical aesthetics and historical shifts from the late 19th century to the mid 20th. Plus, he shares a little about what it means to be an organ scholar.

Be it original compositions or Minecraft, Swedish organist, Noa Edwardsson, is a driving force of the pipe organ in Sweden. Bringing in new people to concerts and directing them to Bach, organ lessons, and church, Noa performs artful renditions of video game soundtracks beloved to those under 40... (or even 20!) and adds clever new compositions and thoughtfully reproduced performances of the classics. We talk all this, plus assembling a new Swedish hymnal with 10,000 submissions, and mentorship in the boys choir

All too often, people focus on geopolitics and economic struggles when discussing Argentina, but Dr. Ezequiel Menéndez joins us on this episode to discuss the organs, composers, and future of the Argentinian organ scene. Professor at the College of the Holy Cross, he also shares some of his philosophies on mastering the craft through focused practice.

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!

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!

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!

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!