Russell J. Weismann
Weismann's performance, sprinkled with engaging comments from the stage and illustrations of some of the instrument's stops, put this clearly fine instrument through its paces..." |
Equally accomplished as both an organist and a scholar, Russell Weismann's achievements in performance and academic spheres have earned him international acclaim among audiences and intellectuals alike.
A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Russell holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from George Mason University, where his dissertation research explored the North American influence of the pioneering 20th-century German organ builder Rudolf von Beckerath. Additionally, Russell completed a Master of Music degree from Yale University, with a certificate of study from Yale's acclaimed Institute of Sacred Music, and a Bachelor of Music degree cum laude from Duquesne University. He also pursued additional graduate studies in music at Carnegie Mellon University. His primary organ instructors were John Walker, Martin Jean, Ann Labounsky, and Donald Wilkins. Additionally, Russell studied harpsichord with Richard Rephann and conducting with Brady Allred, Jeffrey Douma, and Lisa Billingham. As an organist, Russell has performed recitals across the United States, as well as in Europe, Central America, Asia, and Africa. He was awarded the First Place prize in the 2004 American Guild of Organists Regional Young Organists Competition and was twice accepted to participate in the London Summer Organ Course. Russell was also a featured performer at the 2004 American Guild of Organists Convention in Los Angeles, the 2010 Organ Historical Society Convention in Pittsburgh, the 2013 Conference of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians in Washington, DC, and the 2014 American Guild of Organists Convention in Boston, MA (as a finalist in the Schoenstein Organ Competition). Russell has been featured on American Public Media’s Pipedreams radio program and was among a select few organists chosen to play a dedicatory recital on the Rubenstein organ at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts during its inaugural year. In 2020, Russell was the featured American organist during the annual Lebanese Organ Week in Beirut, Lebanon. In 2021, Russell released two recordings: "Wonderful Splendor," a solo organ recording produced by Raven, and "Heroic Expressions," a trumpet and organ album with William Gerlach, Principal Trumpet of the National Symphony Orchestra. An active member of the American Guild of Organists, Russell has successfully achieved the Guild’s Associate, Colleague, and Service Playing certificates, and has served as the past Dean and sub-Dean of the District of Columbia Chapter, as well as a member of the Guild’s National Board for Membership Development and as Director of the Committee on Educational Programming. Russell is currently the Guild's Councillor fo Education, where he oversees the all educational initiatives of the Guild to meet the instructional and professional needs of organists of all ages and abilities. Among his many community outreach efforts, Russell is in his tenth year as the Artistic Director of "Music @ the Monastery," a thriving musical series held at the Franciscan Monastery in Washington, D.C., and director of the Capital Organ Studio, a regional-based initiative offering private organ and improvisation instruction. Russell is currently the Director of Music and Organist and Adjunct Professor of Music at Georgetown University. His past professional experiences include serving as the Director of Music and Liturgy at St. Jane Frances de Chantal Parish in Bethesda, Maryland, Associate Director of Music at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, University Chapel Organist at Yale University, and Associate Music Director at Saint Paul Cathedral in Pittsburgh. As a musicologist and scholar in the fields of sacred music, organ history, and pedagogy, Russell has earned distinction as a laureate of several scholarships, including the André Marchal award for excellence in the study of sacred music and the Hugh Giles award for distinction in the discipline of music and the arts. He has several articles in print and is currently focusing his research on the work of Rudolf von Beckerath, nationalistic expressions in twentieth-century organ building, and musical traditions in South American Jesuit Reductions. Russell has held teaching positions at Yale University as a Teaching Fellow in Music History and as a Secondary Organ Instructor, as well as at Georgetown University and George Mason University as Adjunct faculty, teaching courses in Music History and Music Theory. |
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AWARDS & RECOGNITION
Featured Performer, 2014 AGO Convention Finalist, Schoenstein Organ Competition Featured Performer, 2013 NAPM Conference Featured Performer, 2010 Organ Historical Society Convention Featured Performer, 2004 AGO Convention First Place, 2004 AGO Regional Young Organists Competition |
EDUCATION
Doctor of Musical Arts – George Mason University Master of Music – Yale University Certificate of Study – Yale Institute of Sacred Music Postgraduate Coursework – Carnegie Mellon University Bachelor of Music – Duquesne University |
