Join us for a post-Evensong organ recital by Leonardo Ciampa from Worcester, MA.

While the Great Organ is on hiatus, due to last April’s fire, we are pleased to present our organ recitals in the magnificent acoustic of the Cathedral by way of a fine digitally sampled instrument by Walker Technical Company. This cutting-edge sampling and audio system represents the sounds of a very highly acclaimed pipe organ by Aeolian Skinner, the company that built our own Great Organ. These recitals are free to the public.

PROGRAM
Music of Leonardo Ciampa (b. 1971)

Paean for Judith

Andantino (Romance Victorienne)

Suite Divina: Three Dances for Organ (World Premiere)
I. Gavotte
II. Mazurka
III. Tarantella

Shenandoah

From Imagines Deorum (Images of the gods):
VI. Neptune (god of the oceans)
VIII. Pluto (god of the underworld)
IX. Polyhymnia (goddess of sacred hymns)

Fantasy on Ave Maris Stella (American Premiere)

About Leonardo Ciampa

Born in Boston in 1971, composer/organist/pianist LEONARDO CIAMPA is acknowledged as a musician of supreme gifts and extraordinary versatility. Ciampa is Director of Music at Emanuel Lutheran Church in Worcester, MA and Maestro di Cappella Onorario of the Basilica in Gubbio, Italy. He was artistic director of organ concerts at MIT (2009-2016).

As an organ recitalist, Ciampa has made a dozen European tours encompassing Italy, Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. He is particularly admired in Italy, where he has played in numerous international festivals (Festival Perosiano, Festival Biellese, Organi Storici della Valsesia, Le Voci della Città, Festival Organistico Lauretano, Reate Festival, etc.).

As a composer, Ciampa’s compositions have been performed in prestigious venues such as Sanders Theatre (Harvard), Kresge Auditorium (MIT), Mechanics Hall (Worcester), and the Mormon Tabernacle (Salt Lake City); at cathedrals in Vienna, Boston, Altenberg, Brandenberg, Tortona and Biella, and at basilicas in Rome, Turin, Loreto, Rieti and Gubbio. His compositions include Suite Siciliana, Op. 145 (for two violins, piano and orchestra), commissioned by the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston to open their 25th anniversary season at Harvard's Sanders Theatre; The Annunciation, Op. 203 (cantata for chorus, soloists, and strings); the Kresge Organ Symphony, commissioned by MIT and premiered in Kresge Auditorium; a piano quintet (premiered by the Lavazza Chamber Ensemble); and Missa Pamphyliana, premiered at the Basilica di Sant’Ubaldo in Gubbio by the Cantores Beati Ubaldi (Renzo Menichetti, conductor).

As a pianist, Ciampa is particularly admired for his interpretations of Chopin, whose 200th birthday he commemorated in 2010 with six recitals at First Church in Boston. An avid writer, Ciampa has written several books, including The Twilight of Belcanto, Don Lorenzo Perosi (the first English-language biography of that composer), and, most recently, Gigli (the first book on the great tenor).