Thomas Gaynor recently moved to Philadelphia to take up the position of Assistant Organist & Choirmaster at Saint Mark’s. In this role he directs the Saint Mark’s Singers and works with Robert McCormick, Organist & Choirmaster, to assist in direction of the Parish Choir and the Boy & Girl Choristers, and in leading all aspects of the busy music program. Since moving to Philadelphia, he has also started as an assistant organist at the Wanamaker Grand Court Organ in Macy’s, and regularly performs at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, homes of the two largest pipe organs in the world. He is an adjunct instructor of organ at Westminster Choir College of Rider University. Recital engagements have taken him to six continents, performing in such venues as Notre Dame de Paris, Sydney Town Hall, Catedral Primada de Columbia in Bogotá, Tokyo-Musashino Civic Cultural Hall, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

A native of Wellington, New Zealand, Thomas earned his undergraduate degree from the New Zealand School of Music, while holding organ scholarships at the Wellington Anglican Cathedral of St. Paul as well as St. Mary of the Angels Roman Catholic Church. He recently graduated from David Higgs’s studio at the Eastman School of Music with a DMA and the school’s highest honor, the Artist’s Certificate. Competition wins include the Fort Wayne National Organ Playing Competition in 2014, the Sydney International Organ Competition in 2015, The Bach-Liszt Internationaler Orgelwettbewerb Erfurt/Weimar in 2015, then in 2017 Thomas was presented with the Gold Medal and Audience Prize at the St. Albans International Organ Competition.

Dr. Gaynor will display his meticulous technique on the four-manual 137-rank Casavant Frères organ at Calvary Episcopal Church.

Presented in cooperation with Calvary Episcopal Church.

Tickets available at the door (cash, check, or card).
General admission $20.
Student free with valid ID.

Calvary Episcopal Church
315 Shady Ave
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260

Sinfonia, BWV 29/1

Johann Sebastian Bach
(1685-1750)
transc. Alexander Guilmant

Elegiac Romance

John Ireland
(1879-1962)

Prelude and Fugue in B Major, Op. 7/1

Marcel Dupré
(1886-1971)

Liebestraum No. 3

Franz Liszt
(1811-1886)
transc. Nigel Potts and Thomas Gaynor

From Six Études

• VI - Octaves
• II - Tièrces

Jeanne Demessieux
(1921-1968)

Cantilène from Sixième symphonie Op. 42/2

Charles-Marie Widor
(1844-1937)

Carnival of the Animals

1. Introduction et marche royale du lion (Introduction and Royal March of the Lion)
2. Poules et coqs (Hens and Roosters)
3. Hémiones (animaux véloces) (Wild Asses: Swift Animals)
4. Tortues (Tortoises)
5. L'éléphant
6. Kangourous
7. Aquarium
8. Personnages à longues oreilles (Characters with Long Ears)
9. Le coucou au fond des bois (The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods)
10. Volière (Aviary)
11. Pianistes
12. Fossiles
13. Le cygne (The Swan)
14. Final

Camille Saint-Saëns
(1835-1921)
transc. Gaynor

Full program