The King of Instruments

An Organ Recital with Stephen Hamilton Concert organist Stephen Hamilton presents a dynamic program exploring the art of variation through works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Felix Mendelssohn, and Alberto Ginastera. Mendelssohn’s Organ Sonata No. 6, inspired by Bach’s contrapuntal style and Lutheran chorales, opens the program with a striking set of variations on Our Father Who Art in Heaven. Bach’s own inventive chorale partitas follow, including the beloved O God, Thou Faithful God. The concert concludes with Ginastera’s thrilling Toccata, Villancico y Fuga, a virtuosic blend of Baroque forms and Argentine folk influences that pays dramatic tribute to Bach’s enduring legacy. ​ This concert is approximately one hour in length followed by a post-concert reception. This event is part of the 2026-27 Full Season Subscription. Stephen Hamilton, whose name has long been synonymous with “touring concert organist,” has been prominent on the American organ scene for over fifty years. The New York Times wrote of Hamilton’s performance of the Bach Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor: “Hamilton, as organist at the Church of the Holy Trinity (Episcopal) obviously knew the instrument’s sonorous capabilities and brought them powerfully to bear in a rousing account.” The Charleston Daily Mail reviewed: “This performance had to be one of the supreme moments of music making in this year’s or any other year’s Orgelfest offerings.” Throughout his distinguished career, such consistent critical review has earned Hamilton acclaim as a thoroughly engaging and popular personality and has firmly established his reputation as a leading and much sought-after virtuoso. Highlights of Hamilton’s international touring include recent concerts in Paris at Notre Dame, St. Sulpice and La Madeleine; Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, as well as Merton College-Oxford, St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, Glasgow Cathedral, St. Andrews University, St. Peter’s in Regensburg and St. Paul Within the Walls in Rome. Appearances at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., Second Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis, and Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Oregon, figure prominently among hundreds of solo recitals presented throughout the United States. In New York City Hamilton has performed recitals in all major venues including St. Paul’s Chapel Columbia University, St. John the Divine, Riverside Church, Saint Thomas Church, Trinity Church Wall Street, St. Francis Xavier, and St. Ignatius Loyola. Extensive performing throughout the Twin Cities includes the Cathedral Church of Saint Mark, the St. Paul Cathedral (Dupre “Le Chemin,”), Central Lutheran Church and Hamline United Methodist Church.