Organist JOSEPH ADAM enjoys a multi-faceted career as performer, church musician, and teacher,
and is recognized as a leading organist of his generation. He was appointed Cathedral Organist at St. James Cathedral in Seattle in 1993, where he is principal organist and curator of organs. Since 1997 he has also been a faculty member at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma; there he teaches organ and harpsichord, and presents an ongoing monthly organ recital series.
His playing received international attention when he was awarded the First Prize in the St. Albans International Organ Competition in 1991, one of the most prestigious organ competitions in the world. His subsequent performances have included recitals in notable venues throughout Europe and America. His appearances have included performances at the national conventions of numerous professional organizations, including the American Guild of Organists, the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, the Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians, and the Organ Historical Society (Eastern Iowa, 1983; Portland, 1997; Denver, 1998). He was Performances Chair for the 2000 AGO National Convention in Seattle, and has since served as a member of the AGO National Committees on New Music and the Regional Competition for Young Artists.
For the past five seasons he has performed regularly on the Watjen Concert Organ at Seattles Benaroya Hall, where he presents an ongoing organ demonstration recital series and performs as Resident Organist with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. This past season, he presented three all-Bach solo recitals as part of the Fluke-Gabelein Recital Series sponsored by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.
He was one of three organists invited to perform on the new Rosales/Glatter-Gtz organ at Disney Hall in Los Angeles, as part of the 2004 National Convention of the American Guild of Organists; this performance has been featured on the nationally-syndicated radio program Pipe Dreams. His recent appearances include recitals in cathedrals and noted churches in eastern Germany and France, highlighted with a recital on the historic 1746 Silbermann organ in Marmoutier, France; and recitals at the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City, and the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.
He gives frequent recitals at St. James Cathedral, where his programs have included the complete organ works of Maurice Durufl and the six symphonies of Louis Vierne. His growing interest in the French organ symphony prompted him to begin ongoing recitals at St. James Cathedral exploring this repertoire; to date these recitals have included performances of eighteen complete symphonies by Charles-Marie Widor, Louis Vierne, Augustin Bari, Andr Fleury, Jean Langlais and Naji Hakim. This past July, he gave the closing recital at St. James Cathedral for the National Convention of the Organ Historical Society.
His first solo recording, Melodia: German Romantic Organ Works, recorded on the Hutchings- Votey organ at St. James Cathedral by Loft Recordings, has received high praise in Fanfare and The American Organist magazines. Lorganist parisien, a recording of French works on the Rosales organ at St. James Cathedral was released by Gothic Recordings; it features Naji Hakims The Last Judgment, which received its first performance at the dedicatory recital by Adam in June, 2000.
Joseph Adam was educated at the University of Iowa, where he received the B.M. in 1983, and M.F.A. in 1986 in piano performance, as a student of John Simms (piano) and Delores Bruch (organ). He holds the Performers Certificate in Organ from the Eastman School of Music, where he was a student of Russell Saunders. He is completing doctoral work with Carole Terry at the University of Washington; his dissertation is a study of compositional features of the six organ symphonies of Louis Vierne.