Christ Church Pelham Rings in Musical Magic with Justin Bischof’s Organ Concert

PELHAM, NY (October 18, 2025) — Christ Church is set to host its opening Friends of Music Concert featuring Music Director Justin Bischof, who will perform a program of organ classics and improvisations based on themes submitted by the audience.

Music Director Justin Bischof

Lauded as “impressive…spontaneous…subtle…” by The New York Times, Bischof is an internationally acclaimed orchestral and opera conductor as well as concert and liturgical organist, pianist and improviser. He has performed in some of the world’s great venues including New York’s Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Lincoln Center, Rose Theatre Lincoln Center, Tonhalle of Zurich, Eli Broad Theatre of Los Angeles, Royal Opera House Oman and St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.

Described as “a master virtuoso” by The Frankfurt News and “virtuosic” by the Los Angeles Times, he has concertized extensively globally, presenting numerous premieres for solo organ as well as organ and orchestra. Bischof has performed and recorded with numerous orchestras including the Zurich Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony and the Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt.

He won First Prize at the 2000 AGO International Organ Improvisation Competition and is a leading proponent of the craft, with all-improvisation performances met with critical acclaim throughout the world. Notable appearances include the Poulenc Organ Concerto with the Arkansas Symphony; Middle East premieres of Samuel Barber’s Toccata Festiva for Organ & Orchestra, Malcolm Arnold’s Concerto for Organ and Orchestra, and Percy Whitlock’s Poem for Organ & Orchestra with the Capitol Symphonie Orchester of Frankfurt, Germany; the world premiere of Aaron Miller’s Concerto for 2 Organists with Ken Cowan and the Zurich Symphony Orchestra; and the Australian premiere of Robert Ward’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Crucible at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, hailed as “versatile an artist as he is talented” by The Western Australian.

The event includes a Wine & Cheese reception following the concert at 8:15 p.m. Bischof, in addition to his role at Christ Church, is an active concert organist and orchestral/opera conductor.

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This article was drafted with the aid of Grok, an AI tool by xAI, under the direction and editing of Robert Cox to ensure accuracy and adherence to journalistic standards.