New York, NY – [July 24, 2025] — Trinity Church announces PIPES, a series of vibrant performances celebrating the church’s newly installed Glatter-Götz/Rosales organ. The landmark instrument, among the most significant new instruments in New York City in decades, will be featured in programs showcasing its extraordinary range and expressive possibilities, conceived and performed by some of today’s most visionary organists and composers, including Anna Lapwood, David Hurd, Stephen Tharp, Janet Yieh, Bruce Neswick, and Trinity Church's own Avi Stein and Alcée Chriss III.

The new Glatter-Götz/Rosales organ, a decade in the making, contains 8,041 functioning pipes spanning 113 stops and 138 ranks, ranging from 32 feet in length to some as small as the width of a pencil. Designed for both church and concert repertoire, the new organ represents the latest chapter in the more than 325-year music tradition at Trinity Church. The collaboration of German builder Glatter-Götz and Los Angeles tonal designer Manuel Rosales, a relationship built over 25 years, is best known for the daring installation at Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Their work at Trinity marks both firms’ New York debut and Trinity’s first all-new pipe organ since 1923. 

The new Glatter-Götz/Rosales organ gives voice to Trinity's nearly 400-year tradition of placing music at the center of worship. The organ – designed for both church and concert repertoire – represents the latest chapter in this storied tradition. The collaboration of German builder Glatter-Götz and Los Angeles tonal designer Manuel Rosales, a relationship built over 25 years, is best known for the daring installation at Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Their work at Trinity marks both firms’ New York debut and Trinity’s first all-new pipe organ since 1923.

“This is an extraordinary instrument whose scope and grandeur capture the magnitude of the city and the power of music to transport us,” said Avi Stein, organist and chorusmaster at Trinity Church. “It’s a one-of-a-kind organ that blends the innovative with the everlasting.”

The PIPES series opens on September 14 with genre-defying British organist Anna Lapwood with repertoire including the world premiere of composer Eunike Tanzil’s Nimbus and works by Rachel Portman, Olivia Belli, Benjamin Britten, Alan Menken, John Williams, Hans Zimmer, and others.  

On September 23, Alcée Chriss III juxtaposes Bach, Reger, and Rachmaninoff with jazz and gospel improvisations; on October 7, Stephen Tharp unleashes orchestral transcriptions of Liszt, Wagner, Jongen, and Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring; and on October 15, Avi Stein joins NOVUS in a program featuring concertos by Poulenc and Piston, Reubke’s Sonata on the 94th Psalm, and Margaret Bonds’s Troubled Water. Former Trinity organist Janet Yieh returns on October 23 with Downtown Voices for a choral program spanning Anglican and American sacred music, followed by a November 4 concert honoring composer David Hurd, also a former organist at Trinity Church. This concert is performed by the Trinity Choir and Trinity organists alongside Bruce Neswick, renowned soloist and Trinity’s first organ scholar on record.  

The series culminates on February 4 with a performance of Louis Vierne’s grand Messe solennelle, written for the Cathedral of Notre Dame, alongside works by Marcel Dupré and Lili and Nadia Boulanger, celebrating the richness of the French sacred tradition. 

“I am thrilled to celebrate this monumental instrument and look forward to planning music usually heard with orchestra transcribed for organ,” said Melissa Attebury, director of Music at Trinity Church. “These events – and this magnificent organ – broaden our musical offerings and inspire us to expand upon traditional liturgical works.”

 

About Trinity Church

Trinity Church is an Episcopal parish in New York City founded in 1697. We work for justice, serve our neighbors, and bring people together to experience God’s love in community. Trinity’s outreach in the city includes 20 weekly worship services, food assistance seven days a week for people in need, support for asylum seekers, housing for the elderly and people living with disabilities, youth programs, and a wide array of free music and educational events throughout the year. The church also supports communities and ministries serving the world in Africa, Asia, and across the Americas. 

Trinity Church

 

Pipes Special Events

September 14, 3pm in Trinity Church 

PIPES: Anna Lapwood

Eunike Tanzil Nimbus (World Premiere)  

Arrangements by Anna Lapwood 

Works by Rachel Portman, Olivia Belli, Benjamin Britten, Alan Menken, John Williams, Hans Zimmer, and others

Anna Lapwood, organ  

Trinity opens its organ celebration with the mesmerizing artistry of Anna Lapwood, the trailblazing organist whose virtuosic performances and genre-defying collaborations have captivated audiences around the world. Famous for her innovative programming and riveting interpretations, Lapwood brings a fresh and dynamic voice to the organ repertoire, making this concert an unmissable celebration of both her musical excellence and Trinity’s newest legacy instrument. 

 

September 23, 6pm in Trinity Church 

PIPES: Alcée Chriss III

Sergei Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances, op. 45 

Max Reger Fantasy and Fugue on B-A-C-H, op. 46 

Works by Johann Sebastian Bach; jazz and gospel improvisations  

Alcée Chriss III, organ  

This recital on Trinity Church’s new legacy organ showcases the electrifying artistry of Trinity’s assistant organist, Alcée Chriss III. Chriss is a soloist in high demand for his virtuosic playing, expressive depth, and unparalleled versatility. As Chriss is renowned for reimagining the organ’s possibilities, this performance will feature works by Johann Sebastian Bach, movements from Sergei Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances, op. 45, jazz and gospel improvisations, as well as Max Reger's Fantasy and Fugue on B-A-C-H, op. 46. Don't miss this concert of audience favorites and heavy organ repertoire. 

 

October 7, 6pm in Trinity Church

PIPES: Stephen Tharp

Joseph Jongen  Toccata from Symphonie Concertante 

Franz Liszt Totentanz – Paraphrase on “Dies Irae” 

Igor Stravinsky Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring)  

Richard Wagner “Liebestod” from Tristan und Isolde (Transcribed by Edwin H. Lemare; adapted by Stephen Tharp; all other works transcribed by Tharp) 

Stephen Tharp, organ 

The formidable talent Stephen Tharp celebrates the debut of Trinity’s new organ with a program of breathtaking virtuosity and daring innovation. Tharp performs his transcriptions of Liszt’s Totentanz, Wagner’s “Liebestod” from Tristan und Isolde, and Jongen’s “Toccata” from Symphonie Concertante. The centerpiece of the evening is Tharp’s thrilling adaptation of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring — arguably the most groundbreaking work of the 20th century — that will unleash this new instrument’s full power and gamut of colors. Join us to hear Tharp transform the instrument into a symphonic force, offering audacious reimaginings of these iconic works. 

 

October 15, 6pm in Trinity Church

PIPES: Avi Stein with NOVUS

Francis Poulenc Organ Concerto in G Minor  

Walter Piston Prelude and Allegro for Organ and Strings  

Julius Reubke Sonata on the 94th Psalm  

Margaret Bonds Troubled Water (Arranged by Avi Stein)  

Avi Stein, organ; NOVUS

As a single instrument and in dialogue with an orchestra, this program showcases the full expressive capabilities of the organ as an orchestra in itself. Trinity’s organist and chorusmaster, Avi Stein, joins the strings of NOVUS in two concertos: Poulenc’s lush and witty homage to Bach and American composer Walter Piston’s Prelude and Allegro, written for a radio broadcast in the middle of the Second World War. The organ sonata of Julius Reubke, a brilliant disciple of Franz Liszt whose potential was cut short at the age of 23, is a vast meditation comparable to the great Romantic tone poems or epic Wagnerian spectacles. Rounding out the program is the jazz-influenced spiritual arrangement Troubled Water, by Margaret Bonds, one the first African American women to enter the mainstream of American classical music. 

 

October 23, 6pm in Trinity Church

PIPES: Downtown Voices, featuring Janet Yieh

Charles Hubert Hastings Parry I Was Glad  

William Henry Harris Faire Is the Heaven  

Cecilia McDowall O sing unto the Lord  

Ralph Vaughan Williams Five Mystical Songs  

Herbert Howells Take Him, Earth, for Cherishing  

Gerre Hancock Deep River  

Thomas Dorsey Take My Hand, Precious Lord  

Alice Parker Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal  

Edward Bairstow Sing Ye to the Lord  

Janet Yieh, organ; Edmund Milly, baritone; Downtown Voices; Stephen Sands, conductor 

Downtown Voices alongside soloist and former Trinity organist Janet Yieh help inaugurate the magnificent new Glatter-Götz /Rosales organ at Trinity Church with a program that features iconic works from the Anglican and American tradition. The evening opens with the triumphant strains of Parry’s I Was Glad and Vaughan Williams’s Five Mystical Songs, showcasing the instrument’s brilliance in a space long devoted to sacred music. Join us for a celebration of Trinity’s rich musical heritage and its journey into the future. 

 

November 4, 6pm in Trinity Church

PIPES: David Hurd

David Hurd Three Psalms and Te Deum Laudamus 

David Hurd, conductor; Bruce Neswick, Alcée Chriss III, and Alex Leonardi, organ; Trinity Choir

Trinity Choir continues the new organ inauguration with a celebration of the artistry of David Hurd, a musician renowned for his incredible contributions to church music as both an organist and a composer. Hurd shares a rich history with Trinity: He has performed recitals here for several decades and was formerly the assistant organist at Trinity Church when Larry King was the director of Music. This concert showcases his lyrical and expressive compositions with choral and organ works that offer a blend of spiritual depth and bold harmonies that will culminate in a stirring and emotional performance.  

 

February 4, 6pm in Trinity Church 

PIPES: Messe solennelle

Louis Vierne Messe solennelle, op. 16

Marcel Dupré O salutaris Hostia and Tantum ergo

Nadia Boulanger Cantique

Lili Boulanger Psalm 24  

Lili Boulanger Vieille prière bouddhique

Lili Boulanger Nocturne

Lili Boulanger Hymne au Soleil

Trinity Choir; Avi Stein and Alex Leonardi, organ; Melissa Baker, flute; Melissa Attebury, conductor?

Hear Trinity Church’s epic new organ with the Trinity Choir in a performance that celebrates the rich legacy of French music through the works of Louis Vierne and his preeminent pupils, Nadia and Lili Boulanger and Marcel Dupré. At one point conceived for full orchestra and choir, Vierne’s stunning and grandiose Messe solennelle captures the incredible versatility of the organ and features Trinity organists Avi Stein and Alex Leonardi. From the harmonic sophistication of Nadia Boulanger to the ethereal lyricism of Lili Boulanger and the virtuosic writing of Dupré, this performance explores the innovation and enduring power of the French musical tradition. 

 

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