CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION: Our Casavant Organ!
Sunday, May 7, 2023 at 3 p.m.
On May 7, 1923, Pietro Yon, Organist at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, dedicated the new Casavant pipe organ at St. Peter’s. One hundred years later, Yon’s successor – Dr. Jennifer Pascual, DMA, will present a recital to mark the 100th Anniversary of our Historic 1923 Casavant Pipe Organ. The following evening, she will present a program for the Memphis Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Both events will be free and open to all.
Dr. Jennifer Pascual, DMA (photo)
Dr. Jennifer Pascual was appointed Director of Music at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City in 2003, the first woman to hold this prestigious liturgical music position. She earned a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Organ Performance from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY where she studied with David Higgs. Her Master of Music Degree in Piano Performance is from the Mannes College of Music and Bachelor of Music Degrees in Piano and Organ Performance and Music Education from Jacksonville University in Florida.
She has held musical posts in the Dioceses of St. Augustine, Florida, Rochester, New York, Newark, New Jersey as well as New York City, serving at three Roman Catholic Cathedrals. From 2007 to 2014, Dr. Pascual was professor and Director of Music at St. Joseph’s Seminary in New York. She currently also serves as the Director of Music of the New York Archdiocesan Festival Chorale.
As the Director of Music of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dr. Pascual had the privilege of overseeing the liturgical music for papal visits to New York, Masses at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Yankee Stadium and Madison Square Garden. She conducted the St. Patrick’s Cathedral Choir for President Bush at the White House for the National Day of Prayer. Annually, Dr. Pascual participates as a conductor in the Handel Messiah Sing In at Lincoln Center.
Dr. Pascual is a member of and served on the boards of several organizations pertaining to sacred music.
A recipient of the Paderewski Medal and Theodore Presser and Paul Creston awards, she has performed as an organist and conductor in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Spain as well as the United States. In December 2008, Dr. Pascual was named a Dame of the Order of St. Gregory the Great, papal recognition of service to the Church.
Along with broadcasts of Masses from St. Patrick’s Cathedral on The Catholic Channel, SIRIUS/XM 129, she also hosts a radio talk and music show called “Sounds from the Spires”. Three of Dr. Pascual’s organ recordings and a St. Patrick’s Cathedral Choir recording can be found at JAV Recordings.
