Review Text
John West received his Master of Music degree with Honors from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. His initial studies of the organ began at the age of 13 under the tutelage of Richard Purvis at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco. Mr. West's performance credits include solo appearances with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Pasadena Symphony and with the Boston Pops. He has been a featured artist of the American Guild of Organists Region X Convention, the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and has performed at all of the major houses and instruments in Southern California including Walt Disney Concert Hall, Spreckles Organ Pavilion, the Hazel Wright Organ at the Crystal Cathedral and the Great Organs of the First Congregational Church Los Angeles. He is an avid user of MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), which is extensively represented on this CD. He performs on the Theater Organ as well and has been featured by the Los Angeles Theater Organ Society on numerous occasions. In the fall of 1995, John performed as a featured vocalist in New York with 'Patti LuPone on Broadway' and as Guest Organist at the famed Trinity Church on Wall Street. He has been clinician for many workshops, including Augsburg Fortress Music Publishers and the National Convention of the American Guild of Organists. John has played all the major symphonic organ and orchestra compositions including the stunning Symphonie Concertante by Joseph Jongen. In conjunction he has published choral works. Sinner Please Don't Let This Harvest Pass and Shepherd, Shepherd, both are arrangements of Spirituals published by the Lawson-Gould Music Publishers in New York. He has toured extensively throughout the world with performances spanning distances from the Soviet Union to the far northern reaches of Alaska, South America and throughout the United States including Puerto Rico. In February 2000, John was the featured solo artist for the longest running radio show for the organ, 'Pipedreams' with Michael Barone. Augsburg Fortress publishes his organ works: Fanfare on 'Sine Nomine' and Now Thank We All Our God. His first solo organ compact disc, 'Rev'd Up Organ!' is in it's second pressing as is the CD 'The Roar of The Furies & The Sounds of Sirens' released in July 2004. This latest effort includes unusual mixing of both traditional and MIDI voices on standard literature as well as Symphonie IV by Charles Marie Widor performed with actors and on the 151 rank Casavant/Rodgers organ at Bel Air Presbyterian Church. "Rev'd Up Organ" represents a wide variety of styles not usually heard on the organ.
