About
Jonathan Embry, D. Mus., is Director of Music and Organist at the Cathedral of St. Helena. Jonathan earned his doctorate in the studio of Hans-Ola Ericsson at McGill University. He researched North German sacred organ and choral music in Germany and played historic organs in Lübeck and Hamburg. He received his Master of Sacred Music at the Univ. of Notre Dame studying with Craig Cramer. He received his Bachelor of Music from Syracuse Univ. studying with Kola Owolabi (organ) and Andrew Waggoner (composition). Dr. Embry has given recitals in the U.S. and Canada including three solo recitals in the Saint Joseph Oratory in Montreal. He toured extensively in Russia, playing concerts in ten cities during two tours. Jonathan was the international guest artist at the Organ Festival in Kondopoga, Russia (2017). He was awarded a citation of gratitude from the Saratov Oblast Government for his Saratov Conservatory concert of popular movie theme music for orphaned, disadvantaged, and disabled children. Jonathan completed a concert tour in Lithuania and performed as a headliner at the Kaliningrad "Territory of the World, the Territory of Music" memorial week for the 75th anniversary of the bombing of the Königsberg Cathedral (2019). Jonathan performed in the Summer Organ Series at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.(2021) as well as the inaugural recital for the restoration of the Organ at St. Alphonsus in Seattle, Wa.(2024) Jonathan has received composition commissions in four countries. In Paradisum op.5 was composed for the Sacred Music Festival in Renfrew, Ontario. His Passacaglia op.4 received honorable mention in the chamber music division of the National American Prize competition and praised as:
"A Major addition to the organ repertoire which requires a masterful, mature and sensitive musician to perform it with clarity and emotional intent" - Dr. Slawomir Dobrzanski, Judge of the American Prize.
Jonathan premiered his Four Rhapsodies in Canada, Kaliningrad, and New York. Jonathan composed a choral piece using text from the Diary of St. Faustina for the Shrine of St. Martin of Tours in Louisville and a piece for piano trio performed in fundraising concerts for a Taiwanese Catholic organization in Taipei. He is currently completing a collection of liturgical compositions for the Cathedral of St. Helena, some of which have been published on the Corpus Christi Watershed website. His Pastoral in D Major will be premiere in Kalinigrad in August 2024 and Pourquoi for Soprano and Piano will premiere in Fall 2024. Jonathan has presented lecture/recitals/master classes on Sacred Music and composing for the organ at conferences, and at Canadian and American universities. He recently led a conference on Sacred music for the Missoula deanery.
Jonathan was born on an island in Maine, participates in cross-country bike racing, and enjoys riding technical black trails on his mountain bike.
Courses Taught: THT 475 Applied Organ Lessons, History of Sacred Music in the West, Practical Application of Sacred Music in the Modern Church.