If you’ve ever heard the 1929 Grand E.M. Skinner Symphonic Concert Organ, you know the majesty of this instrument.

This historic organ, lovingly restored and installed in the Rotunda of Cincinnati Museum, can be heard in three concerts this season. Three renowned organists joined by local choirs and musicians will perform selections on the organ from Wagner to Messiaen, using every color of the symphonic spectrum.

Cincinnati Museum Center has announce the 2024–2025 Music in the Museum series, where they look forward to sharing the glorious sounds of the organ with you. Tickets are available now. Full programs are listed below.

During a capacity audience that I heard last season, s Michael Barone, host of “Pipedreams” on American Public Media told the large crowd, “There is no other organ like this in this kind of setting, anywhere. You have a treasure.”

Nearly 5,000 Pipes and four manuals — From 1987–2010, the 1929 Grand E. M. Skinner Symphonic Concert Organ was restored and installed in specially designed organ chambers. The main chambers are located on either side of the Rotunda where it meets the rear concourse. The antiphonal division is over the entrance to the Cincinnati History Museum. The organ has nearly 5,000 pipes played from a console with four manual keyboards.

Here’s the lineup:

November 13, 2024 at 7:30 p.m., Presenting Peter Richard Conte, Organist

Peter Richard Conte, one of the most brilliant “orchestral” organists of this era, is the fourth Wanamaker Grand Court Organist and presides over the world’s largest fully functioning musical instrument (29,000 pipes) at Macy’s Center City in downtown Philadelphia.

Program: Chaconne in E-minor, D. Buxtehude; Adagio in E major, F. Bridge; Regina Coeli, M. Dupre; Fantasia on “Nearer My God, To Thee” S. Karg-Elert; Regina Coeli, from Cavaliera Rusticana, P. Mascagni; Moonlight Music from Capriccio, R. Strauss; The Lost Chord, A. Sullivan; Toccata in B-flat minor, L. Vierne; Prelude to Act I of Lohengrin, R. Wagner; Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral from Lohengrin, R. Wagner.

He appears with mezzo-soprano Stacey Rishoi, who performs Urlicht, from Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 and Leibestod from Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde.

February 26, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. Presenting Jean-Baptiste Robin, Organist

Jean-Baptiste Robin is organist of France’s Royal Chapel at the Palace of Versailles. His
performances match the opulence and grandeur of that building. He is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished French organists, master teachers, and composers of his generation (with over 150 new works to his credit). He also serves as Professor of Organ at the Versailles Regional Conservatory of Music. As a master teacher, he was artist-in-residence at Oberlin Conservatory and Yale University and gives master classes around the world.

Program: Sinfonia from Cantata, BWV 29, J.S. Bach; Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun, C. Debussy; Fantasy in A major, C. Franck; Sonata No. 3 in A major, Op. 65, F. Mendelssohn; Le Tombeau de Couperin, (excerpts), M. Ravel; Etude in C-sharp minor, Op. 2, No. 1,
A. Scriabin; Apparition de l’église Éternelle, O. Messiaen; Interstellar “Cornfield Chase,” H. Zimmer.

He’s joined by the Xavier University Concert Choir, Matthew R. Lee, Director: Daphnis and Chloe, Suite No. 2 (excerpts), M. Ravel.

April 30, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. Presenting Bryan Anderson, Organist

Bryan Anderson, competing with 10 international organists, was unanimously awarded the $40,000 Pierre S. DuPont First Prize at the 2023 Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition, a competition specializing in orchestral transcriptions for organ. The Diapason named him to its “20 under 30” Class of 2017, calling his playing “brilliant.” He is Music Director for St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church and School in Houston, Texas.

Program: O Mensch Bewein’ Dein’ Sunde Gross, BWV 622, J. S. Bach; Wachet Auf, Ruuf Uns Die Stimme, BWV 645, J. S. Bach; Triumphal March from Caractacus, E. Elgar; Choral No. 2 in B minor, C. Franck; Homage to Fritz Kreisler (Londonderry Air), R. Hebble; Concert Overture No. 3 in F minor, A. Hollins; Overture to The Flying Dutchman, R. Wagner; Bach’s Memento’s No.’s 4 and 5, Marche du Veilleur de Nuit, and Sicilienne, C.M. Widor.

He performs with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Principal Flute, Randolph Bowman: Adagio in G minor, T. Albinoni; Arioso from Cantata BWV 156, J. S. Bach; Flute Sonata (2nd movement: Pan and the Birds), J. Mouquet.

Information: visit cincymuseum.org/musicinthemuseum
For questions, call (513) 287-7036.