1929 Grand E.M. Skinner Organ

Vincent Dubois, titular organist of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris

Hundreds of aficionados of organ music — as well as admirers of the stunning Art Deco Rotunda in Cincinnati Museum Center — braved a dark and stormy night on Oct. 29 to attend the opening concert of the Music in the Museum series. The excellent organist Vincent Dubois, now titular organist of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, performed a substantial program on the great E.M. Skinner concert organ built in 1929, the year Union Terminal began construction.

The organ is designed in the American Symphonic Organ tradition, able to produce every tone of a symphonic orchestra, and then some. Cincinnati’s E.M. Skinner organ is one of the treasures of the United States.

At one moment, Dubois paused to thank those who have supported the organ, saying, “It’s rare to find this quality of voicing… I enjoyed discovering so many colors and textures. It’s infinite in that instrument.”

Besides his Paris post, Dubois is newly appointed Professor of organ interpretation and improvisation at the Hochschule für Musik (University of Music) in Saarbrücken, Germany. His wide-ranging selections included many by French composers, some rarely heard, which were a treat to hear.

Dubois opened with J.S. Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582. His sound was instantly enthralling, from the deep tones of the repeating bass line (or ground bass) to the wonderful embellishments that unfolded above it. The music in the highest register had a spiritual quality, and you could see that the organist felt every note. The concluding fugue was majestic, and he held its final note at length, allowing the sound to continue ringing in the resonant acoustic of the Rotunda.

Dubois with Kelly Hale conducting behind the organ, and page turner Bert Nelson.

Dubois called upon two collaborators for the next three works: Russell Burge, CCM Professor of Percussion, and Kelly Hale, Professor Emeritus of Opera and Coaching, who conducted the spacially separated duo.

Percussionist Russell Burge was situated against the Rotunda wall, the clearest acoustical spot for the collaboration.

Jean-Philippe Rameau was represented by the dance, “Les sauvages” from Rameau’s 1735 opera-ballet, “Les Indes galantes,” accompanied by marvelous drumming by Burge. The work was inspired by a visit to France by Indigenous American chiefs in 1725.

Dubois then fast-forwarded to 20th-century France with three movements from Francis Poulenc‘s “Suite française,” originally an orchestral suite from his incidental music to a play, “La Reine Margot.” Typical of Poulenc, there were dissonances and witty dialogues between organ and snare drum. The colors of the organ ranged from warm to reedy.

Vincent Dubois comes to Cincinnati Museum Center in October

Many of us were riveted when the great organ of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, was rescued after the fire, refurbished and rededicated at the reopening. Cincinnati Museum Center’s Music in the Museum series will open its season on Oct. 29 with Vincent Dubois, titular organist at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, where he serves alongside Olivier Latry and Philippe Lefebvre. He is also Professor of organ interpretation and improvisation at the Hochschule für Musik (University of Music), Saarbrücken, Germany.

He has performed in major concert venues throughout Europe, North America, Asia and the Pacific. Dubois’ program will include: Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582, J. S. Bach; Choral No. 1 in E major, Franck; Prelude in C sharp minor Op.3, Rachmaninoff; Menuet and Rigaudon from Le Tombeau de Couperin, Ravel; Sonata on the 94th Psalm in C minor, J. Reubke; and Carillon de Westminster, Op. 54, No. 6, Vierne.

He’ll also collaborate with University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music Professor of Percussion, Russell Burge in Boléro sur un thème de Charles Raquet, P. Cochereau; Fanfare for the Common Man, A. Copland; and Les sauvages from Les Indes galantes by Rameau.

The 1929 Grand E.M. Skinner Concert Organ is the centerpiece for Music in the Museum, a concert series hosted three times a year at Cincinnati Museum Center.

The rest of the series looks great, too:

Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
Presenting Johannes Skoog, Organist. Johannes Skoog is winner of the First Prize and the Bach Prize at the 2024 Canadian International Organ Competition and he is one of Sweden’s brightest young organists. He will collaborate with the combined Choirs of Christ Church Cathedral, Stephan Casurella, Director and St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Carlton Monroe, Director.

Wednesday, April 22, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
Presenting Isabelle Demers, Organist. Isabelle Demers is Associate Professor of Organ at McGill University. Her programs includes arias and other numbers in collaboration with University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music Professor of Voice, Tenor, Daniel Weeks. You don’t want to miss “Nessun dorma”!

The concerts are at 7:30 p.m. Tickets: visit cincymuseum.org/music-in-the-museum. For questions, call (513) 287-7036