Todd Wilson

Regarded across America and around the world as one of today’s finest concert organists, Todd Wilson serves as head of the Organ Department at The Cleveland Institute of Music, and Curator of the E.M. Skinner pipe organ at Severance Music Center (home of The Cleveland Orchestra).

Todd Wilson has been heard in recital at many major venues throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan, including Symphony Hall (Birmingham, UK), Westminster Abbey (London, UK), St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin (Ireland),  Los Angeles’ Walt Disney Concert Hall, Chicago's Orchestra Hall, Cleveland’s Severance Hall, Dallas’ Meyerson Symphony Center, Philadelphia’s Verizon Hall, Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Milwaukee’s Uihlein Hall, Washington National Cathedral, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York City, and the 21,000-seat Mormon Conference Center in Salt Lake City.  He also was a recitalist for Austrian Radio in Vienna, and in 2005 presented his first solo recital in Tokyo, Japan.

Mr. Wilson has appeared with many orchestras around the world including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic for whom in 2004 he was featured organ soloist on the first orchestra subscription series concerts featuring the new Walt Disney Concert Hall organ, the Nashville Symphony, the Slovakian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Naples (Florida) Philharmonic, and The City of London Sinfonia.

Todd Wilson has many recordings to his credit on the Raven, Naxos, JAV, Delos, Gothic, Disques du Solstice and other private labels, including his most recent two-disc release “The Murray Hill Organ at St. James in-the-City, Los Angeles”, his landmark recording of the Duruflé organ works, the organ works of Gerre Hancock, Terry Riley’s “At the Grand Majestic” recorded with the Nashville Symphony, discs featuring the organ works of George Thalben-Ball and Frank Bridge, a solo recital of American music recorded at Washington National Cathedral, a two-disc collection entitled “In a Quiet Cathedral” featuring meditative organ music recorded at the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta, a recording of Great French Virtuosic Organ Music recorded at the University of Alabama, a recording of music for cello and organ recorded with his daughter, Rachel, a recording of duo organ works with David Higgs entitled “Double Forte”, and a recording of Tournemire organ works played on the organ at Chartres Cathedral in France.

Mr. Wilson received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, where he studied organ with Wayne Fisher and piano with John Quincy Bass.  Further coaching in organ repertoire was with Russell Saunders at The Eastman School of Music.  He won numerous competitions, including the prestigious French Grand Prix de Chartres, the Fort Wayne Competition, the Strader National Scholarship Competition and the national competition sponsored by the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles.

An active member of the American Guild of Organists, Mr. Wilson holds the Fellow and Choirmaster certificates, receiving the S. Lewis Elmer Prize for the highest national exam score in 1982. He has been a featured recitalist at many Guild conventions including national conventions in 1992 (Atlanta), 1996 (New York City), 2008 (Minneapolis), 2012 (Nashville) and 2018 (Kansas City).

A sought-after adjudicator, Mr. Wilson has been a jury member for many of the world’s most prestigious competitions, most recently at the 2023 St. Albans International Organ Competition.   He has also served on juries for the Longwood Gardens International Competition (USA), the Pipeworks International Organ Competition (Ireland), the Nürnberg Competition (Germany), the Dallas Competition (USA), the Royal College of Organists’ Performer of the Year Competition (UK), the Calgary International Organ Festival and Competition (Canada), the Grand Prix de Chartres and the Toulouse Festival Competitions (France), the American Guild of Organists National Young Artists Competition, and the Ft. Wayne Competition (USA).

Previous positions held include Visiting Professor of Organ at the University of Michigan, Director of Music at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral (Cleveland Ohio), Director of Music and Organist at The Church of the Covenant (Cleveland Ohio), Head of the Organ Department at Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music (Berea Ohio), and Organist and Master of the Choristers at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City, New York.

Mr. Wilson frequently presents repertoire master classes as well as workshops focused on specific aspects of service playing and accompanying.  An active interest in improvisation has led to his popular improvised accompaniments to classic silent films.