Claudia Dumschat

Organist

Ms. Dumschat is instrumental in the presentation of NYCC concerts by opening the doors of her church, Little Church Around the Corner, and hosting many of our concerts. She also regularly performs recitals of music by our member composers. Her last NYCC performance was:

October 14, 2021 | SECOND CONCERT of NEW MUSIC for ORGAN
Little Church Around the Corner, Church of the Transfiguration

"Rabbi Schmuley Rides the Cyclone to Heaven" by Robert Cohen
"Pandemia" by Thomas Parente
"Passacaglia, Toccata & Fugue" by Dary John Mizelle
"Prelude for Organ" by Hubert Howe
"Three Hymn Preludes for Organ" by David See
— Fugue on "St. Ann and Ellacombe"
— Little Brown Church (In The Vale)
— There's A Song In The Air

CLAUDIA DUMSCHAT has a distinguished career both as an organist and conductor, and has performed concerts throughout the United States and Europe. She received her Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, where she studied with Alec Wyton, Frederick Swann, McNeil Robinson, John Walker and Dennis Keene. Since 1999 She has been Organist and Choirmaster at Church of the Transfiguration, where she conducts the Choir of Men & Boys, the oldest such choir in America. She also founded the Transfiguration Camerata, Girls Choir and Cherub Choir there, and she has served as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Arnold Schwartz Memorial Concert Series, which has produced over fifty concerts since its inception in 2004.

Her repertoire includes orchestral and choral music, chamber music, oratorios, and operas. The Brooklyn Discovery wrote: “This concert would have surely not been possible without the special genius of Claudia Dumschat,” and that she “was truly the Maestro Supreme, conjuring up all the power and majesty of this great work.” In a New York Times review of an all-Bach concert, her playing was described as "brilliantly assertive.” In a review of her recording, A Baroque Trilogy: Works by Bach, Brühns, and Buxtehude, the website bach-cantata.com wrote: “Dr. Dumschat is a wonderful Baroque performing artist. She misses none of the beauty of any of the eight works she performs, and her emotional depth and breadth are very impressive. When strength and power are called for, Dumschat fully delivers in resounding fashion. Another great attribute is her command of swirling rhythms which is so important for organ works; Dumschat conveys a mesmerizing quality.” The Diapason, a national organists' magazine, wrote that she “played as the composers may very well have intended it: straight from the heart.”

Dr. Dumschat has served on the Executive Board of the American Guild of Organists in both the Houston and New York Chapters. She is also a member of the Association of Anglican Musicians and a Council Member of the Episcopal Actors Guild.