EMMA WHITTEN

BIOGRAPHY

EMMA WHITTEN is an accomplished organist specializing in early Baroque and contemporary repertoire. She regularly performs across the United States and internationally, captivating audiences and introducing the organ to new listeners. Her programs are engaging and diverse, drawing from an extensive repertoire spanning eight centuries of organ music.

Dr. Whitten serves as Associate Organist at Christ Cathedral (formerly Crystal Cathedral) in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County, California. The Cathedral campus is home to two landmark instruments, the five-manual Hazel Wright Organ in the Cathedral and the four-manual Fred Swann Organ in the Arboretum. As Associate Organist, Emma plays for major liturgies at the Cathedral and accompanies the Diocesan Choir. In September 2022, she released her debut recording, Hazel Is Back! (Gothic Records 49338), in celebration of the Hazel Wright Organ's recent restoration. Emma also acts as Music Coordinator at the historic Church of the Immaculate Conception in San Diego. In the Fall of 2022, she joined the faculty of Concordia University Irvine as Adjunct Professor of Organ and Church Music.

Performance venues and festivals include the Los Angeles Presidents' Day Organ Festival, St. Paul's Cathedral (San Diego, CA), Catalina Organ Festival (Tucson, AZ), Saints Simon & Jude Cathedral (Phoenix, AZ), Arizona State University, University of Arizona, Saint Mary's Basilica (Phoenix, AZ), and University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Emma has performed for American Guild of Organists chapters including Los Angeles, San Diego, Palomar, Central Arizona, and Knoxville. Internationally, Emma has performed on historic organs in Germany, Spain, Colombia, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

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In addition to solo performances, Emma has accompanied large choral and orchestral works including Requiem for the Living (Dan Forrest), Lux Aeterna (Martin Lauridsen), Requiem (Fauré), Dona nobis pacem (Vaughan Williams), Crown Imperial (Walton), Messe solennelle (Vierne), and Rejoice in the Lamb (Britten).

Emma maintains a private teaching studio in Oceanside, California where she works with organists of all ages, from beginning students to professionals. She regularly acts as an adjudicator for scholarship auditions and competitions including the AGO/Quimby Regional Competitions for Young Organists and the AGO certification programs. She has served as both faculty and featured performer for Pipe Organ Encounters, week-long educational workshops for high school organists. Emma is passionate about introducing the organ to new audiences, and she is currently designing a virtual STEM workshop for high school students, introducing the physics of the organ, organ-building techniques, and repertoire inspired by scientific concepts.

In December 2014, Emma graduated with her D.M.A. in Organ Performance from Arizona State University, where she studied with Kimberly Marshall. Her doctoral dissertation, entitled “Synthesizing Styles: International Influence on Organ Music in Restoration England,” explores French and Italian musical elements in the organ works of Matthew Locke, John Blow, and Henry Purcell. In 2011, Emma received her Master of Music degree from the University of Kansas under Michael Bauer, and in 2009 she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of Notre Dame, where she studied organ with Craig Cramer. Her previous teachers include László Attila Almásy of the Bartók Conservatory in Budapest and John Brock of the University of Tennessee.

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