Performers

James Kealey

Winner of the First Prize and Audience Prize at the 2022 American Guild of Organists’ National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance (NYACOP), James Kealey is a young artist of great distinction who has appeared in recital in England, the U.S.A., and in Europe. Previous highlight engagements include recitals at Westminster Abbey, UK; Methuen Memorial Music Hall, MA; St. John the Divine, NYC; the Spreckels Organ Pavilion; and recitals for many AGO chapters around the country. This season's performances include stops in Potsdam, NY; Birmingham, AL; Bryn Mawr, PA; Lubbock, TX; Princeton, NJ; Nashville, TN; and Norfolk, VA. A native of Great Britain, James came to the U.S.A. having held positions at notable English Cathedrals. He received his undergraduate degree from Royal Holloway, University of London, and served as Senior Organ Scholar to the Chapel Choir there, supporting their live broadcasts, international tours, CD recordings, weekly services, and concerts. In the spring of 2020, James completed his Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music in Organ Performance and Literature, having studied with David Higgs. In 2021, he was honored to be named one of The Diapason’s “20 under 30,” an accolade awarded to the most successful young artists in the field. In the summer of 2023, he released his debut CD, Rhapsodic, on the Pro Organo recording label. Performed on the incredible E. & G. G. Hook & Hastings / Andover organ at St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Buffalo, NY, it features works by Whitlock, Delius, Price, Howells, Vierne, Still, and Franck. James serves as Director of Music & Fine Arts at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. He is represented in North America by Karen McFarlane Artists, Inc.

Jeffrey Brillhart

Jeffrey Brillhart has performed throughout the United States, Brazil, South Africa, the Middle East, and Europe as conductor and organist and is known for his musical versatility. He was awarded first place at the American Guild of Organists National Competition in Organ Improvisation in 1994 and joined the music faculty of Yale University in 2005, where he teaches organ improvisation to graduate-level students. In 2023, he joined the music faculty of The Curtis Institute of Music. Jeff served as Director of Music & Fine Arts at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church from 1983 to 2026, where he oversaw music, education, and arts programs involving more than two hundred children, youth, and adults each week. He was also music director of Philadelphia’s acclaimed Singing City Choir from 1998–2023. Singing City was one of the first integrated community choirs in the United States. At Singing City, he followed a distinguished line of conductors, including Elaine Brown and Joseph Flummerfelt. Under his direction, his choral ensembles performed with the Kronos Quartet, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Symphony in C, Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Ignat Solzhenitsyn, Bobbie McFerrin, Dave Brubeck, Helmuth Rilling, Rossen Milanov, and on tours to Cuba, Northern Ireland, Brazil, Germany, Russia, the Balkans, Mexico, and South Africa. Jeff maintains an active schedule as conductor, organist, competition adjudicator, and clinician, most recently at the Kimmel Center (with The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Canadian Brass and Ten Thing), Curtis Institute of Music, the Eastman School of Music, Westminster Choir College, Furman University, Walla Walla College, and Baylor University. His organ improvisation textbook, Breaking Free: Finding a Personal Language for Organ Improvisation through 20th-Century French Improvisation Techniques, was published by Wayne Leupold Editions in 2011. A second textbook, A World of Possibilities: Master Lessons in Improvisation, was released in Summer 2018. Both books are widely used in the United States and Europe. His choral and organ compositions are published by Hope Publishing and EC Schirmer. He was recently awarded the 2016 Elaine Brown Award for Choral Excellence, presented by the Pennsylvania American Choral Directors.

Daniel Carroll

Daniel Carroll is an organist and improviser who has performed across the United States. He has performed internationally in Paris, Montréal Aude, Glasgow, and London. In 2025, Daniel won first prize and the commission prize at the Taylor National Organ Competition in Atlanta, Georgia. He has also competed in various improvisation competitions, including the St. Albans International Improvisation competition, where he was a semifinalist, the Haarlem International competition, and the American Guild of Organists National Improvisation competition. Daniel is a student at the Curtis Institute of Music, where he holds the Joseph F. Baker and William S. Mulherin Fellowship. At Curtis, he studies repertoire with Alan Morrison and improvisation with Jeffrey Brillhart. Daniel currently serves as organ scholar at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, under the direction of James Kealey. He has studied improvisation privately with Thierry Escaich and Philippe Lefebvre in Paris and Toulouse. Prior to Curtis, Daniel studied with Daniel Aune of the Peabody Conservatory, and David Lang and Michael Galdo of Northern Virginia.