Biography
Stephen C. Price recently joined the music faculty at the University of Washington (Seattle) as the inaugural Paul B. Fritts Faculty Fellow and Artist-in-Residence in organ performance beginning in September 2023.
Dr. Price previously held the position of Assistant Teaching Professor in music (organ) at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana. In his previous post, he maintained an organ studio including undergraduate and graduate students, and also taught church music, music history, and music theory courses. His former organ students have obtained church positions throughout the United States and are active within the profession.
Dr. Price is a native of Buffalo, New York. He served as Assistant Minister of Music at Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church and Organ Scholar during his senior year of high school at St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, where he studied with Andrew Scanlon. Subsequently, he attended Western Connecticut State University, under the direction of Stephen Roberts, where he received a Bachelor of Music degree and served as Organ Scholar at St. Paul's Episcopal Church on the Green in Norwalk, Connecticut, serving under Director of Music, Vince Edwards. Following his undergraduate career, Dr. Price received a Fulbright Scholarship to Toulouse, France, where he studied "Historical and Modern" performance practices of French Organ Music under the guidance of Michel Bouvard and Jan Willem Jansen. Dr. Price then attended the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, receiving the Master of Music and Doctor of Music degrees. During his graduate studies, Dr. Price competed and garnered awards in several international competitions, including the Franz Schmidt Organ Competition (Austria), André Marchal Organ Competition (France), and the Canadian International Organ Competition (Montreal). While at Indiana University, he studied under the mentorship of Dr. Janette Fishell.
After completing his coursework at Indiana University, Dr. Price accepted a full-time position as Associate Director of Music and Organist at First United Methodist Church, San Diego, California, serving from 2015-17. In 2019, Dr. Price was a performer and served on the jury for the Regional Competition for Young Organists at the Northeast Regional American Guild of Organists Convention in Buffalo, New York. Dr. Price presented for the OrganFest 2020 virtual PipeTalk series titled "A Discussion for New Organ Teachers: Where to Start and How to Proceed?" In the fall of 2020, Dr. Price participated in a webinar series on teaching, presenting the topic "Building an Organist Artistry through Literature Choices," sponsored by the AGO's committee on continuing professional education.
In addition to his teaching duties at Ball State, Dr. Price served as the coordinator for the Sursa American Organ Competition for High School and Pre-Professional organists hosted at Ball State. He also served on the Organ Historical Society's Advisory Membership Committee and the American Guild of Organists Education Committee. Upon invitation, Dr. Price served as an adjudicator for the First Presbyterian National Organ Playing Competition (Fort Wayne, IN); and the Strader Organ Scholarship Competition (University of Cincinnati). While residing in Indiana, Dr. Price served at Plainfield United Methodist (Plainfield, IN), as choir director and organist; Holy Trinity Lutheran ELCA (New Castle, IN), and as Organist at High Street United Methodist Church, Muncie, Indiana, where he initiated the church's first organ scholar position to inspire and train future church musicians in East Central Indiana.
Recent appearances include the 2022 Organ Historical Society Convention (Columbus, OH); St. Ita's Roman Catholic Church (Chicago); Zion Lutheran Church (Fort Wayne, IN); St. John the Divine (New York City); and First Presbyterian Church (Buffalo, NY). Additionally, Michael Barone has featured recordings and live performances on the Pipedreams Broadcast on NPR.
Dr. Price's debut album, Paris Impact Organ Suites, has been released on the Raven recording label and is available for purchase at RavenCD.com.