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Cathedral Musicians | ||
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Michael McCarthy |
Scott Dettra |
Christopher Jacobson 
Michael McCarthy was appointed Cathedral Director of Music in the summer of 2003. He was the founder and director of the London [England] Oratory School Schola. Founded in 1996, the Schola quickly became one of London’s premier boys concert choirs, performing regularly on the London concert platform and in the studio for both the recording and film industries. Mr. McCarthy directed the Schola in recordings for films including Sleepy Hollow, The Lord of the Rings cycle, and Harry Potter. A graduate of Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Mr. McCarthy has worked with numerous professional choirs including The Sixteen, The Gabrieli Consort, and the Monteverdi Choir under the direction of Sir John Eliot Gardiner. In January 2002 he became the choir manager for The Monteverdi Choir. His experience directing young choristers includes duties as lay clerk at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, and Saint Alban’s Abbey in Hertfordshire. He also served as master of music at Saint Benedict’s Abbey, Ealing, prior to beginning the London Oratory School. As director of music Mr. McCarthy oversees the Cathedral’s expanding music program, as well as serves as principal choirmaster. 
Scott Dettra is Organist and Associate Director of Music at Washington National Cathedral, where he is responsible for the organ playing at more than 350 services per year and assists Music Director Michael McCarthy with the direction of the Cathedral choirs. Mr. Dettra is also assistant conductor and keyboard artist of both the Cathedral Choral Society and the Washington Bach Consort. He has previously held positions at St. Paul’s, K Street in Washington; St. Mark’s, Philadelphia; and Trinity Church, Princeton. Additionally, he was principal accompanist of the American Boychoir for many years. A prize-winning organist, he has performed at national conventions of the American Guild of Organists and the Association of Anglican Musicians, and has appeared at many notable venues throughout the world. He has appeared as a harpsichord soloist with the Washington Ballet and the Washington Bach Consort. In his work with the Cathedral Choral Society, Mr. Dettra has prepared the ensemble for performances with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Juilliard Orchestra, and the Dave Brubeck Quartet. In 2006 he was co-conductor of the Society’s performance of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem. Mr. Dettra appeared at the 2004 Lincoln Center Festival as organist for the North-American premiere of John Tavener’s seven-hour work The Veil of the Temple. In addition to many recording credits, his performances have been broadcast numerous times on the BBC, NPR, and PRI. Mr. Dettra holds two degrees from Westminster Choir College and has also studied at Manhattan School of Music. His principal organ teachers have been Joan Lippincott, Dennis Keene, and his father, Lee Dettra. 
Christopher Jacobson is Assistant Organist and Assistant Director of Music at Washington National Cathedral where he accompanies, assists in directing the Cathedral choirs and is responsible for the training and education of the Junior Choristers. Prior to his appointment he served as Organ Scholar at the Cathedral since 2006. Before coming to Washington, DC, Mr. Jacobson was Organist and Choirmaster at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Rochester, New York. Mr. Jacobson holds the Master of Music degree in Organ Performance and the Sacred Music Diploma from the Eastman School of Music as well as the Associate diploma from the American Guild of Organists. At Eastman he studied organ with David Higgs, improvisation and continuo with William Porter and church music with Peter DuBois. Mr. Jacobson received his Bachelor of Music degree with distinction in Organ Performance from St. Olaf College where he studied organ with John Ferguson and Catherine Rodland, and piano with Kathryn Ananda-Owens. Mr. Jacobson began his organ study with Mme. Yvaine Duisit while a student at Woodberry Forest School in Orange, Virginia. He is a graduate of the American Boychoir School where he was a treble chorister under James Litton. Mr. Jacobson has won first prize in several organ competitions: the 2005 John R. Rodland Scholarship Competition, the 2003 American Guild of Organists/Quimby Region VI Competition for Young Organists, the 2003 Schubert Club Competition in Minneapolis and the 2001 Paul Manz Bach and Hymn Organ Competition. He was a semi-finalist in the 2006 AGO National Young Artist Competition and won second prize in the 2005 Miami International Organ Competition. Mr. Jacobson’s recital performances have been heard on three continents including programs at the 2004 AGO National Convention in Los Angeles, as well as St. Patrick’s Cathedral (Dublin, Ireland) and St. Michael’s Church (Melbourne, Australia). 
Edward M. Nassor is the fourth Cathedral Carillonneur at Washington National Cathedral. He joined the music department at the Cathedral in 1990, where his duties include performing preludes before Sunday Holy Eucharist and Saturday afternoon recitals on the Bessie J. Kibbey carillon. In 2002 he was formally recognized by the Dean and the Chair of the Cathedral Chapter as the first Cathedral employee to earn a doctorate in his field while employed at the Cathedral. His Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees are from the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music at the Catholic University of America. While working on his doctoral degree, he became the first American to be awarded a Fulbright grant to study carillon in the Netherlands. He performed in over fifty towers throughout Belgium, Denmark, France, Holland and Germany, before earning a Practical Diploma from the Netherlands Carillon School in 1992. Before working at the Cathedral, the National Park Service appointed him Director-Carillonneur of the Netherlands Carillon in Arlington, Virginia. He has continuously performed and scheduled guest carillonneurs for the annual carillon recital series sponsored by the National Park Service since 1987. He is a thirty-year member of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America and has served as a juror on the guild’s student advancement committee. Dr. Nassor was invited by the Speaker of the Canadian House of Parliament to perform on the carillon at the Peace Tower at the House of Parliament in Ottawa during the Canadian Tulip Festival in May 2007, as part of a cultural exchange between Canada and the Cathedral. Discography: Joyful Noise; Sound from Heaven; Welcome All Wonders; Hymns through the Centuries, Vol. 1; Hymns through the Centuries, Vol. 2; and The Joy of Christmas.
Former Choirmasters Washington National Cathedral choirmasters have been, Edgar Priest, Robert George Barrow, Paul Callaway, Richard Wayne Dirksen, Douglas Major, Bruce Neswick, and James Litton. In addition to their work at Washington National Cathedral, each of these distinguished musicians has helped to guide and influence the course of American church music during the 20th century. |
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