Josh Stafford plays "The Firebird" suite on the Midmer-Losh organ at Boardwalk Hall

Organist Joshua Stafford presents a half hour of varied music including Igor Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite.

Broadcast on Wednesday, June 24th by the Historic Organ Restoration Committee on the Midmer-Losh pipe organ—the world’s largest musical instrument ever built with its 33,112 pipes. This recital is part of an ongoing broadcast series of the organs of Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall so that patrons can still enjoy the instruments while remaining socially distant.

Joshua Stafford is the Director of Music at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown, New Jersey. The meticulous technique, innate yet highly mature musicality, and constant musical engagement exhibited by Joshua Stafford compelled the jury of the 2016 Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition to name him, out of 12 stellar competitors, the Pierre S. du Pont First Prize Winner of this illustrious event, earning him a cash award of $40,000. Already in demand as a recitalist, improviser, and choral accompanist, Joshua has performed at many notable venues, including the Wanamaker Organ in Philadelphia, the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C., Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, Ocean Grove Auditorium in New Jersey, the Chautauqua Institution in New York, and Spivey Hall in Georgia. His recital at the 2015 Conference of the Association of Anglican Musicians was hailed as “technically flawless yet exceptionally nuanced and spontaneous.” Joshua has appeared with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra and National Symphony Orchestra, and recordings of his performances have been aired on MPR’s Pipedreams and WRTI’s Wanamaker Organ Hour.