Frederick Swann

After earning his degree in music from Northwestern University, Swann attended the old School of Sacred Music at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, where he studied with Hugh Porter (1897–1960), the School's director.

He also studied with Charles M. Courboin, organist at the time at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Both degrees were granted "with distinction".

Living in New York at the time, he recalled, exposed him to a plethora of great church music around town: on any given Sunday afternoon, one could hear choral programs and concerts at such prominent venues as St. Thomas Church or St. Bartholomew's.

After a 15-month stint as interim organist at New York's Brick Presbyterian Church during the illness of the renowned Clarence Dickinson, while concurrently serving as Harold Friedell's assistant at St. Bartholomew's, Swann entered the U.S. Army for a two-year stint.

While at Northwestern, Swann studied with Thomas Matthews (1915–1999), who inspired him as a teacher and from whom he learned much about improvisation and colorful organ registration at the acclaimed E.M. Skinner organ of nearby St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.

He also studied with John Christensen, the organist at the First Methodist Church in Evanston, where Swann served as assistant organist during his four years in college.

Frederick Lewis Swann (July 30, 1931 – November 13, 2022) was an American church and concert organist, choral conductor, composer, and president of the American Guild of Organists.

His extensive discography includes both solo organ works and choral ensembles he has conducted.

Swann began playing the organ for church services as a ten-year old at a Methodist church in Winchester, Virginia, where his father was pastor.

He graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in music and later studied at the School of Sacred Music of Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York.

One of the best-known organists of the 20th and early 21st century, Swann was the former Director of Music and Organist at New York City's Riverside Church and Organist Emeritus of the Crystal Cathedral and the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles.

Playing the Crystal Cathedral organ on the weekly Hour of Power television program, he was seen by an estimated audience of twenty million viewers in 165 countries.

Frederick Swann was born in Lewisburg, West Virginia, in 1931, shortly before his family moved to Virginia.

The son of Methodist pastor (and later bishop) Theodore M. Swann and Mary Davis Swann, he is one of six children.

When he was ten years old, the organist at Braddock Street Methodist Church in Winchester, where his father was pastor (1937–1943), died suddenly.

Young "Freddie" (as he was then known), was called upon to play the organ for the Sunday services.

Until then, he was not tall enough for his feet to reach the pedals.

Madeline W. Riley, the church's Minister of Music, was of significant influence in helping him develop the service playing skills for which he has become so well known.

The Swann family moved to Staunton, Virginia, in 1943 and the youthful organist continued organ study with Dr. Carl Broman, professor of music at Mary Baldwin College and organist at Trinity Episcopal Church.

It was at that church that Swann was captivated by the denomination's liturgy and music, becoming confirmed in the Episcopal church at age 13.

As a 15-year old, Swann was already playing the organ for special events at various venues, such as an Easter Sunday afternoon concert at St. Paul's Evangelical United Brethren Church in Staunton, accompanying the church's choir and guest soloists from Shenandoah College.

After graduating from Robert E. Lee High School, where he played the piano for the school's chorus, Swann attended Northwestern University's School of Music.

He chose the college on the shores of Lake Michigan, he would say years later, because "... my childhood was not the happiest, and at that point in my life, the farthest place away that I had heard of was Chicago. With my Methodist background and it being a Methodist school, I won a scholarship and went there".

His oldest brother, Edgar, an organist and ordained clergyman, was killed in a glider accident while serving as a World War II Army chaplain on February 19, 1944, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Swann began taking piano lessons as a 5-year old from the organist at Market Street Methodist Church in Winchester, Virginia.

One day he arrived early for a lesson and saw his teacher playing the organ.

He told an interviewer in later years that he was "mesmerized when I saw the organ console for the first time" and soon began taking organ lessons.

Swann was associated with the music ministry of the famed Riverside Church in New York City from 1952 through 1982, first as a substitute organist for Virgil Fox and then appointed Organist in 1957, when Fox's appearances at Riverside became infrequent until his departure in 1965 to pursue a full-time career as a concert performer.

Under the direction of Swann, Riverside's music program flourished in the 1960s–1980s.

He directed the 75-voice paid choir from the organ bench for Sunday services and oratorios, such as Ralph Vaughan Williams's Hodie and Stabat Mater by Polish composer Karol Szymanowski.

In discussing his approach to organ registration for such works, he said, "On any instrument, I explore every stop in the organ, and of course, with a large organ, it is important to find orchestral colors for the oratorio accompaniments. I always feel that if there’s a stop there, it’s supposed be used and you can usually find a way to do it."

Riverside's musical excellence continued under his successor as music director and organist, John Walker.

Upon the retirement of Richard Weagly as Choir Director in 1966, Swann became Director of Music and Organist through 1982.

Beginning in June 1982, Swann was appointed Director of Music and Organist at the Crystal Cathedral (now Christ Cathedral) in Garden Grove, California, where he conducted the choir and presided over the 5-manual, 265-rank Hazel Wright organ of 16,000 pipes, appearing weekly on the internationally televised Hour of Power worship services.

He was seen by an estimated audience of twenty million viewers in 165 countries.

Swann also performed at weekly noonday recitals and major concerts.

Swann lived in Palm Desert, California, where he was Artist-in-residence at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church from 2001 until his death in 2022.

In a 2014 interview in The Diapason magazine, Swann recalled his excitement playing on Easter Sunday, when he was allowed to use the Moller organ's "great big Open Diapason" for the first time, saying, "I thought, 'This is heaven', since I had not been allowed to make that much noise before".

He was also formerly University Organist and Organ Professor at the University of Redlands prior to his retirement in 2018.