Martin Jean

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Director, Yale Institute of Sacred Music Institute of Sacred Music

Professor of Organ Institute of Sacred Music

Award(s): National Young Artists’ Competition in Organ Performance first prize (1992), Grand Prix de Chartres first prize (1986)

As the world’s oldest keyboard instrument, the pipe organ boasts one of the most expansive repertoires of any western instrument in current use. At Yale, we strive to foster respect in students for this diverse body of literature, allowing them to concentrate on music most dear to them, but at the same time, introducing them to music which may be less familiar. Yale’s collection of organs is unrivaled in the world and provides students contexts to explore their artistic visions and passions. The interdisciplinary resources of the Institute of Sacred Music teach students the theological and liturgical roots of much of the music they play in houses of worship and on the concert stage.

Martin Jean

As the world’s oldest keyboard instrument, the pipe organ boasts one of the most expansive repertoires of any western instrument in current use. At Yale, we strive to foster respect in students for this diverse body of literature, allowing them to concentrate on music most dear to them, but at the same time, introducing them to music which may be less familiar. Yale’s collection of organs is unrivaled in the world and provides students contexts to explore their artistic visions and passions. The interdisciplinary resources of the Institute of Sacred Music teach students the theological and liturgical roots of much of the music they play in houses of worship and on the concert stage.

Martin Jean is known worldwide for his playing, which has been described by The Kansas City Star as having “visceral intensity, expressive eloquence, and exquisite elegance.” He is interested in a wide variety of repertoire and has performed on four continents and in nearly all 50 U.S. states.

In addition to his duties as Director of the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Jean teaches a studio of graduate-level organ students. He performed Bach’s complete organ works at Yale in 2001 and has made acclaimed recordings on the Newberry Memorial Organ in the University’s Woolsey Hall. Jean earned his master of music degree and artist diploma from the University of Michigan, where he studied with Robert Glasgow, and spent a sabbatical studying with Harald Vogel in North Germany in fall 1999.

Jean’s recordings of the organ symphonies and Stations of the Cross by Marcel Dupré are forthcoming from Delos Productions.

Recordings
Tournemire: The Seven Last Words of Christ (Loft Recordings), Vierne: Complete Symphonies (Loft Recordings)