A piano sounds like a piano. A trumpet sounds like a trumpet.
A big old church organ is another matter. A talented organist, using all of the instrument’s stops, levers and pedals, can make it sound like just about anything he or she wants.
“I love that the organ can be both the loudest and the quietest voice in the room,” said Jacob Gruss, 22, a Greensburg native who is a rising star in the world of organ performance. He returns to his hometown this month to perform the pieces from his recent senior recital at The Juilliard School in New York City.
On May 30, he will play the six recital pieces for the Greensburg American Guild of Organists’ 2025 grant performance at First Presbyterian Church in Greensburg. The guild and church co-sponsor the annual concert.
Gruss is the organ scholar at New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the largest cathedral in the world.
“Every organ is different,” he said. “There are consistencies, but the layout and the sound is always a little different. When I sit down at a new instrument, it takes a little learning to figure out each one, and how to make it sound the best.”
Gruss’ accolades include a first-place finish in the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra’s Young Artist Competition, a win at the American Guild of Organists’ northeast regional competition, and the commissioned composition, “Mass of the Immaculate Conception,” which premiered in August in Irwin.
Below, see Gruss perform César Franck’s “Chorale in A Minor” at the 2024 Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival in Connecticut.
He’s come a long way since he sat with his piano teacher at Saint Vincent Basilica, mesmerized by the sound of its organ being played by Paul Jacobs — with whom he is studying at Juilliard.
Among the half-dozen recital pieces are Fauré’s “Pie Jesu,” which will feature soprano Katie Wagner, and Bach’s “Prelude and Fugue in D Major.”
“Bach is always challenging,” said Gruss, who will attend Yale in the fall to pursue his master’s degree. “It takes a lot of focus and a lot of practice, so it’s a sigh of relief to have it early in the program and to get past it.”
Gruss said his biggest challenge, after mastering the technical aspects of his instrument, is interpreting the music he loves to play.
“Getting the notes right is great, but I want to bring all of myself to the music and communicate the meaning I feel behind it,” he said. “Sometimes I hear a piece of music and think, ‘I want to tell that story,’ and that’s how I felt about every piece I chose for the recital.”
There is no cost to attend the concert, which starts at 7 p.m. May 30 at the church, 300 S. Main St.