Biography

A native of Germany, Felix Hell has been featured as a recitalist and concerto soloist in more than 850 concerts throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Mr. Hell’s discography includes ten albums; his most recent recording features music for organ and orchestra by Barber, Guilmant, and Jongen. His recordings are frequently broadcast throughout the United States and across the world and he has appeared on television globally. He is an avid supporter of new music for organ and frequently collaborates with living composers.

Mr. Hell studied at the Juilliard School in New York, the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. In 2007, he received Johns Hopkins University’s Outstanding Graduate Award.

His Music Across America project allows him to travel with his own touring organ, performing organ concertos and recitals in spaces that do not house pipe organs, liberating the instrument from its historic confines. Mr. Hell is known for his diverse and innovative programming, drawing upon a repertory encompassing five centuries. He has received recognition for his marathon performances of the entire organ works of J.S. Bach, which encompass about 250 compositions and close to twenty hours of performance time. He has since performed the complete Bach cycle four times, most recently in 2013 in Seoul, South Korea.

Mr. Hell serves as Organ Artist Associate at Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church in Manhattan, Distinguished Artist-in-Residence at the United Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg, and Adjunct Professor of Organ at the Sunderman Conservatory in Gettysburg. Hell serves as Organ Artist Associate at Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church in Manhattan, Distinguished Artist-in-Residence at the United Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg, PA, and Adjunct Professor of Organ at the Sunderman Conservatory in Gettysburg. In 2011, he was appointed distinguished visiting artist at Kosin University in Busan, South Korea. This performance marks his debut under San Francisco Symphony auspices.

(May 2018)