Greg Zelek

Principal Organist and Elaine and Nicholas Mischler Curator of the Overture Concert Organ

Praised as “extraordinary in the classical music world” (Jon Hornbacher, PBS Wisconsin Life) and a “musical star” (Bill Wineke, Channel 3000), Greg Zelek is the Principal Organist of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and Curator of the Overture Concert Organ, where he oversees all of the MSO’s organ programming. Since September 2017, Greg has proudly held the Elaine and Nicholas Mischler Curatorship.

In addition to concertizing throughout the United States, Greg regularly performs with orchestras as both a soloist and professional ensemble member, including the MET Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony, Florida Orchestra, New World Symphony, Ridgewood Symphony, Miami Symphony, and Madison Symphony. He regularly performs as a soloist around the country, including venues such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jacoby Symphony Hall with the Jacksonville Symphony, and St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, MN, among others. 

As a recital soloist, Greg has performed in many diverse venues throughout the US. Highlights of the 2017-2018 season include recitals at the Organ Historical Society Convention in Minneapolis, the famous Spreckels Organ Pavilion in San Diego, and Overture Center for the Performing Arts in Madison. Greg will also give a performance at the MET Museum in NYC on the historic Appleton Organ, as well as recitals for the Hartford AGO and Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Largo, FL in the Spring. The 2016/17 season included performances at Doc Rando Recital Hall at UNLV, Octave Hall in Macungie, PA, and Denver’s Cathedral of St. John, and a recital with tenor Brandon Snook at Our Lady of Lourdes in Sun City West, AZ. Previously, he performed Cochereau’s Bolero for Organ and Percussion in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, which was broadcast on American Public Media’s radio program Pipedreams, and closed the WQXR Bach Marathon at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, which was streamed live on New York City’s only classical music station. A proponent of new music for the organ, Greg has premiered and performed works by Juilliard composers and faculty, including Wayne Oquin’s Reverie and Samuel Adler’s Partita for Organ, in concerts throughout the country.

In 2016, Greg was chosen by The Diapason magazine as one of the top “20 Under 30” organists, a feature which selects the most successful young artists in the field. He was the First Prize winner in the 2012 Rodgers North American Classical Organ Competition, 2012 West Chester University Organ Competition, and the 2010 East Carolina University Organ Competition. A recipient of the inaugural Kovner Fellowship, Greg received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, as well as an Artist Diploma, from the Juilliard School as a student of Paul Jacobs.

A native of Miami, Florida, Greg was most recently the Music Director and Organist at the Episcopal Church of St. Matthew and St. Timothy in New York City. Prior to this appointment, he served as Organ Scholar at Hitchcock Presbyterian Church in Scarsdale, New York, under John King. Greg, who is Cuban-American and a native Spanish speaker, became the Music Director and Organist of Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Miami at age 15, and has served as the summer organist for San Pedro Apostol Church in Ramales de la Victoria, Spain. For more information on upcoming performances, please visit www.gregzelek.com.