World Class Organist Felix Hell Dazzles Ardmore Audience

The renowned organist Felix Hell performed at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Ardmore this past Sunday (Oct. 1) in front of about 200 people.

“I enjoyed playing there,” said the 38-year-old Hell of Frankenthal, Germany. (Frankenthal is in southwestern Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.)

Hell has performed at a number of reputable establishments including, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, Disney Hall in Los Angeles, and Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, He has also released 12 CDs. For more than 20 years, he was Organ Artist Associate at Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church in Manhattan. He is currently Artist in Residence at the United Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg.

When asked why an organist of his stature would play at St. Mary’s episcopal church in Ardmore, Hell said:

“They asked me to perform there. St. Mary’s (in Ardmore) and I were a good match and I liked the venue. I love the organ and I love to perform.”

Hell started playing the organ at age 7 after he attended an organ recital.

Before attending, the 7-year-old Hell thought that organs were only played at funerals and weddings.

“I was completely wrong about that,” said Hell.

After the recital, the young Hell was allowed to walk up to the organ to get a closer look.

“I was overwhelmed by its beauty and the power of the instrument,” Hell said. “It was at that point, I fell in love with the instrument and I wanted to learn how to play it.”

Hell added, “When I first started playing the organ, I never conceived that I’d be one day playing it professionally.” But what helped him reach that level of excellence was not just his love of the organ and his desire to perform.

“It was years of practice, years of hard work, years of honing my skills and building my network,” said hell. “I worked very hard at this craft ever since I began and I’m grateful that I was able to turn it into my profession.” And all that work paid off. This was quite obvious last Sunday because he received thunderous ovations after each number.

“I had a connection with the audience,” said Hell. “That’s what music is all about. it’s a means of communication; everybody attuned to one piece of music one emotion.”

One audience member, Viola Terwiesch of Wynnewood, who saw him perform live for the first time got special value from the recital. For years, her father, Gerhard Bischoff now 85, told her that she should see Mr. Hell play. Because Bischoff lives in Hell’s birthplace of Frankenthal, he got to see him play several times. He became a Felix Hell fan.

“My father knew that Felix Hell was living in the United States,” said Terwiesch. “He kept telling me that if he ever played in my area, I should see him on stage. I’m glad I finally did. Mr. Hell was amazing.” What impressed her was that despite Hell’s small size, he easily mastered the organ foot pedals. Some small people have difficulty with the organ foot pedals, but not Felix Hell.

Hell concluded the interview with advice for people who want to become organists:

“They should reach out to their local chapter of the American Guild of Organists. They have a lot of resources to help people who are interested in learning the organ and to get started in that field.”

To learn more about Felix Hell, go to FelixHell.org

To learn more about St. Mary’s episcopal church in Ardmore, go to Stmarysardmore.org