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John A. Romeri

Composer News



Romeri, John A.

John A Romeri in December 2015 became the Director of Music and Organist for Christ Cathedral in the Diocese of Orange California. John serves as the first Music Director for this newly formed Cathedral Parish where he will develop the cathedral music program and assist the parish as they prepare to move into the former Crystal Cathedral building. He is the conductor of the newly formed Cathedral Choir and the Diocesan Choir. The cathedral organ is the fifth largest organ in the world and is being restored by the Ruffatti Pipe Organ Builders of Padova, Italy. The Diocese of Orange is the 8th largest diocese in the United States.

John served as Director of Liturgical Music for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from September 2010 until September 2015. This position included being the Director of Music and Organist at the Cathedral Basilica of SS Peter and Paul. In Philadelphia, he conducted three choirs: the Cathedral Basilica Choir, he reestablished the Archdiocesan Choir of Philadelphia, and founded the Archdiocesan Girls' Choir. He created Concerts at the Cathedral Basilica and served as its Artistic and Executive Director.

From 1992 "“ 2010, he was the Director of Music and Organist of the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis. Additionally, he served as Director of the Office of Sacred Music for the Archdiocese of Saint Louis, and as the Artistic and Executive Director for Saint Louis Cathedral Concerts, which he established. For fourteen of those years, Dr. Romeri served as the organist for the Saint Louis Symphony.

Prior to going to St Louis, he held similar positions at both the Church of the Assumption, and at the Diocese of Pittsburgh, both in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He served as an adjunct professor at both Duquesne and Carlow Universities.

Dr. Romeri earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Organ Performance, Magna cum Laude, from the Conservatory of Music, University of the Pacific, Stockton, California, and a Master of Sacred Music degree from Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey. He also holds the Choirmaster and Associate Certificates from the American Guild of Organists. In 1998, he was presented an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Lindenwood University in Saint Louis.

He has served as chair of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians' National Board of Directors and was named "Pastoral Musician of the Year" by that organization in 2003. The Missouri Choral Directors Association voted him the "Outstanding Choir Director for 1998- 1999," the same year he was the coordinator and conductor for the Papal visit to St. Louis. He is a past Dean of the Saint Louis Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. He is the immediate past Vice-President of the National Board of Directors of the International Student Choral Organization of the Catholic Church, Pueri Cantores. In 2010, Dr. Romeri and his wife Karen were honored by the Saint Louis Chapter of the American Guild of Organists with their highest distinction, the Avis Blewett Award, for their significant contributions to the musical life of the Greater Metropolitan Saint Louis Region. He is the current Dean of the Philadelphia Chapter of the AGO. John serves on the Liturgy Committee of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. In May 2015, at Commencement Weekend, John received the Westminster Choir College Alumni Merit Award for "distinguished contributions to the Field of Sacred Music."

Choirs under his direction have performed throughout the United States, Canada and on many European tours. In January 2016 he will conduct the first annual Epiphany Children's Choir Festival in Rome Italy. Participating are more than three hundred young singers performing with the famed Sistine Choir for a Papal Mass on the Feast of the Epiphany.

John is the editor of the Cathedral Choral Series and the Cathedral Organ Series from Morning Star Music Publishers. Christ Cathedral will now be featured on the cover of the series. He has released a dozen CD's with his choirs and as an organist.

John is a Commander with the Order of St. John and a Knight Commander with Star in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. John and Karen Romeri have two children and four grandchildren.


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  1. Ave Maria
    SKU: 20-940*
    Trumpet and Organ with Opt. French Horn (C Instrument or Voice)
    Romeri, John A.; Schubert, Franz
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