In partnership with Opera Philadelphia’s Pipe Up! Series, Longwood Gardens Principal Organist Peter Richard Conte pairs up with singers from Opera Philadelphia—a company committed to developing opera for the 21st century and hailed as “the very model of a modern opera company” (The Washington Post) and “a hotbed of operatic innovation” (The New York Times)—for an evening featuring solo organ, choral ensemble, and combined forces.
Peter Richard Conte
Peter Richard Conte first performed on the Longwood Organ in 1990, when his close association with this fabled instrument began. He helped design the current console, styled to replicate the original Aeolian console from 1930. He was appointed Principal Organist of Longwood Gardens in 2011, in conjunction with the instrument’s rebirth after a comprehensive, ten-year restoration.
Conte is also the longtime John Wanamaker Grand Court Organist; appointed in 1989, he is the fourth person to hold that title since the organ first played in 1911. As titular organist, he has performed thousands of concerts on the largest fully functioning musical instrument in the world. Since 1991, he has served as Choirmaster and Organist of Saint Clement’s Church, Philadelphia, where he directs an 18-voice, professional choir in an extensive music program in the Anglo-Catholic tradition.
Conte is highly regarded as a skillful performer and arranger of organ transcriptions; his ear for tonal color, and innovative programming style have made him one of the most sought after “orchestral” organists of this era. He has been featured several times on National Public Radio and on ABC television's Good Morning America and World News Tonight. For eleven seasons, his monthly radio show: The Wanamaker Organ Hour, aired on Temple University Radio (WRTI). Conte performs extensively throughout the United States and Canada under the management of Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists and has appeared as a featured artist at American Guild of Organists’ National and Regional Conventions. He has performed and recorded with the Philadelphia Orchestra, including an historic recording of Jongen’s Symphonie Concertante in the Wanamaker Grand Court.
Conte has served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Organ at Rider University's Westminster Choir College, Princeton, NJ, where he taught organ improvisation. He is the 2008 recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Indiana University School of Music, Bloomington. In 2013, the Philadelphia Music Alliance honored him with a bronze plaque on the Avenue of the Arts’ Walk of Fame. His numerous recordings appear on the GOTHIC, RAVEN, JAV, PROORGANO, DORIAN and DTR labels.
Opera Philadelphia
Opera Philadelphia creates outstanding productions of both classic and new operatic works that resonate within the community, assembles the finest international creative artists, and presents a wide array of programming that educates, deepens, and diversifies the opera audience in Philadelphia and beyond. Performance offerings include large-scale works at the historic Academy of Music, intimate chamber operas at the Perelman Theater, and frequent community performances which focus on creative partnerships and enhanced accessibility.
The company celebrates its 50th anniversary in the 2025-2026 Season, the first curated by General Director and President Anthony Roth Costanzo. The season is both a celebration of the company’s history and a bold expression of what the future of the art form can be. For more information, visit operaphila.org.