Joshua Stafford plays Karg Elert's Nearer My God to Thee

Joshua Stafford plays Nearer, My God, to Thee, by Karg-Elert, on the Massey Memorial Organ, Chautauqua Institution.

In April 2021, Joshua Stafford was installed as the Director of Music Ministries and Organist at Riverside Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville, Florida. Prior to his Jacksonville appointment, he was director of music at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown, New Jersey, from 2013–early 2021. In 2020, he was named Director of Sacred Music and the Jared Jacobsen Chair Organist of the Chautauqua Institution in western New York State.

A native of Jamestown, New York, Mr. Stafford received the Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2010 as a scholarship student of Alan Morrison. In 2012 he received his Master of Music degree from the Yale School of Music as a student of Thomas Murray (organ performance) and Jeffrey Brillhart (organ improvisation). Joshua was the recipient of both a full-tuition scholarship and the Robert Baker Award, given to a first year organ student who exhibits exceptional promise and achievement in their field of study.