Keith Chapman (organist)

Keith Chapman published a number of pieces, most of which are arrangements of hymns or well-known melodies set in his personal style. They emphasize accent and rhythm for the faster pieces and harmonic variation in all of them, reminiscent of Debussy and Ravel. It is thought likely that many of these works began as improvisations from his daily work at Wanamaker's, where standard numbers, particularly Christmas selections, could be explored through experiment in the daily repetition. Chapman was a practical composer who sought to captivate appreciative audiences and achieve commercial success, while supplying the polished detail and variation that serious musicians would appreciate. Some pieces, such as an improvisation on "We Gather Together" or an arrangement of "Ding Dong Merrily on High" made reference to other compositions ("All Creatures of Our God and King" and "In Dir ist Freude", respectively here). His "Fanfare and Procession" is thought to be a totally original work. He tended to play some of his faster, livelier pieces slightly ahead of the beat, with rhythm invariably being a strong factor. He championed the beauty of the symphonic sound of the pipe organ during an era when it was aggressively criticized by the "musically correct" of the period. Chapman said that an unfulfilled ambition was to be an orchestra conductor. Rights to much of his music are held by Sony Corporation, and attempts at re-publication have not yet (2017) met with success, although performance rights have been granted.

After his death, many of Chapman's arrangements were published in .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#3a3;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}At the Organ With Keith Chapman. Warner Brothers Publications. March 2000. ISBN 9780769250878.

In 1986, Chapman was featured artist for the landmark concert at the Wanamaker Grand Court that celebrated his 20th anniversary as Wanamaker Organist and the Organ's 75th anniversary. Sponsored by the Wayne Concert Series, this was the first after-hours public organ concert at Wanamaker's in some 50 years. The tradition has been continued into the present day, largely under the auspices of the non-profit organization, The Friends of the Wanamaker Organ.

The 1986 concert was recorded, and has been released on DVD by the Friends of the Wanamaker Organ. Also included is a 2009 update on the restoration of the instrument.

Chapman was appointed principal organist at Wanamaker's in 1966 at age 20 while he was still a student at Curtis. He would preside over the largest fully playable organ in the world, and would remain at that position for the next 23 years until his untimely death in 1989.

Chapman came to Philadelphia where he attended the Curtis Institute of Music from 1964 to 1968, studying organ under Alexander McCurdy who had also been Purvis's teacher. Chapman received a master's degree from Temple University in 1971 and an honorary doctor of musical arts degree from Combs College of Music in Philadelphia in 1978. He also had several original compositions and arrangements published for organ solo.

Keith Chapman (1945–1989) was an American concert organist known best for his flair at playing in the symphonic style of organ performance, and particularly for his long and distinguished association (1966–1989) with the Wanamaker's Department Store of Philadelphia as the principal organist of the Wanamaker Organ.

Chapman was born on July 16, 1945 in San Bruno, California and grew up in San Bruno, California. An organ prodigy, he began formal study at age 5 with S. Leslie Grow, a student of Marcel Dupré. Chapman was the accompanist to the Capuchino High School Concert Choir while it was directed by Otto Mielenz. Having studied with Richard Purvis, the organist at the time of Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, Chapman eventually took up post there as Assistant Organist.