Greg Zelek

Praised as “extraordinary in the classical music world” (Jon Hornbacher, PBS Wisconsin Life) and a “musical star” (Bill Wineke, Channel 3000), Greg Zelek is the Principal Organist of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and Curator of the Overture Concert Organ, where he oversees all of the MSO’s organ programming. Since September 2017, Greg has proudly held the Elaine and Nicholas Mischler Curatorship.

In addition to concertizing throughout the United States, Greg regularly performs with orchestras as both a soloist and professional ensemble member, including the MET Orchestra, Florida Orchestra, New World Symphony, Ridgewood Symphony, Miami Symphony, and Madison Symphony, as well as the Jacksonville Symphony. Highlights of the upcoming 2021-22 season include performances of Poulenc’s Organ Concerto and Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony with the Madison Symphony, a return appearance at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, a concert with the Canadian Brass at St. John’s University, a concert with countertenor Reginald Mobely at Overture Hall, and solo concerts across the country. Greg will be the inaugural Artist-in-Residence and performer for the 2021-22 season of a new organ series for the Jacksonville Symphony that will showcase their Bryan Concert Organ in three distinct concerts. Greg will also be recording a CD on the Overture Concert Organ to be released in the Fall of 2022.

In 2016, Greg was chosen by The Diapason magazine as one of the top “20 Under 30” organists, a feature which selects the most successful young artists in the field. He was the First Prize winner in the 2012 Rodgers North American Classical Organ Competition, 2012 West Chester University Organ Competition, and 2010 East Carolina University Organ Competition, as well as the Audience Prize winner of the 2016 Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition. A recipient of the inaugural Kovner Fellowship, Greg received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, as well as an Artist Diploma, from the Juilliard School as a student of Paul Jacobs.