In memoriam: Joan Lippincott

It is with great sadness that we report the death of distinguished Westfield member Joan Lippincott. One of the most influential American organists and pedagogues of the twentieth century, Joan Lippincott was on the faculty of Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, for almost 40 years. At the time she was head of the largest organ program in the world, and she taught hundreds of organists and church musicians. She also served as principal university organist at Princeton from 1993 to 2000.

Lippincott had an impressive concert and recording career, performing nearly 600 concerts internationally and making over 20 recordings, including music by Bach, Mendelssohn, Liszt, Duruflé, Alain and Pinkham. In 2013, she was honored by a Festschrift of contributions from students and colleagues entitled Joan Lippincott: The Gift of Music (edited by Larry Biser and published by the Organ Historical Society). She was known for her lifelong mentoring of students as well as for her generous support of professional organizations, including the American Guild of Organists, the American Bach Society, and the Westfield Center for Historical Keyboard Studies.

To honor the memory of Joan Lippincott, the Westfield Center is establishing a fund to support research into historical keyboard performance practice. Please consider a making a donation, indicating “Lippincott research fund” in the message box.