Director of Music, Jon Riss

Conductor and Organist Jon Riss, FAGO, ChM, was appointed as Director of Music at Irvington Presbyterian Church in November of 2016.  Since 1999, he has served as a church musician in Presbyterian, Lutheran, and Unitarian Universalist congregations.  While he spent childhood almost 100 miles up the Hudson River (Catskill), then on Long Island (Smithtown), Jon has deep familial ties to the Rivertowns and their houses of worship:  his grandfather, Rev. Dr. Paul Riss, was a minister at South Presbyterian Church in Dobbs Ferry during the late 1960’s, and his grandmother, June Riss, served for over 20 years as Organist and Director of Music at the Ardsley United Methodist Church.  Jon’s father, Rev. Tim Riss pastored United Methodist congregations for 34 years before being appointed a District Superintendent in the local Methodist equivalent of the Presbytery, overseeing 63 churches in Columbia, Dutchess, Fairfield, Orange, Putnam, and Westchester counties in his current role.

Jon also hails from a family of public school teachers, and and has served as the Director of Choral Activities at Hastings High School and Farragut Middle School, where he leads an award winning program consisting of 6 choirs as well as teaching 8th grade general music since 2013.  He began serving as FMS’s 8th Grade Coordinator in 2019.

Mr. Riss received the 2013 American Guild of Organists Choir Master Prize for the highest overall score nationwide on the Guild’s day-long written and practical exam in choral conducting, and was awarded 2nd Prize in the 2009 American Choral Directors Association National Student Conducting Competition, Undergraduate Division.  In 2016, he was named a Fellow of the American Guild of Organists in 2016 – the Guild’s most distinguished level of professional certification.

Mr. Riss has participated in masterclasses in conducting with Anton Armstrong, Simon Carrington, and Ann Howard Jones; organ improvisation with Justin Bischof and Gerre Hancock; and harpsichord with Susan Toman and Peter Watchorn.  He has also been an accompanist for masterclasses with a great number of luminaries in the music field including soprano Phyllis Curtin, mezzo-soprano Theodora Hanslowe, composer Richard Hundley, composer Karel Husa, collaborative pianist Gilbert Kalish, jazz vocal artist Darmon Meader, saxophonist Eugene Rousseau, tenor Paul Sperry, baritone William Stone, and soprano Sharon Sweet.

Mr. Riss earned a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from Temple University in 2012, where he was honored as that year’s recipient of the Elaine Brown Tribute Award, awarded to a graduating conducting student “who most reflects the musicianship, dedication to excellence, and humanitarianism that has distinguished the career of Dr. Elaine Brown.”  He earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Ithaca College in 2009.  He was a member of the 2008 ACDA Eastern Division Collegiate Honor Choir, an ensemble comprised of 32 vocalists selected from throughout the Northeast.  Mr. Riss’ principal conducting teachers have been Justin Bischof, Paul Rardin, and Janet Galván.  Additional studies in conducting have been with the late Luis Biava, Jeffrey Cornelius, Rollo Dilworth, Lawrence Doebler, Paul S. Jones, and Stephen Peterson; organ and harpsichord with Justin Bischof, Jean Radice, the late Jonathan Biggers, and Timothy Olsen; and voice with Brad Hougham and Jennifer Kay.  Initial training in organ took place with Carol Weitner and Julie Carney; initial training in piano was with Carol Weitner, Julie Carney, and the late Jim Guldenstern.

Mr. Riss also serves as Accompanist for the Riverside Choral Society in Manhattan, and Artist-in-Residence at Cultural Arts Playhouse in Syosset.  He is a member of the American Choral Directors Association, American Guild of Organists, Golden Key International Honour Society, National Association for Music Education, National Association of Teachers of Singing, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and Pi Kappa Lambda.  His extensive service to the profession includes serving as an All-State Voice and Vocal Jazz Adjudicator for NYSSMA and Chair of the 2023 AGO Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Regional Convention.

Jon’s various other interests include musical theatre, exploring the Northeast Corridor on road trips, the New York Giants, and all things pertaining to food and drink.

To contact Jon, send an email to [email protected] or call 914.648.7069