Biography
Dr. Simone Gheller was born in Padua (Italy) in I978.
After graduation from high school, he received four Master's Degrees in Piano, Organ Performance & Organ Composition, Music Education, and Choral Music & Choral Conducting.
He also received a Doctorate in Organ Performance and Organ Composition, Magna cum laude.
He has participated in many sacred music seminars and organ master classes of M-L Langlais, W. Matesic, K. Schnorr, J. Artigas Pina, Marie-Claire Alain and others, and studied at Vienna University with Michael Radulescu and Roman Summereder.
In 2007 and 2008 he received two "Medaille d'Or en Superieur d'Interpretation" with Eric Lebrun at the Conservatoire National de Paris.
Dr. Gheller studied also at Oberlin College (Ohio, USA) with Professor James David Christie and Olivier Latry, where he finished a prestigious program (the Artist Diploma- a great distinction in music).
He started to play the piano at 5 and the organ at 9. He became a Liturgical Organist at the age of 9 and Music Director at 13 playing the organ and conducting the choir at his parish. He was also organist at First Church in Oberlin (OH) from 2009 to 2011.
From 2011 to 2013, Mr. Gheller was Music Director and Organist at St. Joseph Church in Wilmette (Chicago). Currently, Dr. Simone Gheller is Music Director and Organist at St. Jerome Church in Oconomowoc, WI, USA. At this parish he’s leading the music ministry playing all masses, organ concerts and conducting four choirs: adult choir, children’s choir, handbells choir and the school choir. He’s also the accompanist of Waukesha Choral Union.
From September 2019 was appointed organist at Nashotah House Theological Seminary.
He is a member of the American Guild of Organists since 2009. From April 2020 was appointed Music Director and Conductor of Sacra Nova Choral. He works as accompanist at UWM Peck School of the Arts, and Milwaukee Ballet School & Accademy and as Collaborative Pianist at Carroll University.
Dr. Gheller has an extensive performing history spanning the last 30 years, with concerts in prestigious locations in Italy, France, Germany, Austria, and America among others. He had a concert tour in Brazil in 2001 conducting the G.E.S. male choir. He performed in concert the complete organ works of Percy Whitlock, Cesar Franck, Julius Reubke and Felix Mendelssohn.
He has garnered many prizes, including first prize at the National Italian Organ competition “Citta' di Viterbo” in four of the six years between 1995 and 2000, first prize and gold medal from the President of Italian Republic at the Giarda National Organ Competition, first prize at the International Organ Competition Vegezzi Bossi in 2000, first prize at the Korschenbroich International Organ Competition (Germany), first prize, audience prize and two special prizes at the International Organ Competition “Grand Prix Andrè Marchal” in Biarritz (2007).
Mr. Gheller has recorded four CDs: Fiori Musicali by Girolamo Frescobaldi, The Complete Choral Works with Organ by Alessandro Scarlatti for the Tactus label, the Orgelbuchlein by J.S. Bach and music by Liszt and Reubke for the Onclassical Label.