Jordan DeRouen
Organist and Choirmaster
Jordan DeRouen was born in DeRidder, La in 1991. His life-long love of choral and organ music began at an early age. He began his private studies in keyboard at age 7 with several local piano instructors. By age 13, Jordan began studying organ with Dr. Fred Sahlmann, professor emeritus of piano and organ at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Jordan began his career as a church musician early on as well, holding his first church accompanist position by his sophomore year of high school.
Mr. DeRouen earned his Bachelors of Sacred Music at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana, where he studied organ with Dr. Mary de Ville, and piano with Dr. Christine Allen. There he was heavily involved with the choral program there, singing in and accompanying for several of them. In addition to his studies at Northwestern, Jordan studied organ improvisation with E. Ray Peebles, Organist and Artist in Residence at First United Methodist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana. Jordan then received the Master of Music in Organ Performance from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas studying with renowned concert artist Stefan Engels. Jordan has also participated in the French Organ Music Seminar (FOMS), where he has been able to receive instruction from some of the most influential organists in the world such as Louis Robillard, Sophie-Véronique Choplin, Frédéric Blanc, François Espinasse, Jean-Baptiste Robin, Daniel Roth, Thomas Ospital, Thierry Escaich, and Olivier Latry . Additionally, he has received numerous scholarship awards from the seminar in both composition and improvisation. Most recently, he competed in the FOMS Young Organist Competition in 2018, taking 3rd prize, and attended the 2019 seminar in London and Paris.
Mr. DeRouen has served as Director of Music and Organist for St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Zwolle, La., Associate Organist for the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Natchitoches, La., and Organist-Choirmaster for St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Alexandria, La. Shortly after moving to Texas, he was appointed Organist and Director of Music for St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Dallas. Before taking the position at St. Peter’s, Jordan was Organist at Canyon Creek Presbyterian Church in Richardson where he played on the magnificent Quimby Op. 61 pipe organ. He is frequently invited to perform with the Millennial Choirs and Orchestras of both Dallas and Phoenix. Mr. DeRouen has performed throughout the USA and Europe, including the cathedral in Chambéry, France, the Church of St. Severin and Les Invalides in Paris, The Church of Santa Maria del Coro in San Sebastián, Spain, the Vatican Basilica of St. Peter in Rome, and the Cathedral of St. Patrick in New York.
Matthew DeGuire
Director, Contemporary Ensemble and Coro Hispano
Matthew DeGuire has directed the Contemporary Ensemble since 1985. He has devoted almost his entire life to pastoral music ministry as a cantor, guitarist, liturgist and ensemble director.
In addition to the Contemporary Ensemble, since 2002, he has served as director of St. Peter’s Coro Hispano, which leads the congregational singing during the Spanish language Sunday liturgy and other special bilingual liturgies.
An active member of the theater community, he has appeared on stage in close to one hundred community and professional theater productions. Mr. DeGuire has also performed as a guest vocal soloist with the South Carolina Philharmonic Symphony and toured internationally in Pau and Arles, France. He received the Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Alabama, and continued graduate studies at the University of South Carolina.
