The artists for the next Richard D. Moe Organ Series at PLU have been set. While the dates and names of organist for these events have already been included in the calendar on the Tacoma AGO website, this article hopes to give a little more background on the guest artists and/or their planned programs.

The series starts on Sunday, September 11 with an organist who needs little introduction: Nathan Laube. He is Assistant Professor of Organ at Eastman School of Music and has played recitals in many major concert halls and churches all over the world. A world class artist on a world class organ! Don’t miss it!

On Sunday, October 9 we welcome Jonathan Ryan. He is the winner of the First Prize and LeTourneau Prize in the 2009 Jordan II International Organ Competition in Columbus, GA and has appeared in recitals at major venues in the U. S. A., France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. His program will consist of selections from J. S. Bach’s “Clavierübung III”, sometimes also referred to as “The German Organ Mass”, one of the (many) masterpieces by that composer. The title page describes it quite succinctly. Here is part of the translation: “The third Part of the Keyboard Practice, consisting of various preludes on the catechism and other hymns for the organ. For music lovers and especially for connoisseurs of such work, to refresh their spirits, composed by Johann Sebastian Bach.”
Jonathan Ryan will also present an AGO chapter program on this topic on Monday, October 10.

The concert on Sunday, November 6 will be given by Kathrine Handford. Ms. Handford is University Organist and Lecturer of Music at Lawrence University’s Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin, which houses the 40-stop opus 33 of John Brombaugh. From 2005-2010 she was also Director of Music and the Arts and Organist at the historic Central Presbyterian Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
She holds a Master of Music degree in Organ Performance and Literature and the highly coveted Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, where she is currently completing the DMA.
In 1995 Handford was the winner of the 35th International J.S. Bach Competition held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. In the same year, she received first prize in the John R. Rodland Scholarship Competition. She has received many grants and awards, including the National Endowment for the Arts and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
The March and April performers are no strangers to the Tacoma Chapter:

On Sunday, March 5 we will hear Jonathan Wohlers in concert. He serves as interim University Organist for the 2016-2017 academic year, replacing Paul Tegels, who is on sabbatical for that year. Jonathan has performed extensively in concerts in the United States, Mexico, Europe, South Korea, and Japan, most recently playing on the prestigious organ concert series at International Christian University, Tokyo and at St. Francis Xavier Memorial Church, Yamaguchi. He is a former Dean of the Tacoma Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, is the Director of Music at Trinity Lutheran Church, Tacoma, and is the newly appointed Artist-in-Residence on the Paul Fritts & Co. organ at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Tacoma. He holds degrees with honors from the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston, from the New England Conservatory of Music, and from Southern Adventist University. His teachers include Robert Bates, William Porter, Yuko Hayashi, Judy Glass, Matthew Dirst, and Christina Edelen.

The last concert in the 2016-2017 season will take place on Sunday, April 9 and will be played by Curt Sather. Curt Sather received degrees in organ performance, studying with Robert Clark at Arizona State University and with Russell Saunders at the Eastman School of Music. He has performed across the US and around the world and has served as a church musician for nearly forty years, notably in Scottsdale, AZ; Florence, Italy; and currently as Interim Organist & Choirmaster at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Olympia.
He will perform works of J. S. Bach, Calvin Hampton, and Charles-Marie Widor.

Tickets for these concerts are $15 General Admission, $10 Senior Citizens and Students,
For updated information, visit the website: www.plu.edu/music, or www.plu.edu/organ