News and Updates, Organ

News and Updates: Organ, July 2025

Joan’s organ recital produces a new premiere

Summers are usually the time for Joan to prepare for a fall organ recital. But this time, opportunity knocked in July, as she was invited to perform on a new summer recital series sponsored by Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Crestview Hills, Kentucky. Joan’s program on Sunday, July 13, was the second in a series of four concerts on the GDLA Choral Scholar Summer Recital Series. Each program helps to raise money for the funding of four choral scholars for the church’s adult choir in the coming year.

Joan designed the program to introduce the local audience to the organ and what it can do as a concert instrument. Individual segments of the program were devoted to specific themes such as Lutheran, American and Chinese Hymnody, in addition to a section on European art music for the organ.

The American section of the recital was devoted to three of my preludes based on American hymn tunes, including Simple Gifts and Bradbury (Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us). The premiere was a new setting of One More River to Cross, a traditional Black spiritual. Like many spirituals, this one presents a simple, attractive melody that supports a meaningful text, one that secretly expresses hope for liberation from slavery and (eventually) a path to Heaven. My setting attempts to maintain the feel of a flowing river while also finding moments to be expressive and lyric.

This latest work completes a trilogy of spirituals for solo organ. Written between 2016 and 2025, the set now includes One More River to Cross, Sojourner (I Want Jesus to Walk with Me) and Ride on, King Jesus.  Sojourner and Ride On, King Jesus will appear on my upcoming CD/streaming release: While I Run this Race: Music of Hope, Dedication and Celebration, released by AMP Recordings later in 2025.

Christmas Organ Works to be Published

Augsburg-Fortress Press has accepted an album of my organ works for the season of Christmas. The pieces are currently being edited by the publisher and will be released by Augsburg-Fortress in the Spring of 2026.

Included in the set are pieces on the following Christmas-related hymns:

Joy to the World

I Wonder as I Wonder

Of the Father’s Love Begotten

Good Christian Friends, Rejoice

Joseph Dearest, Joseph Mine

Twas in the Moon of Wintertime

Silent Night

Go Tell it on the Mountain

How Brightly Shines the Morning Star

The next project: a similar volume of my organ works based on well-known American hymn tunes. Each organ piece in these collections were composed for my wife Joan, most of them as Christmas presents! My goal has always been to provide works for solo organ that may be used as service music but may also function as recital selections as the opportunity arises.