Mormon Tabernacle Principal Organist Richard Elliott Performs at Lebanon Valley College

ANNVILLE, PA (02/02/2012)(readMedia)-- Lebanon Valley College's Distinguished Artists Series presents Richard Elliott, principal organist at the Mormon Tabernacle, in a concert on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 3 p.m. Concert tickets are available for $10 in advance or $15 at the door. Special family tickets are available for $20. Elliott's performance is sponsored by Capital Blue Cross.

At the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Elliott participates in the daily recital series on the 206-rank Æolian-Skinner organ and accompanies the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on its weekly radio and TV broadcast, "Music and the Spoken Word." As accompanist for the Tabernacle Choir he has performed in many of the world's great halls and appeared on numerous television and radio programs, including the NBC "Today Show," the "CBS Morning Show," and "A Prairie Home Companion."

The concert at LVC will include Bach's Sinfonia from Cantata 29, "Wir danken dir, Gott," and "Passacaglia in C Minor," and a four-part piece by Daniel Gawthrop titled "O Jerusalem." Elliott will also perform "O My Father" by Alexander Schreiner, an original arrangement of "Go, Tell it on the Mountain," and Marcel Dupré's "Variations sur un Noël."

In addition to the concert, Elliott will offer two master classes at LVC. On Friday, Feb. 24, from 3 to 5 p.m., Elliott will teach a class for five LVC student organists. The public is invited to observe. On Saturday, Feb. 25, from 10-11:30 a.m., Elliott will instruct a workshop format class with particular attention to anthem accompanying. All classes will be held in Miller Chapel.

Elliott appears on more than 20 recordings and 10 videos with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. In his work with the choir he has collaborated with many guest artists including Andrea Bocelli, the Canadian Brass, Renée Fleming, Evelyn Glennie, the King's Singers, Brian Stokes Mitchell, the Oak Ridge Boys, Charles Osgood, the Osmonds, and Robert Shaw. In 1994 he recorded his first solo compact disc, titled "In the Shadows of the Everlasting Hills," on the Pro Organo label. His second solo CD on the Mormon Tabernacle organ, "Every Time I Feel the Spirit," was released in the summer of 2009 on the Klavier label. He has also recorded three compact discs in collaboration with his colleagues on the Tabernacle organ staff. Elliott is a published composer and arranger of music for organ and for choir.

Prior to his appointment as a Tabernacle organist in 1991, Elliott was an assistant professor of organ at Brigham Young University. He has performed extensively as a recitalist in the U.S., has appeared as soloist with the Utah Symphony, and for several years was assistant organist at the John Wanamaker Department Store (now Macy's) in Philadelphia, home to the world's largest functioning pipe organ. A Fellow of the American Guild of Organists, Elliott has been a featured performer at national and regional conventions of the guild.

A native of Baltimore, Md., Elliott received his early musical training at the Peabody Conservatory. He went on to study organ at the Catholic University of America, the Curtis Institute of Music, from which he received a bachelor's of music, and the Eastman School of Music, where he received master's and doctoral degrees. His organ teachers have included David Craighead, Dale Krider, William Watkins, and John Weaver.

To pre-order tickets or for additional information, contact the Music Department at 717-867-6275 or music@lvc.edu.

Posted Thursday February 02, 2012 at 09:00 am by Lebanon Valley College
Last Updated Monday February 13, 2012 at 10:07 am