Eastman Organists’ Day set for April 15

Organists are known for having a keen interest in playing as many of the world’s majestic pipe instruments as possible, and UB’s Fisk organ in Slee Hall, installed in the early 1990s, is a real gem.

The organ studio at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester is known as one of the most accomplished in the country, so administrators at Eastman and the UB Department of Music decided several years ago to develop some sort of collaboration.

And so the first Eastman Organists’ Day was born, and the concert has been an annual event ever since. The result is truly a mutually beneficial arrangement: Eastman organists gain an opportunity to become familiar with the renowned Fisk organ, and the UB and wider Western New York communities can hear music performed by some of the world’s highest-caliber organ students.

This year’s concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. April 15 in Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall, North Campus. Performing will be four highly accomplished organists from Eastman’s organ studio — Brian Glikes, Nathaniel Gumbs, Käthe Wright Kaufman and Sarah Simko. The program will include works by Vierne, Widor, Bach and Mendelssohn, among others.

Tickets are $15 for the general public and $10 for UB faculty/staff/alumni, seniors and non-UB students, and free for UB students with valid ID. Tickets may be purchased in advance at the Center for the Arts box office, online at tickets.com or one hour before concert time at the Slee Hall box office.