Inaugural Recital of the Linda Lassiter Hill Organ Recital Series: David Higgs, Organist
Thursday, May 15 at 7 p.m. (no tickets required)
Mr. Higgs’ recital will be the inaugural program in a new series of annual recitals featuring nationally known organists. This series is endowed by Linda Hill, a retired organist/ 7 choirmaster who is a member of the St. James Choir and is one of the Choir’s librarians. Linda received a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Florida, and a Master of Music degree from the University of New Mexico both with a concentration in organ performance. She served as an organist and handbell director, and organist/ choirmaster for 48 years, the majority of which were spent in Texas. This series is dedicated in memory of Roy Lassiter, Jr., Linda’s father, who encouraged her to study organ; and in memory of William J. Hill, Linda’s late husband, for his unfailing support of her musical career.
One of America’s leading concert organists, David Higgs is the Minehan Family Professor of Organ and Chair of the Organ Department at the Eastman School of Music. He performs extensively throughout the United States and abroad and has inaugurated many important new instruments including Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas, St. Albans Cathedral, England, Church of St. Ignatius Loyola New York City, and most recently, Christ Church Cathedral Cincinnati. For over twenty years he performed annual holiday organ concerts to capacity audiences at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco and at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. His performances with numerous ensembles include Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Orpheus Ensemble, Chanticleer, and Empire Brass.
Mr. Higgs appears at organ festivals and competitions around the world, including the Stockholm Organspace Festival, Sweden; Fribourg International Organ Festival, Switzerland; in Germany, the European Organ Academy Leipzig, the Leipzig Bach Competition, Gottfried Silbermann Competition Freiberg, and Bremen Musikfest. Festivals of Calgary, Dublin, Odense, Varzi, Redlands and San Anselmo, California; and the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival. In England, several times at the Oundle International Festival, the St. Albans International Festival, and the Cambridge Summer Festival; in France, the Xavier Darasse International Competition in Toulouse; and Japan at several venues, most recently an all-Bach recital for the composer’s birthday at Izumi Hall in Osaka. He often performs at national and regional conventions of the American Guild of Organists, and in 2010, performed the inaugural St. Cecilia Recital, a series endowed by Marianne Webb that presents world-renowned concert organists in recital during the biennial National Conventions of the American Guild of Organists. In 2018 he performed several concerts in France, including a solo recital at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, and as guest teacher at the Paris Conservatoire.
In addition to his significant performing career, Mr. Higgs has distinguished himself as a pedagogue. He was appointed to the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music upon graduation from that institution, and has been a member of the faculty of the Eastman School of 8 Music since 1992. His students have won prizes in prestigious international competitions, and hold important positions in leading academic and religious institutions. Mr. Higgs has recorded for Delos International, Pro Organo, Arsis, Loft, and Gothic records.
No tickets are required for this concert. A candlelight reception will follow in Stillwell Hall.