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Organist David Briggs in Concert - Monday, March 7, 2005 - 7:30 p.m.
Continuing the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Beckerath organ, First Presbyterian Church/Nashville and the Nashville Chapter of the American Guild of Organists joinly present Organist, David Briggs, Organist Emeritus, Gloucester Cahtedral in concert on Monday, March 7, 2005 at 7:30 p.m.
Acclaimed as one of the foremost concert organists of his generation, David Briggs enjoys a busy touring schedule which takes him all over the world. He has built a considerable reputation as an exciting performer and communicator, with particular emphases on orchestral transcriptions and the art of improvisation.
He studied improvisation with Jean Langlais in Paris; transcribed (over a period of eleven years) many of the recorded improvisations of Pierre Cochereau, the famous Organist of Notre-Dame de Paris; won the Paisley International Improvisation Competition; became the first British winner of the coveted Tournemire Prize at the St Albans International Improvisation Competition, and now teaches improvisation at the Royal Northern College of Music, the Royal Academy of Music and Oxford University.
He is Organist Emeritus of Gloucester Cathedral, where he directed the music for eight years, after having held similar positions at Truro and Hereford Cathedrals and at King's College, Cambridge, where he was Organ Scholar. He was Principal Viola in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, playing under conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Charles Groves, Charles Dutoit, and Kiril Kondrashin, and was awarded their Bulgin Medal for Musical Excellence. He obtained his FRCO at the age of seventeen, winning all the prizes and the Silver Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians. While at Gloucester, he oversaw the complete rebuilding of the Cathedral organ by Nicholson, and directed the Three Choirs Festivals on three occasions, conducting some of the UK's finest professional orchestras, notably the Philharmonia.
David Briggs is increasingly in demand as a composer and has a waiting list of about two years. Notable recent works include his millennial oratorio, Creation Messe pour Notre-Dame for two organs and choir, and Te Deum Laudamus for the 125th anniversary of the Benedictine Abbey at Subiaco, Arkansas. Current commissions include anthems for Knoxville, Tennessee; Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; Bristol Cathedral, UK; an Organ Concerto for Blackburn Cathedral, UK, and a setting of the Solemn Requiem Mass for All Saint's Episcopal Church, Atlanta, Georgia.
For more information about this and other concerts at First Presbyterian Church, contact Daphne Garey at music@fpcnashville.org.
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