USU's Campbell Holtkamp Organ Awakens
The Utah State University Caine College of the Arts welcomes Mormon Tabernacle Choir Principal Organist Richard Elliott in a celebratory concert.
“Awakening: Rededicating the Campbell Holtkamp Organ” marks the organ’s “awakening” and restoration. The celebration is Friday, March 30, at 7:30 p.m. in the Kent Concert Hall located in the Chase Fine Arts Center on the USU Logan campus.
The organ has undergone an extensive renovation made possible largely due to a donation by Paul and Paulette Campbell, owners of Campbell Scientific based in Logan. The Campbells will be honored during “Awakening” and the Holtkamp organ will formally be renamed the Campbell Holtkamp organ.
“This concert gives USU an opportunity to show the residents of Cache Valley the gem that has been gathering dust in the Kent Concert Hall,” said Lynn Thomas, director of organ studies at USU. “The organ is restored to its former glory after 40 years of dormancy and has been updated with today’s technology. Now it is time for its awakening.”
The concert will also feature the USU Chamber Singers and the unveiling of a new work, Prelude Fanfare, composed by Department of Music faculty member Jude Vaclavik.
“Jude is a world-class composer and this composition is significant not only to Utah State but to the musical world as well,” said Elliott. “Prelude Fanfare is a fine piece of organ, brass and percussion music which significantly enhances the repertoire of the musical world.”
Vaclavik is an assistant professor of music theory at USU. He graduated from The Julliard School with a doctor of musical arts degree in 2011. He describes his new Prelude Fanfare as fleeting in character and then settling into a joyous uproar complimentary to Elliott’s jazzed-up style.
For the concert, Elliott will play Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, Sullivan’s The Lost Chord and Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm among other pieces.
Elliott became one of the five principal organists for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in 1991. He has studied and practiced music for more than four decades and has been coming to USU regularly for more than 22 years to teach organ master classes and perform. Elliott is known for his background in jazz and popular music, often performing improvised pieces.
“I am eager to acquaint myself with the newly-renovated organ and witness the extraordinary changes it has undergone,” said Elliott.
The concert is free and open to the public. For more information contact the CCA Box Office at 435-797-8022 or at the Caine College of the Arts website.
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Writer: Kara Rindlisbacher, 435-797-9203, kara.rindlisbacher@usu.edu
Contact: Denise Albiston, 435-797-1500, denise.albiston@usu.edu
A concert that celebrates the restoration and "awakening" of USU Campbell Holtkamp organ is Friday, March 30, 7:30 p.m., Kent Concert Hall, Chase Fine Arts Center, Logan. Richard Elliott, Mormon Tabernacle Choir principal organist, will perform..
Richard Elliott, Mormon Tabernacle Choir principal organist. (photo courtesy Mormon Tabernacle Choir)
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