Introduction
Welcome to the web site for organ study in the School of Music at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. On these pages you will find information on organ study and related activities. If you would like more information, please click on one or more of the appropriate links found below.
Lessons
Organ lessons provide students with the opportunity to further the development of their abilities in the areas of organ technique, repertoire, and practical church service playing skills. Technical studies include those appropriate for early keyboard styles as well as those used in music written since the 19th century. Appropriate repertoire from the entirety of the organ's literature, from before 1600 to the present, is chosen to develop and enhance each student's technical and interpretative abilities. (See Organ Syllabus for specific repertoire requirements.) Church service playing skills include hymn playing, improvisation, anthem accompaniment, and conducting techniques for the organist-director.
First-semester undergraduate organ students are also required to learn some general information about the organ and to pass a series of short quizzes on these facts.
Practicing and Performing
Organ students should expect to practice 4-6 hours per week per semester hour of credit. UT facilities are available for daily practice (see Facilities.) All students perform at least once each semester in organ Solo Class, and majors and minors play a prepared jury performance at the end of each semester (see Organ Syllabus for specific requirements.) Organ majors also perform solo recitals as a part of their course of study. UT organ students also participate frequently in area master classes and in the Knoxville AGO Chapter's annual Student Recital.
Calendar of Events
Sunday, September 17, 3:00 pm: Recital by John Brock, First Presbyterian Church, Clarksville, TN.
Monday, October 2, 7:30 pm: Organ Recital by Scott Montgomery, 2006 Winner of the AGO National Young Artists Competition in Organ Playing, Church of the Ascension, Knoxville. Sponsored by the Knoxville AGO Chapter and Church of the Ascension.
Sunday, October 8, 3:00 pm: Recital by John Brock, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Knoxville.
Tuesday, November 7, 8:00 pm: Recital by John Brock, First Baptist Church, Jefferson City, TN. Sponsored by Carson-Newman College Department of Music.
Sunday, January 21, 4:00 pm: Recital by John Brock, James R. Cox Auditorium, University of Tennessee. Dedication concert for the new Richards, Fowkes organ.
Wednesday through Saturday, February 14-17, American Guild of Organists National Conference on Organ Pedagogy, hosted by the University of Tennessee. More information at www.ce.utk.edu/ago.
Wednesday, February 14, 8:00 pm: Concert by John Brock, organ, with the UT Chamber Orchestra, James Fellenbaum, conductor, James R. Cox Auditorium, University of Tennessee.
Thursday, February 15, 9:00 pm: Recital by Jon Laukvik, organist, Professor of Organ, Stuttgart Hochschule für Musik, James R. Cox Auditorium, University of Tennessee.
Friday, February 16, 8:00 pm: Recital by David Higgs, organist, Professor of Organ, Eastman School of Music, James R. Cox Auditorium, University of Tennessee.
Saturday, February 17, 8:00 pm: Concert by the UT Symphony Orchestra, James Fellenbaum, conductor, with William Snyder, organist. Featuring the Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 (the "Organ" Symphony), James R. Cox Auditorium, University of Tennessee.
Faculty
Organ study is under the direction of Professor John Brock,
who has been a member of the School of Music faculty since 1967.
Prof. Brock has earned a well-deserved reputation as an outstanding teacher and
as a performer of great sensitivity in many styles. His performance credits
include conventions of the American Guild of Organists, the Organ Historical Society,
and the Southeastern Historical Keyboard Society, in addition to many performances
for AGO chapters, schools, and churches. He has also performed in Europe on
both historic and modern organs.
Prof. Brock graduated from the University of Alabama, where he was a student of
Warren Hutton.
He is the author of an organ method, Introduction to Organ Playing in
17th and 18th Century Style, and has recorded three compact discs,
A Tennessee Organ Tour (two volumes), and Hugo Distler: Complete Organ Works.
He also remains active as a church organist and teaches music theory
and harpsichord in addition to organ.
Facilities
James R. Cox Auditorium in Alumni Memorial Building is home to one of the finest University organs in the U. S., the new
Richards, Fowkes, and Co., concert organ, the firm's Opus 15. Installation is being completed during Fall 2006, and dedication festivities will take place in January and February 2007 (see the Calendar of Events). When completed, the organ will be used for student and faculty recitals, lessons, and practice.
The organ consists of three manuals and pedals and 41 stops:
GREAT: Principal 16', Octave 8', Spitzfloete 8', Octave 4', Quint 3', Octave 2', Mixture V, Trompet 8', Trompet 4'.
POSITIVE: Quintadena 16', Principal 8', Rohrfloete 8', Octave 4', Spitzfloete 4', Octave 2', Sesquialter II, Scharff V, Krumhorn 8', Vox humana 8'.
SWELL: Gedackt 8', Gambe 8', Celeste 8', Principal 4', Rohrfloete 4', Nasard 3', Floete 2', Tierce 1-3/5', Mixture IV, Fagot 16', Trompet 8', Oboe 8'.
PEDAL: Principal 16', Subbass 16', Octave 8', Gedackt 8', Octave 4', Mixture V, Posaune 32', Posaune 16', Trompet 8', Trompet 4'.
COUPLERS: Great to Pedal, Swell to Pedal, Positive to Pedal, Swell to Great, Swell to Positive, Positive to Great.
OTHER: Tremulant to entire organ. Suspended mechanical key action, electric stop action, combination action with multiple-level memory.
The Music Building houses an excellent studio organ for teaching and
practice, a two-manual mechanical action organ of 17 stops built by Gabriel Kney and Co.
in 1978. The stoplist is as follows:
GREAT: Rohrgedackt 8', Principal 4', Offenfloete 4', Nasat 2-2/3', Blockfloete 2',
Terz 1-3/5', Mixtur III, Tremolo.
SWELL: Holzgedackt 8', Rohrfloete 4', Spitzprincipal 2', Octave 1', Regal 8',
Tremolo.
PEDAL: Subbass 16', Gemshorn 8', Choralbass 4', Mixtur III, Dulzian 16'.
COUPLERS: Swell to Great, Great to Pedal, Swell to Pedal.
ACTION: Mechanical key action, electric stop action with six general pistons.
Studying Organ As a Principal Instrument
UT offers several programs under which students may study organ as a principal instrument. These include the Bachelor of Arts degree in Music, the Bachelor of Music degree (possible majors: Organ Performance, Sacred Music, Music Education), the Master of Music degree in Organ Performance, and the Artist Certificate in Organ. For additional information on these programs see the School of Music web page.
Students majoring in other fields have the opportunity to earn a minor in Music with organ as the principal instrument. Information is available from the School of Music office.
Elective and Secondary Organ Study
Organ study is available to University students as an elective course (one hour credit, one 30-minute lesson per week), and to students majoring in other areas of music as a secondary instrument. See the Organ Syllabus for requirements.
Auditions
School of Music audition dates for incoming students are scheduled in February of each year. To schedule an audition online see Admission to the School of Music.
Incoming undergraduate students wishing to study organ may audition on either the organ or the piano, or a combination of the two. Students who choose to audition on the piano should follow the guidelines for piano auditions. Students wishing to audition on the organ should follow the guidelines below.
For the Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance, Bachelor of Music in Sacred Music/Organ, or the Bachelor of Music in Music Education:
- One of the Eight Little Preludes and Fugues attributed to J.S. Bach or another baroque work of a similar or more advanced level of difficulty.
- Two other contrasting pieces, including a piece from the 20th century.
- Sight-reading of an unfamiliar hymn or chorale from a standard hymnal (sight reading may be done at the piano).
For the Bachelor of Arts in Music or a Minor in Music:
- Two contrasting pieces, one of them from the baroque period.
- Sight-reading of an unfamiliar hymn or chorale from a standard hymnal (sight reading may be done at the piano).
Applicants for the Master of Music degree in Organ Performance are expected to demonstrate the ability to perform major works from standard organ repertoire in at least three differing styles and to demonstrate appropriate skills in keyboard harmony and service playing. Memorization is encouraged but not required. A complete list of repertoire should be submitted at the time of the audition.See also information under Graduate Study in Music.
For the Artist Certificate in Organ Performance applicants are required to play a 30-minute audition demonstrating the student's ability to perform in various musical styles. Memorization is encouraged but not required. A complete list of repertoire should be submitted at the time of the audition. See also information under Graduate Study in Music.Organ-Related Courses
MusKbd 230 Keyboard Harmony (1). Melody harmonization, figured bass realization, and improvisation. Prereq: Music Theory 110-120.
MusKbd 410 Organ Practicum (1). Improvisation, hymn playing, and accompanying at the organ. Prereq: Organ proficiency at the 200 level.
MusKbd 460-470 The Organ and Its Literature I, II (3,3). Development of the organ and organ literature from the Middle Ages to the present; problems of style and interpretation; pedagogical literature and methods, organ design. Prereq or Coreq: Musicology 220 and consent of instructor.
MusKbd 560 Organ Literature Seminar (3). Topics vary. May be repeated, maximum 6 hours.
Musicology 480 Music in Christian Worship (3). Hymnody, liturgies, and liturgical music.
MusPerf 185-186, 285-286, 385-386, 485-486, 585 Harpsichord (1-3).