Monday, Oct 12, 2015
New Westminster Choir College organ faculty member Daryl Robinson will present his first Princeton recital on Sunday, October 18 at 2:30 p.m. at St. Paul Roman Catholic Church. A free-will offering will be accepted at the performance.
Titled “Organ Spectacular VIII,” the program will include Elgar's "Allegro maestoso” from Organ Sonata, Op. 28; Max Reger's arrangement of Bach's Präludium und Fuge D-dur, BWV 874; Franck's Deuxième Choral en Si Mineur, M. 39; Briggs' Concert Variations on 'Nicaea'; Hampton's "Lullaby" from Suite No. 2; and Cochereau's Scherzo symphonique.
The performance is co-sponsored by the Central New Jersey Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and Westminster Choir College of Rider University.
Daryl Robinson has earned critical acclaim as a solo and collaborative artist, praised for his innovative programming, compelling performances, and unique depth of interpretative skill. Described as a performer with “… a driving muscular poetry underpinned by nimble technique and nuanced sense of style …” by London-based Choir and Organ, he was winner of both First Prize and Audience Prize at the 2012 American Guild of Organists National Young Artist Competition. He has appeared as a featured artist at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; Shanghai Oriental Art Center, Shanghai, China; Cathédral Saint-Pierre, Poitiers, France; Spreckels Organ Pavilion, San Diego, California; and Lagerquist Hall at Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington.
His career as a collaborative musician has included service four years as Collaborative Keyboard Artist for the Moores School Concert Chorale and professional engagements in recent seasons with the Grammy-nominated ensemble Ars Lyrica Houston, the Houston Symphony, Mercury Baroque, the Immanuel and Helen Olshan Texas Music Festival Orchestra, and as accompanist for the internationally acclaimed Houston Chamber Choir.
Committed to educating new audiences about the pipe organ, organ music, and commissioning new music, he has engaged three of the most gifted and recognized living composers: David Ashley White, who wrote Introduction, Theme, and Variations: ‘Come Pure Hearts’, David Briggs, who wrote Concert Variations on ‘Nicaea’, and George Baker, whose work Afro-Cuban Rumba for Organ and Latin Percussion will be performed at the 2016 American Guild of Organists National Convention in Houston next summer.
A native of Houston, Robinson holds a Master of Music from The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and a Bachelor of Music from The Moores School of Music at The University of Houston. His debut solo album, Sempre Organo, was released in 2013 on the ProOrgano label and quickly garnered rave reviews in the United States, Canada, France, and England. Selections from the disc have been heard on nationally syndicated radio programs, including Pipedreams® and With Heart and Voice.
St. Paul Roman Catholic Church is located at 214 Nassau Street in Princeton. There is free parking behind the church, and the building is wheelchair accessible. A reception will follow the performance.