Canon John Bruce Memorial Concerts

The Reverend Canon John O. Bruce was a priest of the Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac who was enamored with the beautiful sound of the Abbey organ. Because of his friendship with the Norbertine Fathers and love of music, he established a fund for the renovation and upkeep of the organ console as well as for the presentation of organ concerts. Through Canon John's generosity, the concerts are free and open to the public so that all may share in the beauty of the Abbey and the organ music within its walls.

Please note:  all concerts are on Saturday at 2:00 pm, open to the public with a free will offering.

December 12, 2009 - Isabelle Demers

Isabelle Demers at the organ is a force of nature-a diminutive dynamo to whom La Presse in Montreal attributed "vehement virtuosity." A native of Quebec, she is rapidly becoming recognized as one of North America's most virtuosic younger generation of organists.
She began piano studies at age six and was admitted to the Montreal Conservatory of Music at age eleven in the fields of both piano and organ. After graduation in 2003 she studied on scholarship for a year in Paris at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris-Alfred Cortot. She received her Master's degree from the Juilliard School in New York, where she is currently completing doctoral studies with Paul Jacobs.
Isabelle Demers was a featured performer at the most recent national convention of the American Guild of Organists in Minneapolis, and her performance was later broadcast to a national radio audience. She will be a featured artist at the 2009 national convention of the Royal Canadian College of Organists in Toronto. She has been a prize-winner and finalist in several international performance competitions in the United States, Canada, and Europe, and performs widely in the eastern U.S. and Canada.

She performed all seven of Max Reger's Chorale Fantasies in the 2008 Regerfest held at St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco, and is currently preparing a series of concerts featuring his complete works for organ. Isabelle Demers is the organ scholar at New York City's historic Trinity Church on Wall Street.

March 20, 2010 - Thomas Murray

Thomas Murray, concert organist and recording artist, is University Organist and Professor of Music at Yale University, where he has served on the faculty for 28 years and has taught many of the leading performers of a younger generation. Widely known for his interpretations of Romantic repertoire and orchestral transcriptions, his recordings are highly acclaimed. High Fidelity has credited him with "... consummate skill and artistry in treating the organ as a great orchestra" and American Record Guide said of his Elgar CD: "Murray's performance and his handling of the immense resources of the Woolsey Hall organ are beyond superlatives ... the shape of every phrase, the use of every color ... could not be more perfect."

Born in California in 1943, Murray studied with Clarence Mader at Occidental College. He has appeared in recitals and lectures at six national conventions of the A.G.O., which named him International Artist of the Year for 1986. As the recipient of this award he followed such luminaries as Marie-Claire Alain, Jean Guillou and Dame Gillian Weir. In 2003 he was named an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Organists in England, and in 2005 he was awarded the Gustave Stoeckel Award for excellence in teaching from the Yale University School of Music.

April 17, 2010 - Ken Cowan

Ken Cowan is one of North America’s finest concert organists. Praised for his dazzling artistry, impeccable technique and imaginative programming by audiences and critics alike, he maintains a rigorous performing schedule which takes him to major concert venues across America, Canada and Europe.

Recent and upcoming feature performances include appearances at Grace Cathedral San Francisco, Philadelphia’s Verizon Hall, Spivey Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Paris, France.  In addition, Mr. Cowan has been a featured artist in recent years at the national conventions of the American Guild of Organists held in Los Angeles and Minneapolis, has performed at many regional conventions of the AGO, and has been featured at several conventions of the Organ Historical Society and the Royal Canadian College of Organists.

A native of Thorold, Ontario, Canada, Mr. Cowan received the Masters degree and Artist Diploma from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, studying organ with Thomas Murray.  Prior to attending Yale, he graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where he studied with John Weaver.

Mr. Cowan is Assistant Professor of Organ at Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, NJ where he was recently awarded the 2008 Rider University Distinguished Teaching Award.  Previous positions have included Associate Organist and artist in Residence at Saint Bartholomew’s Church, New York City, Assistant Organist posts at St. James Episcopal Church, the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin in New York City, and Saint Clement’s Church in Philadelphia.  He has also been on the roster of Associate Organists for the famous Wanamaker Grand Court organ in Philadelphia.

Canon John Bruce Archives