Organ Academy Recital - American Guild of Organists

Organ Academy 2027 Recital - Spokane AGO

Academy 2027 Info Slider 2

Sunday – May 9, 2027 – 3:00 pm

The Organ Academy members worked diligently to prepare for this performance. You will be impressed by their enthusiasm and talent!

Location

Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist

Program

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Organists

Academy Faculty

Henry Bauer, DMA, is the director of music at The Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes, Spokane, where he conducts the Schola Cantorum, Cathedral Choir, and Diocesan Choir as well as being artistic director of the Sacred Music Series. He has served as director of music and liturgy in parishes in the Archdiocese of Washington. He holds a doctorate in sacred music and choral conducting along with a masters degree in liturgical music and organ from The Catholic University of America. His doctoral dissertation is on choral literature for the liturgical year. Dr. Bauer has held several leadership positions for National Association of Pastoral Musicians.

Dr. Bauer is the current chair of the Director of Music Ministries Forum, was a member of the board of the Director of Music Ministries Division, and chair of the Partner Certification Review Committee for Ecclesial Lay Ministry. He continues to coordinate the Choral Anthem Project and leads choral music reading sessions. He has presented workshops for cantors and organists, lectures on the role of music and musicians in the liturgy, and choral rehearsal techniques. He has served as a Core Committee member for two national conventions and been chapter director and treasurer for the AGO Washington DC chapter. He has led several European choir tours. Dr. Bauer serves on the Board of Officers for the AGO Spokane chapter in the role of Sub-Dean, with focus in areas of program and professional concerns.

Helen Byrne, SPC, is music director and organist for Manito Presbyterian Church. Helen is professionally certified by the American Guild of Organists holding the Service Playing Certificate (SPC). A proficient keyboardist and teacher, she is also the cellist of the Spokane String Quartet. A native of Spokane, Helen began her cello studies with Carol Graef. She spent three wonderful years studying organ with Janet Satre Ahrend. She graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in cello performance. In 1982, Helen joined the Spokane Symphony, from which she recently retired after 42 years. Now she is happy to be able to spend more time playing the organ.

Marietta Hardy earned her Bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University in Organ Pedagogy. She then taught group organ classes for BYU and has been teaching privately ever since. She is a nationally certified teacher of music in piano and organ through the Music Teachers National Association and has served as President of the local chapter, and is currently serving as treasurer of the Idaho Music Teachers Association. She served as the accompanist for the Northwest Sacred Music Chorale 2001-2016. She also worked for the late Ron Pearson at the Organ Loft and Northwest Organ Service, selling and demonstrating organs. Currently, she is an adjunct piano instructor and resident accompanist at North Idaho College as well as the collaborative artist for their Cardinal Chorale and Chamber Choir. She has a thriving studio in Post Falls where she teaches organ, piano, and voice lessons. She has conducted several church choirs and has been the organist for her congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for many years. Hardy serves on the Board of Officers for the AGO Spokane Chapter as a Member at Large with focus in the area of member care.

Edward Hurd holds a bachelor of music education degree from Central Washington University, Ellensburg, where he spent four years as organist and assistant music director at First Presbyterian Church. While teaching at East Valley High School in Spokane Valley, he served as director of music ministries for Opportunity Presbyterian Church. He was full-time director of music ministries (organist/choirmaster) for First Presbyterian Church in Mesa, Ariz. while completing his graduate studies in choral conducting at Arizona State University. For ten years, he served as associate director of music and organist for All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Phoenix. He has conducted choral ensembles twice at the St. Moritz Festival (Switzerland), and numerous tours and festivals throughout England, Ireland, France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Russia. Hurd’s principal conducting teachers include the late B. Fred Hammack, G. Gordon Leavitt, and Douglas McEwen.

While in Nebraska, Hurd served as director of traditional worship (organist/ choirmaster) for the 2,500-member congregation of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, La Vista, for nine years. He was artistic director for the 200-voice community chorus, Voices of Omaha, for eight years. He was performance rentals director for Omaha Performing Arts which operates the Orpheum Theater and renowned Holland Performing Arts Center, joining the organization as general manager in 2003. Since returning to Spokane, Hurd was organist/bellmaster for Opportunity Presbyterian Church in Spokane Valley before joining the staff of Central Lutheran Church. Hurd currently serves as organist for the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. He is a busy substitute music teacher for Spokane Public Schools and maintains a private piano and voice teaching studio. Hurd is a frequent adjudicator for area solo/ensemble contests. Hurd is a member of the National Association for Music Education and American Choral Directors Association. He serves on the Board of Officers for the AGO Spokane Chapter in the role of Dean.

Joseph Schubert, PhD, retired from teaching in 2020, after 36 years of teaching choral music in public schools at the junior high, senior high, and university levels. From 2009 through 2023, Dr. Schubert also taught music theory, choral literature, and academic research and writing in the Three-Summer Master of Music in Choral Conducting program at California State University, Los Angeles.Dr. Schubert’s dissertation dealt with twentieth-century French organist Jean-Jacques Grünenwald, providing an extensive biography and a comprehensive analysis of Grünenwald’s solo organ works in the context of the twentieth-century French organ school. As a composer, Schubert’s works have been given world-premieres at the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music in 2025 and 2026.

He has been a church organist since he was 18 years old and is currently organist at Saint Augustine Catholic Church, and he is organ instructor at Gonzaga University in Spokane. Dr. Schubert serves on the Board of Officers for the AGO Spokane chapter in the role of Secretary, with a focus in the area of program.

Street Team Assets

Academicians and Chapter members:

Print/place posters in your choir room or studio
Place posters wherever lovers of organ music might see them
Share images on social media
Include promo images in your Sunday service leaflet or congregation newsletter

Here are links for downloading image assets you can use! Print directly from your computer’s image viewer or post on your social media page.

Print Posters & Fliers

Poster (8.5×11)
Poster (11×17)

Social Media – all sized for optimum display

Facebook Post (1080×1080)
Pinterest Pin (1000×1000)
Instagram Feed (1080×1440)
X (Twitter) In-Feed Image (1080×1080)
LinkedIn Post (1080×1080)

Press release