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Posted: 9/18/19

Acclaimed Organist Holds Concert Series at TAMIU Oct. 1-2

 

David Briggs
 

Internationally renowned concert organist and composer David Briggs will perform in a two-day concert series Oct. 1-2 at Texas A&M International University (TAMIU).

The first performance, happening Tuesday, Oct. 1 features a transcription of Gustav Mahler’s 5th Symphony for Organ. The second evening performance on Wednesday, Oct. 2 is an organ improvisation on the silent film, “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”

Both performances are slated for 7:30 p.m. at the Center for the Fine and Performing Arts Recital Hall.

General admission is $5 and free for TAMIU students with a valid ID.

Both performances celebrate TAMIU’s 50th Anniversary and showcase world-class, fine and performing arts events the University brings to the local community. 

Briggs is the artist in residence at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City. He has been hailed by The New York Times as “one of the finest organists” and has been described by BBC Radio 3 as a “phenomenal improviser.”

Briggs has held concerts across the world, including venues such as the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, the National Concert Hall in Madrid, and many more.

He has transcribed compositions of works by Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Elgar, Bruckner, Ravel, and Bach, giving birth to his expansive repertoire that spans five centuries. Additionally, Briggs regularly performs accompaniments to classic silent movies including King of Kings, Phantom of the Opera, Joan of Arc, Nosferatu, and more. 

“Over the past six years, we have worked to promote the pipe organ at Texas A&M International University, not only for the enjoyment of our campus community but also for the broader Laredo community and surrounding area,” said Dr. Colin Campbell, associate professor of music and University Organist, “To have an instrument of this quality and scope here in Laredo, is truly a gift.”

In addition to the concert series, the University’s 50th Anniversary Celebration also offers its annual Music on the Menu recital series, held every last Wednesday of the month at noon. Admission to those performances is free and open to the public.

For more information on the concert, contact the College of Arts and Sciences, department of Fine and Performing Arts at 956.326.2654, or visit offices in the Center for the Fine and Performing Arts, room 217.

TAMIU is celebrating its 50th anniversary and its 25th anniversary at its north Laredo campus throughout 2019-2020.  A dedicated website shares the University’s transformation from a hybrid upper-level university to a full doctoral degree-granting University. It includes a calendar of Anniversary events and more at tamiu.edu/50.

For more on the University’s story, contact the TAMIU Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at 956.326.2180, email prmis@tamiu.edu, click on tamiu.edu or visit offices in the Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library, room 268.

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