Saturday, January 16, 2010, 7:30 p.m.
THE WESTMINSTER CHOIR
Joe Miller, Conductor.

Setting the standard for choral excellence for 88 years, the Westminster Choir is composed of students at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. It has been the chorus-in-residence for the Spoleto Festival USA since 1977, performing both in concert and as the opera chorus. The choir also forms the core of the Westminster Symphonic Choir, which has performed and recorded with the leading conductors and orchestras of our time. The Symphonic Choir’s 2009-2010 season includes performances with the New York Philharmonic, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and the San Francisco Symphony. The Westminster Choir is conducted by Joe Miller, director of Choral Activities, where he oversees an extensive choral program that includes eight ensembles.
Tickets $20 available at the door only.

Sunday, February 7, 2010, 4:00 p.m.
FREDERICK SWANN ORGAN RECITAL

Having been seen and heard by millions through the television broadcasts from the Crystal Cathedral, Fred Swann is now in his ninth season as Organ Artist-in-Residence at St. Margaret's Church.  This concert will include a rarely performed Karg-Elert work in which Mr. Swann will be assisted by a women's chorus from University of Redlands (Nicholle Andrews, director) and Jeanne Skrocki, violinist.  Mr. Swann's career has included concerts in all fifty states and twelve foreign countries; last season he performed 25 recitals in cities coast to coast.  Come enjoy the consummate artistry of this "dean" of American organists.
Tickets $20 at the door only.

The Desert Friends of Music of St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Palm Desert, will present internationally acclaimed organist RICHARD ELLIOTT in concert on Sunday, March 14, at 4:00 p.m. Admission is $20 at the door only.

Richard L. Elliott is one of three full-time organists at the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, where he participates in the daily recital series on the 206-rank Æolian-Skinner organ and accompanies the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on the choir’s weekly radio and TV broadcast, “Music and the Spoken Word.” As accompanist for the Tabernacle Choir he has performed in many of the world’s great halls and appeared on numerous television and radio programs such the NBC “Today Show,” the “CBS Morning Show” and “A Prairie Home Companion.”

A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Dr. Elliott received his early musical training at the Peabody Conservatory. He went on to study organ at the Catholic University of America, the Curtis Institute of Music, from which he received the BMus degree, and the Eastman School of Music, where he received MM and DMA degrees. His organ teachers have included David Craighead, Dale Krider, William Watkins, and John Weaver.

Prior to his appointment as a Tabernacle organist in 1991, Dr. Elliott was an assistant professor of organ at Brigham Young University. He has performed extensively as a recitalist in the United States, has appeared as soloist with the Utah Symphony, and for several years was assistant organist at the John Wanamaker Department Store (now Macy’s) in Philadelphia, home to the world’s largest functioning pipe organ. A Fellow of the American Guild of Organists, Dr. Elliott has been a featured performer at several national and regional conventions of the guild.

Dr. Elliott appears on eighteen recordings and nine videos with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. In 1994 he recorded his first solo compact disc, titled “In the Shadows of the Everlasting Hills,” on the Pro Organo label. He recently recorded a second solo CD on the Mormon Tabernacle organ, “Every Time I Feel the Spirit,” which was released in the summer of 2009 on the Klavier label. He has also recorded three compact discs in collaboration with fellow Tabernacle organists John Longhurst and Clay Christiansen.

Please click here for more information about Richard Elliott

If you would like to become a donor to the 2009-2010 season,
please call 346-2697 x 109.

In past seasons, the DFOM has featured such outstanding choral performers as CHANTICLEER, (four times) including the Chanticleer Christmas CONCERT (twice), The American Boychoir, The Nordic Choir, The Vienna Choir Boys, The Grace Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys from San Francisco, The Texas Boys Choir, The Westminster Choir, and Ensemble Amarcord, organists Frederick Swann, John Obetz, Todd Wilson, Robert MacDonald, Richard Elliott, James O'Donnell, John Scott, and John Wright. Canadian Brass has made two appearances here. Other concerts have included The West Coast Opera Theatre, The Idyllwild Arts Academy Orchestra, The Side Street Strutters Jazz Band (from Disneyland), silent movies with organ accompaniment, and more.