William Haller, retired professor of organ and organ literature at West Virginia University, will present a recital of organ music at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church near Morgantown, Sunday, May 4.

The concert begins at 4 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

The program will focus on organ music from France and Germany. Haller will present the music of six composers, covering a 200-year span, to illustrate the difference in approach to writing for organ in these two culturally significant countries.

The repertoire is comprised of a Dialogue by Louis Marchand, a Cantilene by Jean Langlais, a Paraphrase-Carillon by Charles Tournemire from France, a Chorale Prelude by Johann Sebastian Bach, a Sonata Movement by Paul Hindemith, and a Chorale Fantasia by Max Reger from Germany.

Haller is retired from the WVU School of Music faculty where he taught full-time for 22 years. He continues to teach counterpoint, organ, and harpsichord part-time. He received his Doctorate of Musical Arts from North Texas State University and both his master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the Eastman School of Music. He also holds the degree of Fellow of the American Guild of Organists. He is the former organist for the Columbus Symphony and Columbus Symphony Chorus. His past honors include winning the National Organ Playing Competition in Fort Wayne, Ind., in 1964 and tying for second place at the Grande Prix de Chartres, the International Organ Playing Competition in Chartres, France, in 1974.

The organ at St. Francis is a Walker electronic, combining digital copies of Aeolian-Skinner stops. The prize-winning architectural structure of the church has excellent acoustics. Plenty of parking at the church is available.

St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church is located at One Guthrie Lane. For more information, see the website at http://stfranciswv.com/

-WVU-

4/30/14

CONTACT: Charlene Lattea, College of Creative Arts
304-293-4359, Charlene.Lattea@mail.wvu.edu

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