Joby Bell at the University of Dubuque -- February 3.
Friday, February 3, 7:30 p.m.
University of Dubuque's Heritage Center, 2255 Bennett Street, Dubuque IA
With the organist lauded by Fanfare magazine as "supremely powerful" and an artist whose "virtuosity is never in doubt," Joby Bell will be the featured guest in the University of Dubuque's second-annual John and Alice Butler Pipe Organ Recital Series, his February 3 performance treating audiences to what Fanfare deemed "a special, subtle gift for clear articulation of notes and shaping of discrete phrases that brings out themes and their connections into bold relief."
Born in 1968 in Statesville, North Carolina, Bell attended high school at the [University of] North Carolina School of the Arts, where he studied piano with Marian Hahn and Robert McDonald. He earned the Bachelor of Music degree in organ and piano from Appalachian State University and the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in organ from Rice University, his teachers including H. Max Smith and Clyde Holloway for the organ and Rodney Reynerson and Allen Kindt for piano. He has served church posts in Houston and throughout North Carolina, and since 2004, has served on the faculty of the Hayes School of Music, Appalachian State University, where he teaches organ and church music studies. Bell's teaching specializes in practice techniques, memorization, service playing, choral accompanying, and maintaining grace under pressure – lessons always best taught by example.
In addition, the artist has made a number of recordings on the Centaur label. American Classic Widor is a seven-volume series of the complete solo organ works of Charles-Marie Widor, recorded on Aeolian-Skinner and E.M. Skinner instruments around the country. American Classic English is an all-British program recorded on the landmark Aeolian-Skinner at First Baptist Church, Longview, Texas. Sonatas & Variations features major works by Jongen, Brahms, and Reubke, recorded on the Fritts organ at St. Philip Presbyterian, Houston. Music City Mixture is Bell's self-produced project recorded on six mechanical-action organs of Nashville. Live Performances, meanwhile, is a self-produced promotional compilation from performances at Appalachian State University, Rice University, Houston Baptist University, and the Washington National Cathedral. Bell is also featured on let the rain kiss you, a collaborative project with acclaimed soprano Melissa Givens.
During his February 3 concert, Bell will perform on the John and Alice Butler Pipe Organ, which the University of Dubuque dedicated in May of 2021. The custom-crafted instrument with over 3,000 pipes was designed for teaching, solo recitals, and performances with other musical ensembles. UD Trustee John Butler and his spouse Alice gifted the pipe organ that Dobson Pipe Organ Builders from Lake City, Iowa, built and installed – the 97th new organ built by the firm.
Joby Bel performs in the John & Alice Butler Hall of the University of Dubuque's Heritage Center on February 3, admission to the 7:30 p.m. concert event is $10-15, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)585-7469 and visiting Dbq.edu/HeritageCenter.
