Cavarra Organ Series Continues at CSU Featuring Special Guest Dr. Robert Bates, University of Houston
Fort Collins, Colo. – The Cavarra Organ Series at Colorado State University continues this spring with a concert by University of Houston’s Dr. Robert Bates, on Tuesday, April 8 at 7:30 p.m. in the Organ Recital Hall at the University Center for the Arts, located at 1400 Remington St. There will be a reception immediately following the performance.
Tickets are $7 for CSU students, $1 for youth (under 18), and $12 for the public. Tickets are available at the University Center for the Arts (UCA) ticket office in the UCA lobby, by phone at 970-491-ARTS (2787) or online at CSUArtsTickets.com. Youth tickets must be purchased in person at the Ticket Office. Advance purchase is recommended to avoid at-the-door fees.
During his tenure at CSU, from 1963-2000, Dr. Robert N. Cavarra brought international acclaim to the university by bringing the Casavant organ to campus in 1968. The Casavant Organ was built in the style of the Northern German organs of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Anton Heiller, a world renowned organist from Austria and one of Cavarra’s mentors, said the Casavant was among “the 25 greatest organs of the world.”
Honoring the legacy of Dr. Cavarra, this series brings the world’s greatest organists to CSU to teach and perform. Robert Bates is Professor of Organ at the Moores School of Music, the University of Houston. Previously he was University Organist at Stanford University, where he received a Ph.D. in musicology. He has won prizes for organ performance in Fort Wayne, San Antonio, Detroit and Bruges, and has also been awarded the Prix d’Excellence and the Prix de Virtuosité from the class of Marie-Claire Alain.
The program includes Johann Sebastian Bach's Prelude in E-flat Major, BWV 552, which is sometimes nicknamed “St. Anne” due to the theme’s close similarity with the tune of William Croft’s hymn “O God our help in ages past.” There is, however, no evidence to suggest that Bach might have known Croft's hymn tune "St. Anne," which was not known to be sung outside of the British Isles.
The concert also features works by Francisco Correa de Arauxo, Dieterich Buxtehude, Arvo Pärt, and an original composition by Dr. Bates entitle Last Judgment.
About Robert Bates
Dr. Bates has recorded the complete organ works of Brahms (Pro Organo) and Daquin (Loft Recordings). A live performance for the National Convention of the American Guild of Organists is available on CD (“Robert Bates in recital at Lagerquist Hall,” ReZound Recordings). He has recorded the complete works of the early French composer, Jehan Titelouze, in Bolbec, France on an historic organ for which Titelouze was the consultant. (Loft Recordings, to be released in 2013). His three-CD set, “Viaticum” (Loft Recordings), contains eight of his own compositions. In reviews of "Viaticum" the Diapason referred to one work as “an Einsteinian wonder”; according to Fanfare Magazine, “the music by Bates often overshadows that by other illustrious composers”; and Magazine de l'orgue (Belgium) called his compositions “the best of what is being written for organ in recent years.” He is currently Chair of the Program Committee for the American Guild of Organists National Convention to be held in Houston in 2016. His music is published by Wayne Leupold Editions (ECS Publishing, Boston). He has worked as a consultant on major organ installations around the county. He is represented by the Penny Lorenz Artist Management. website.
About Robert Cavarra, Professor Emeritus (1934 – 2008)
\Robert N. Cavarra was professor of music at Colorado State University and a noted concert organist, who was a leading participant in the revival of the classical organ tradition in North America and brought international acclaim to CSU as a center for organ scholarship and performance. Prof. Cavarra brought together acclaimed artists from throughout the world for master classes and recitals on these instruments including E. Power Biggs (USA), Marie-Claire Alain (France), Luigi Tagliavini (Italy), Gillian Weir (England), Lionel Rogg (Switzerland), Bernard Lagace (Canada), and Anton Heiler (Austria). These events acted as a catalyst to expand appreciation for the arts not only at CSU but also throughout the Rocky Mountain region. He taught from 1963 until 2000 on the faculty of CSU's Department of Music, Theater and Dance.