Damin Spritzer

Events

  • Opening and Closing Voluntaries, “Lesser Known Gems”
    808 Howell St
    July 6, 2022 @ 8:00 am
    This workshop will provide extensive lists of lesser-known organ repertoire ideally suited for use as opening and closing voluntaries in most mainstream traditional worship settings. The selections focus on diversity and representation from all major eras of organ composition and skill level, and feature many dozens of composers both living and deceased. Include are pieces suitable for both large and small instruments, and many works are based upon chants or chorales from most major feasts and liturgical celebrations (i.e. Pentecost, Advent, etc.). A handout will provide information for obtaining the scores and the lecture will be presented with listening examples accompanied by brief biographical information on each composer.

Damin Spritzer
About

Dr. Damin Spritzer is Associate Professor of Organ at the University of Oklahoma and was named Area Chair in 2020. She is Assisting Organist for St. Thomas More University Parish in Norman and continues to work with the Cathedral Church of Saint Matthew in Dallas as Artist-in-Residence for Cathedral Arts. Formerly Adjunct Professor at the University of North Texas teaching Organ Literature and Sacred Music, she is active in the Dallas and Oklahoma City Chapters of the American Guild of Organists and serves on committees for the Organ Historical Society, the Association of Anglican Musicians, and Organlive. She received her doctorate from the University of North Texas, her Master of Music from the Eastman School of Music, and her Bachelor of Music from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

She has performed at historic churches and instruments including the Nicolaikirche in Leipzig, Germany; Sainte-Croix in Orléans, France; Igreja Nossa Senhora de Fátima and Paróquia Nossa Senhora da Boa Viagemin in Sao Paolo, Brazil; the La Verna Festival in Italy; performances with the Terra Sancta Festival in Israel; Wells Cathedral in England; and the Arctic Cathedral in Norway. Performances in the United States include a collaboration with Aaron David Miller at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles; the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston; the University of Houston 2012 Conference on Historical Eclecticism: Organ Building and Playing in the 21st Century; the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, and the 2017 International Trombone Festival in Redlands, California. She has been honored to contribute to convention performances and lectures at the 2013 Regional AGO Convention in Austin, the 2018 AGO National Convention in Kansas City, the 2019 Regional AGO Convention in Denver, and the 2019 Organ Historical Society Conference in Dallas. 2022/23 performances include venues in the United States as well as in Germany, Belgium, and England. 

Spritzer’s acclaimed fifth CD for Raven Recordings was recorded in England where she was the first American and the first woman to record at historic Hereford Cathedral on the landmark Fr. Willis organ. It received a four star review from Choir & Organ and five stars from Organists Review, which said, “Damin Spritzer’s performance is spellbinding – and her wide-ranging program notes are fascinating….on so many levels this CD impresses as as serious undertaking.”

Alsatian-American composer René Louis Becker (1882-1956) was the topic of her doctoral research and she edits a continuing multi-volume critical edition of Becker’s organ music for Wayne Leupold Editions which will release her monograph on the composer. Spritzer’s first two discs for Raven Recordings are world premier recordings of Becker’s music performed in France. The first was recorded in Pithiviers on the renovated Cavaillé-Coll organ of Saint-Salomon-Saint-Gregoire. Choir & Organ magazine gave it five stars, writing that “Damin Spritzer serves both instrument and music well, alert to the music’s lyrical mien and harmonic muscle, negotiating the III/49 machine with an easy command of drama and a real feeling for Becker’s melody-led, cleanly-executed music…A second volume is eagerly awaited.” The AAM Journal wrote, “The music comes alive under her touch!…This recording is a delight…” 

Her second volume of Becker’s organ music was recorded in Orléans, France at the Cathédrale Sainte-Croix d’Orléans. It received four stars from Choir & Organ and the following: “This second installment in Damin Spritzer’s enterprising rehabilitation of the prolific but largely-unknown [Becker] comes…three years after the first volume. Happily, it’s been worth the wait.” And the American Record Guide adds: “Spritzer is to be commended for her commitment and dedication to this music. She gives spirited and vigorous performances on the magnificent 1880 Cavaillé-Coll organ in Orléans, France….the recorded sound is outstanding.”

The third volume of her series of the music of R. L. Becker was recorded on the historic Kimball organ of St. John’s Cathedral and received a four star review from Choir & Organ magazine and a glowing review from the American Record Guide. Her fourth recording, “Fantasia,” was a collaborative project with Dr. Donald Pinson, trombone, recorded in Texas at St. Monica Catholic church in Dallas. It has likewise been praised by reviewers. Future recording projects are planned in England, France, and the United States.