University of Michigan Organ Department

10/23/2026

As we enter the second half of the semester, we’re still thinking about our Organ Symposium held at the beginning of this month, focusing on wellness for the performing organist and sacred musician! Enjoy this carousel of highlights from this special day.
1. Dr. Melissa Plamann, our keynote speaker presenting at the top of the day, on managing anxiety
2. Prof. Joseph Gascho delivering a presentation on mental wellness within performance and lesson environments
3. (L-R) Profs Julie Zhu, Tiffany Ng, and Stephen Rush outside the Lurie Carillon during our student performance
4. Dr. Bruce Heckmann (one of our presenters, along with Allie Heckman) speaking on ear health and hearing protection
5. SMTD Wellness Lecturer Paola Savvidou speaking about burnout and exhaustion, and the underlying factors
6. Prof. Joseph Gascho and LSA Residential College Lecturer Xiaodong Hottmann-Wei at our faculty showcase concert in Hill Auditorium
7. Prof. Nicole Keller performing works of Leo Sowerby in Hill Auditorium
8. Prof. Caroline Robinson performing Duruflé's Variations on Veni Creator, bringing an end to our symposium!

10/21/2026

We hope you’ll join us for an exciting masterclass tonight featuring organist Johann Vexo. It will be held at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church at 7 PM.

Born in 1978 in Nancy, Johann Vexo first studied organ with Christophe Mantoux at the Strasbourg Conservatory where he was awarded Premier Prix in organ. He continued his studies at the Paris Conservatory where his teachers included Michel Bouvard and Olivier Latry for organ, and Philippe Lefebvre for improvisation. He earned Premier Prix in both organ and basso continuo and additional prizes in harmony and counterpoint.
At the age of 25, he won the competition to become Choir Organist of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. He is now Organist of the Cavaillé-Coll great organ of the Cathedral in Nancy, Professor of Organ at the Conservatory and at the Superior Music Academy in Strasbourg.
Johann Vexo has performed extensively throughout Europe, North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, and Russia. He has appeared as a featured artist in numerous international music festivals and organ series in cities including Auckland, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Geneva, Los Angeles, Montreal, Munich, New York, Saint Petersburg, San Francisco, Sydney, Vienna, and Washington DC. His performances have also included notable venues such as the Westminster Abbey in London, King’s College in Cambridge, the Wanamaker Grand Court in Philadelphia, the Royal Palace in Stockholm, the Kultur und Kongresszentrum in Lucerne, the Brisbane City Hall, the Moscow Conservatory and the Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City.

Johann Vexo is represented in the United States and in Canada by Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists, LLC.

10/19/2026

We look forward to our DSP concert this week which will feature the Baroque Chamber Orchestra for one of J.S. Bach's more organ heavy cantatas! We hope to see you there on Thursday.

10/14/2026

We are thrilled to announce Grace Jackson’s final DMA recital for the Sacred Music degree. It will be held in Hill Auditorium next Tuesday night, and we encourage you all to show up and support her!
Grace Jackson is Assistant Professor of Music at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on trauma-informed pedagogy in applied music lessons, and she is the founder of The People’s Work, an ecumenical resource-sharing platform for church musicians. In summer 2026, she served as Coordinator and Instructor for Organ at Interlochen Arts Camp. During the 2025–2026 academic year, she was the Gerre Hancock Intern with the Association of Anglican Musicians. Grace is a DMA candidate at the University of Michigan and holds degrees from the University of Notre Dame and Oklahoma City University.

10/12/2026

Nick Welch be performing this week at Division Street Pipes - we hope you’ll join us for an exciting program at St. Andrews! Nicholas Welch is a graduate student at the University of Michigan working towards a master’s degree in Sacred Music. Nicholas is from Dearborn Heights, Michigan. He began taking piano lessons at the age of 10 after his family discovered that he would sit at the piano and try to play the Sunday hymns they heard from the Catholic Mass all by ear. As a high schooler, Nicholas participated in the choir at Divine Child Catholic Church in Dearborn, Michigan. There, he gained an even greater love for sacred music and began taking organ lessons. Following high school, Nicholas moved on to study music at the University of Michigan with Professor Todd Wilson and Dr. James Kibbie from 2021-2022 and Professor Nicole Keller and Dr. Caroline Robinson from 2022 until the present. He graduated in the spring of 2025 with his bachelor’s degree in Organ Performance and Sacred Music and is currently pursuing his masters degree. Nicholas currently resides as the Director of Music and Organist at St. John Fisher Parish in Auburn Hills, Michigan. He leads their Parish Choir, SJF College Choir, and their Children’s Choir. He, in addition, has performed around the state of Michigan including The Basilica of Ste. Anne de Detroit, The Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, The Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Detroit, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Ann Arbor, Cherry Hill Presbyterian Church for their organ restoration series, St. Matthew’s in Flint, Michigan for the May Festival of Music, and the 63rd Annual University of Michigan Organ Conference.

10/09/2026

To make space for our Noack organ coming in 2027(!), we are seeking a new home for the 3 manual Reuter organ originally built for the studio of Marilyn Mason. This instrument would easily be suitable for a church, chapel, or small studio. Click on the link for more information!

We’re happy to offer this glorious pre-Civil War Hook organ. The building is in poor condition, and the organ cries for a rescue. We welcome your inquiries.

10/06/2026

Were you in town for our organ symposium this week? We hope to see you at Alex Sheng’s Division Street Pipes recital, presenting some well-loved favorites of Schumann and Mendelssohn. Alex Sheng is a third-year PhD student in mathematics. He studies with Prof. Caroline Robinson. In his free time, he enjoys playing the piano, reading literature and philosophy, and having conversations about music.

10/01/2026

On Monday, October 5th, our Organ Symposium will end with a faculty recital showcasing the Skinner organ in Hill Auditorium, as well as harpsichord and soprano performances. This performance is free and open to the public, and we hope to see you all there.

10/01/2026

We have an updated schedule, plus presentation titles and locations for next Monday's Organ Symposium!
Register here: https://forms.gle/gXwqF2XV2gA3iywG6

9:15-10:15 McIntosh Theater
Melissa Plamann, Chair of Organ, Oklahoma City University- "Unnerved: Managing Performance Anxiety"

10:30-11:30 Britton Recital Hall
Bruce Edwards and Allie Heckman, audiologists- "Hearing Health for Pipe Organists: Don’t Pull out the Stops"

11:30 Lunch on your own at Pierpont Commons

12:00 Student Showcase Carillon Concert at Lurie Tower

1:15-2:15 Blanche Anderson Moore Organ Recital Hall
Joseph Gascho, Associate Professor of Music, SMTD- "Practicing Mindful Practicing & Well-Tempered Self-Tuning"

2:30-3:30 Watkins Lecture Hall
Lexie Muir-Pappas, occupational therapist and certified hand therapist- "Protecting Your Arms and Hands: Common Injuries and How to Prevent Them"

3:30 - Break, social time with presenters, coffee

4:00 - 5:00 Blanche Anderson Moore Organ Recital Hall
Paola Savvidou, SMTD Wellness Program Manager- "The Thriving Keyboardist: Strategies for Preventing Burnout"

5:00 - 6:00 Blanche Anderson Moore Organ Recital Hall
Panel Discussion

8:00 U-M Faculty concert at Hill Auditorium

Date: October 5, 2026 Venues: Earl V. Moore Building, Hill Auditorium, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Tower For questions, contact the conference coordinator at [email protected]

09/28/2026

We are excited to welcome Dr. Barbara Lister-Sink to Ann Arbor for next week's Organ Symposium! She will deliver a presentation and masterclass titled "Will the Caged Bird Ever Be Free?: What Organists Need to Know to Prevent Playing-Related Injury and to Maximize Musicality"

Organists of all ages and levels are often frustrated and even tragically hindered by discomfort, pain, and injury related to the complexities of organ playing. In Workshop 1, Dr. Barbara Lister-Sink, author of the MTNA-award-winning DVD Freeing the Caged Bird – Developing Well-Coordinated, Injury-Preventive Piano Technique, will offer an accessible but scientifically informed look into the heart of injury-preventive keyboard technique. She will define how the body is designed to work best with the instrument, and discuss risk factors for injury. Interactive exercises will demonstrate how these core
principles of efficient biomechanics can be applied to all keyboard instruments and historical and musical styles. Lister-Sink will also examine some potentially confusing, contradictory, or even potentially injury-inducing technical approaches.

Register here 👉 https://forms.gle/YL2oMxYrvVeAkTkR9