Diane Meredith Belcher Will Present “Organ Masterworks” at Westminster on February 12
The Westminster Choir College Faculty Recital Series continues on Sunday, February 12 with a recital presented by organist Diane Meredith Belcher in Bristol Chapel on the campus of Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton. The performance will begin at 3:00 p.m.
The program, entitled “Organ masterworks,” will include Alain’s Suite for Organ, Franck’s Grand Piece Symphonique, and Bach’s Concerto in D minor for Two Violins arranged by Belcher.
In the forefront of American organists, Diane Meredith Belcher has performed throughout the United States as well as in France and England. She made her solo recital debut at age 15, and received her degrees from The Curtis Institute of Music and the Eastman School of Music. She is a laureate of both the St. Albans (England) and Chartres (France) international organ competitions, and she won the American Guild of Organists’ top prize in its professional certification examinations. In addition to serving on Westminster’s organ faculty, she is organist at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church in Philadelphia.
Ms. Belcher has performed regularly on the Wanamaker Grand Court Organ in Philadelphia, in duo-recital with trumpeter Rob Roy McGregor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and as soloist with numerous orchestras. In July 2002, she created a sensation performing the Jongen Symphonie Concertante with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Girard College Chapel, receiving a thunderous standing ovation from the 2500+ members of the national American Guild of Organists convention. A recipient of the 2000 Golden Ear Award for her premier CD on the celebrated Glatter-Götz/Rosales organ in Claremont, Calif., Diane Belcher and her recordings are often broadcast on radio and television, including Public Radio International’s “Pipedreams.” American Record Guide has praised her performances as “glowingly brilliant, rhythmically vibrant, consistently expressive, and full of both atmosphere and personality – in short, everything that artistic organ playing should be.”
Ms. Belcher has led numerous workshops and master classes, and she is in demand as a competition juror. She has been active as a church musician for over three decades, and was the founding director of the Memphis Concert Chorale. She is frequently asked to consult for church organ projects, and she has commissioned and premiered several new organ compositions.
Westminster Choir College is located at Hamilton Avenue and Walnut Lane in Princeton. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for seniors/students. For tickets or to receive Westminster’s 2005-2006 season catalog, call the box office at 609 921-2663.
