Summer Organ Sampler Concerts Return to Heritage Center

DUBUQUE, Iowa - The University of Dubuque Heritage Center's Summer Organ Sampler Concerts will return this summer with 30-minute presentations that will showcase the custom-crafted John and Alice Butler Pipe Organ in John and Alice Butler Hall, Heritage Center. The concerts will be held in cooperation with Sinsinawa Mound Center's Summer Organ Concert Series.

Summer Organ Sampler Concerts are open to the public and free to attend. No ticket is required.

Organist Stephen Price, DM, will kick off the Summer Organ Sampler Concerts at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, June 2, 2022, in John and Alice Butler Hall, Heritage Center.

A native of Buffalo, New York, Price currently teaches organ, church music, and music theory at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. In addition to his teaching duties at Ball State, Price is coordinator for the Sursa American Organ Competition. He was recently appointed dean of the Indianapolis Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and also serves on the Organ Historical Society's Advisory Membership committee. Price is known for playing diverse programs that showcase a wide range of possibilities on the organ.

Organist Jonathan Gregoire, DMA, will perform at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, July 21, 2022, in John and Alice Butler Hall, Heritage Center.

Praised for his "top-notch technique and musicianship" by the Dallas Morning News, Gregoire is an imaginative organist, pianist, and advocate for the power music has to transform lives. He brings his passion for music, intuitive gifts for healing powers of the arts, and warm charisma to his creative output. As a soloist, his engaging performances are praised for their "unfailing drive, energy, and expression," with equal parts style and flair. Gregoire was the winner of the 2017 Southern Methodist University Concert Competition. As a supporter of new music for the instrument, he has performed world premieres of works by Henry Martin, Douglas Pew, and Carol Barnett.

Organist Jan Kraybill, DMA, will close the Summer Organ Sampler Concerts at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, in John and Alice Butler Hall, Heritage Center.

Kraybill is a musical leader, dynamic speaker, performer, educator, organ consultant, and enthusiastic advocate for the power of music to change lives for the better. In addition to maintaining a very active concert schedule, in the Kansas City metro area she is organ conservator at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, organist-in-residence at Community of Christ headquarters, and organist at Village on Antioch Presbyterian Church. Kraybill attained the American Guild of Organists' Fellow certificate, organists' highest certification level, in 2010. She has served in local, regional, and national roles in the AGO and other non-profit organizations. When she is not seated at the helm of a pipe organ, she enjoys lacemaking, painting, and riding her Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

The University of Dubuque dedicated the John and Alice Butler Pipe Organ on May 15, 2021. Designed for teaching, solo recitals, and performances with other musical ensembles, the pipe organ will expand students' musical horizons and enhance campus events for generations. UD Trustee John Butler (DHL'17) and his spouse, Alice (DHL'17), gifted the pipe organ. Dobson Pipe Organ Builders of Lake City, Iowa, built and installed the pipe organ - the 97th new organ built by the firm.