East Texas Pipe Organ Festival

East Texas Pipe Organ Festival Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from East Texas Pipe Organ Festival, Performance & Event Venue, 112 S. Rusk Street, Kilgore, TX.

For more information, visit our website at www.easttexaspipeorganfestival.com


Listen to our links on Youtube featuring some of the organs we visit:

Alexander Boggs Ryan Plays Reubke on Aeolian-Skinner Opus 1174, Longview, Texas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91blKG5tuKQ

William Watkins Plays Willan "Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAYq56KXZmE

Roy Perry Plays Debussy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP7HFcarXqU

William Watkins Plays Langlais "La Nativite": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxdQ9jG0C-4

Dora Poteet Barclay Plays Reubke: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePoTpxFncqk

James Lynn Culp Plays Karg-Elert: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvlLd8J2Fn0

Visit us again soon for information on the 2019 East Texas Pipe Organ Festival!

Meet our 2026 Festival Artists:Kilgore favorite, Clark Wilson, will accompany the silent film, "Safety Last," starring H...
09/14/2026

Meet our 2026 Festival Artists:

Kilgore favorite, Clark Wilson, will accompany the silent film, "Safety Last," starring Harold Lloyd for our closing concert at First Presbyterian Church, Kilgore on Thursday, November 12.

Register today at www.royperryfoundation.org.

HAROLD LLOYD - (1893 – 1971) - was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many silent comedy films.

One of the most influential film comedians of the silent era, Lloyd made nearly 200 comedy films, both silent and talkies, from 1914 to 1947. His bespectacled "glasses character" was a resourceful, ambitious go-getter who reflected the zeitgeist of the 1920s-era United States.

His films frequently contained "thrill sequences" of extended chase scenes and daredevil physical feats. Lloyd, hanging from the hands of a clock high above the street in Safety Last! (1923) is considered one of the more enduring images in cinema.

Meet our 2026 Festival Artists!Clive Driskill-Smith will perform a recital of music by Marcel Dupré and his students as ...
09/01/2026

Meet our 2026 Festival Artists!

Clive Driskill-Smith will perform a recital of music by Marcel Dupré and his students as a follow-up to the talk we will have earlier in the week by Susan Ferré and Ann Labounsky. Clive's program will include music by Demessieux, Dupré, Langlais, and Messiaen, including Langlais' "Meditation" from his Homage to Rameau, which was dedicated to Willian Teague. William Teague was organist at St. Mark's, Shreveport, where Clive will be performing on the 1959 Aeolian-Skinner that Mr. Teague planned in collaboration with Roy Perry and G. Donald Harrison.

For further information on this organ and to register for this year's organ festival, visit our website at www.royperryfoundation.org.

British organist CLIVE DRISKILL-SMITH has enthralled audiences from Beijing to Boston to Budapest with his extraordinary playing and fearless programming. Critics have described his performances as "intensely moving and truly breathtaking" (Organo Pleno, Australia) and praised his "blazing technique and unbelievable virtuosity" (Chiff Chat, American Guild of Organists). His solo recitals and duo performances with GRAMMY award-winning percussionist Joseph Gramley have brought audiences to their feet across the world.

Mr. Driskill-Smith is the Organist at Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas, a post that he combines with an international concert career. During the last few years, he has performed at the National Cathedral in Washington DC, Melbourne Town Hall, Westminster Abbey, the Grand Philharmonic Hall in Perm (Russia), and the National Performing Arts Center in Taipei. He has played at Festivals - such as the BBC Proms, the East Texas Pipe Organ Festival, and National Conventions of the American Guild of Organists - and he has worked with numerous conductors, including Dr. Stephen Darlington, Klaus Tennstedt, and Sir Colin Davis.

In 2004, Clive Driskill-Smith and Joseph Gramley (multi-percussionist and founding member of Yo-Yo Ma's Silkroad Ensemble) formed the duo Organized Rhythm. They play mesmerizing arrangements of orchestral classics, commission new works, record music videos, and captivate audiences with their explosion of energy, sound and musicality.

Mr. Driskill-Smith's performances have been broadcast on the BBC (UK), NHK (Japan), Pipedreams (USA), and on radio and television throughout the world. His CDs have received critical acclaim ("a master performer in a range of musical styles ... his playing is immaculate" Organists' Review; "the technique is brilliant, the interpretation faultless ... a first-class recording" The Organ), and he has recorded albums with Peter Gabriel on Virgin Records, and with Howard Goodall on EMI Classics.

Mr. Driskill-Smith was educated at Eton College, where he was an Oppidan Scholar (an academic award) and a Music Scholar; founded by King Henry VI in 1440, Eton is a school for boys aged thirteen to eighteen, and its alumni include twenty British prime ministers, as well as Princes William and Harry. After Eton, he read Music at Christ Church, Oxford, graduating in 1999 with a Double First (First Class Honors in both examinations), and with the MPhil (Master of Philosophy) degree in 2001; Christ Church is one of Oxford University's thirty-nine colleges, and is famous for its connection with Alice in Wonderland and Harry Potter.

Before learning the organ, Mr. Driskill-Smith played the piano and the bassoon. During his teens, he performed piano concertos by Rachmaninov, Mozart, Shostakovich, and Beethoven, and in 1996 he was awarded the ARCM (Associate of the Royal College of Music) diploma in Piano Performance. He also played the bassoon in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and in the National Youth Chamber Orchestra.

In earlier years, it was easier to get into Oxford if you applied for an organ scholarship, so he started learning the organ at the age of fifteen and was fortunate to be awarded the Christopher Tatton Organ Scholarship at Christ Church. He studied principally with David Sanger, who encouraged him to travel throughout Europe in order to play historic organs and take classes with Marie-Claire Alain, Guy Bovet, Thierry Escaich, Hans Fagius, Andrea Marcon, Luigi Tagliavini, Thomas Trotter, and Harald Vogel. He was awarded the FRCO (Fellow of the Royal College of Organists) diploma in 1998, and went on to win several international competitions, including the Performer of the Year competition in 2000 and the Calgary International Organ Competition in 2002.

From 2001 to 2018, Mr. Driskill-Smith was the organist at Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford, England. He lived in Auden Cottage - once home of the poet W. H. Auden - and worked closely with Dr. Stephen Darlington, director of the world-famous choir. He played for the daily services in the twelfth-century Cathedral and for the choir's many concerts, award-winning recordings, media broadcasts, and tours to China, Japan, Brazil, Jamaica, Bermuda, the USA, France, Germany, and Portugal. He conducted the choir during Dr. Darlington's sabbaticals, and he directed performances of Buxtehude's Membra Jesu Nostri, Handel's Acis and Galatea, Bach's Johannes-Passion, and Britten's Curlew River.

Alongside his work in Oxford, Mr. Driskill-Smith was a Trustee of the Royal College of Organists, and of the Eric Thompson Charitable Trust for Organists and Organ Music. He was also Professor of Organ at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and a Tutor for the Royal College of Organists, and for Oundle for Organists. He has given lectures and masterclasses around the world, most recently at Rice University in Houston, Yonsei University in Seoul, and the University of Pretoria in South Africa.

In 2018, he moved to Fort Worth where he was the Organist & Choirmaster at All Saints’ Episcopal Church for seven years. During this time, he was Sub-Dean of the Fort Worth Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and a member of the Steering Committee for the AGO 2025 Fort Worth convention. He is also a member of the Association of Anglican Musicians and the Organ Historical Society.

In England, he is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Musicians, one of the ancient Livery Companies which evolved from London's medieval guilds. The Company awarded him the Silver Medal in 1998, and the W. T. Best Scholarship in 2002. As a Liveryman and a Freeman of the City of London, he is allowed to take sheep across London Bridge - a right he has not yet exercised!

Clive Driskill-Smith is represented in North America exclusively by
Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists, LLC.

Meet our 2026 Festival ArtistsJeremy Filsell will be performing a solo organ recital on the magnificent 1959 Aeolian-Ski...
08/27/2026

Meet our 2026 Festival Artists

Jeremy Filsell will be performing a solo organ recital on the magnificent 1959 Aeolian-Skinner at St. Mark's Cathedral, Shreveport, Louisiana on Thursday, November 12. His program is from 20th Century American composers: George Baker, Charles Callahan, Gerre Hancock, Gerald Near, and Leo Sowerby.

Register today at www.royperryfoundation.org

JEREMY FILSELL is Director of Music and Organist of Christ Episcopal Church in Bradenton, Florida, a post he assumed in August 2025.

He is one of only a few virtuoso performers as both pianist and organist. He has appeared as a solo pianist in Russia, Scandinavia, New Zealand and Australia and throughout the USA and UK. His concerto repertoire encompasses Bach, Mozart and Beethoven through to Shostakovich, John Ireland, Constant Lambert and the Rachmaninov cycle. He has recorded the solo piano music of Herbert Howells, Bernard Stevens, Eugène Goossens and Johann Christoph Eschmann and recent releases include discs of Rachmaninov’s solo piano music (Signum), the first two Rachmaninov Concerti (Raven) and the piano music of Francis Pott (Acis). He was featured in recital at the 2023 national convention of the Association of Anglican Musicians in Dallas.

Dr. Filsell is on the international roster of Steinway Piano Artists and has recorded for BBC Radio 3, USA, and Scandinavian radio networks in solo and concerto roles. His discography comprises more than 35 solo recordings. Gramophone magazine commented on the series of 12 CDs comprising the premiere recordings of Marcel Dupré’s complete organ works for Guild in 2000 that it was “one of the greatest achievements in organ recording.” In 2005, Signum released a three-disc set of the six organ symphonies of Louis Vierne, recorded on the 1890 Cavaillé-Coll organ in St. Ouen, Rouen. He has taught at universities, summer schools, and conventions in both the UK and USA and has served on international competition juries in England and Switzerland.

As a teenager, Jeremy Filsell was a Limpus, Shinn, and Durrant prize winner for FRCO and was awarded the Silver Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians. As a student of Nicolas Kynaston and Daniel Roth, he studied as an Organ Scholar at Keble College, Oxford before completing graduate studies in piano performance with David Parkhouse and Hilary McNamara at the Royal College of Music in London. His PhD in Musicology from Birmingham City University/Conservatoire was awarded for research involving aesthetic and interpretative issues in the music of Marcel Dupré. Before moving to the USA in 2008, he held Academic and Performance lectureships at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and was a lay clerk in the Queen’s choir at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

Over the years, his career combined an international recital and teaching career with being director of music at The Church of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Washington DC, Artist-in-residence at Washington National Cathedral, and Professor of Organ at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. From 2019 to 2025, he was Organist and Director of Music at St. Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue, following in the footsteps of illustrious predecessors Gerre Hancock, John Scott, and
Daniel Hyde.

Jeremy Filsell is represented in North America exclusively by Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists, LLC.

Meet our 2026 Festival Artists:Hector Olivera will be performing a recital for us on the 1951 G. Donald Signature Aeolia...
08/23/2026

Meet our 2026 Festival Artists:

Hector Olivera will be performing a recital for us on the 1951 G. Donald Signature Aeolian-Skinner, Opus 1174 at First Baptist Church, Longview, Texas on Tuesday, November 10 for our East Texas Pipe Organ Festival.

Register today at:

royperryfoundation.org

Maestro HECTOR OLIVERA is a passionate, gifted, and unique musician whose personal interpretations of both classical and popular music have amazed and delighted audiences around the world.

“The Times Reporter” describes an evening with Hector Olivera as: “An event, a happening, a joyful celebration of the sheer power and pressure that a true virtuoso like Hector Olivera can unleash in a concert hall.”

Born in Buenos Aires, Mr. Olivera’s first teacher (who was his father) encouraged him to begin playing the pipe organ when he was three. Two years later, he was appointed Church of the Immaculate Conception organist. At age five, he played for the legendary Eva Perón. At six, he entered the Buenos Aires Conservatory to study harmony, counterpoint, and fugue. By age nine, he had composed a suite for oboe and string orchestra, performed by the Buenos Aires Symphony Orchestra.

At age twelve, Mr. Olivera entered the University of Buenos Aires, where he studied with Hector Zeoli and Juan Francisco Giacobbe. By eighteen, he had performed more than three hundred concerts throughout Latin America, appearing frequently on Argentinean radio and television. During this time, he also served as the senior improvisational accompanist for the Collegium Musicum in Buenos Aires, vastly increasing his prodigious improvisational talent.

In 1965, New York’s prestigious Juilliard School of Music offered him a scholarship. He immediately moved to the United States to study with Vernon de Tar and Bronson Reagan. Three years later, Mr. Olivera won the National Improvisation Contest sponsored by the American Guild of Organists, launching his outstanding professional concert career.

In 1988, after years of performing in the United States, Maestro Olivera was invited to play again in Argentina. Upon arriving, he was welcomed as a national hero with “Standing Room Only” concerts attended by celebrities and heads of state, and he was featured on national radio and television shows.

Throughout his concert career, Mr. Olivera has performed in prestigious venues including the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, Carnegie Hall in New York, Royal Albert Hall in London, Spivey Hall in Atlanta, Constitution Hall in Washington D.C, the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Myerson Concert Hall in Dallas, Verizon Hall in Philadelphia, Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Sydney Town Hall, Melbourne Town Hall and Brisbane City Hall in Australia.

In addition to his solo concerts, Mr. Olivera has performed as a guest soloist with orchestras worldwide, including the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Fort Wayne Symphony, the Dover-New Philadelphia Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Amsterdam Baroque Ensemble, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the Pasadena Symphony. Composer Robert Vandall described Mr. Olivera’s performance with the Tuscarawas Philharmonic as “an opportunity to hear and see greatness.”

His collaboration with the Pasadena Symphony produced a ‘Limited Edition Gold CD’ featuring Mr. Olivera in the Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3.

In 1992, Mr. Olivera was a guest artist at the American Guild of Organists convention at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, performing the world premiere of a commissioned work written by William Albright. Later, from this same stage, Olivera performed on Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion,” according to Keillor, he “literally stopped the show!”

In 1996, in celebration of the Olympic games, Mr. Olivera was given the honor to perform a solo concert at Spivey Hall, Atlanta for which he received multiple standing ovations. The ‘Atlanta Journal Constitution’ wrote: “Olivera swept the audience with absolute Olympic virtuosity, and that still doesn’t say it…. Hector Olivera is in a class by himself.”

In 2000, Mr. Olivera performed a solo memorial concert in New York City’s “St. Paul the Apostle” as a tribute to the legendary organist Virgil Fox. He played a subsequent Virgil Fox Memorial Concert at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, in 2004.
In 2002, Mr. Olivera was invited again to perform for the American Guild of Organists National Convention, where his transcription of Stravinsky’s “Firebird Suite” spontaneously brought a large audience of peers to their feet. Again, in 2004, his appearance before the Guild’s National Convention in Los Angeles was considered a historic triumph by 2,200 cheering organists, who gave him four standing ovations in 45 minutes.

By popular demand, Hector Olivera performed regularly at the celebrated Newport Classical Music Festival. The “Providence Journal” acclaimed: “Organist Hector Olivera brought the Newport Music Festival to a spectacular close.”

By invitation, Mr. Olivera performed a solo concert attended by an audience of 5,000 at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on August 12, 2007. “Mr. Olivera… sublime improvisations indeed, “quoted Olivier Latry, organist at Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris.

In 2010, Mr. Olivera’s magnificent recital at the renowned Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles moved an enthusiastic audience to its feet. The ‘Pasadena Star’ wrote: “Olivera began winsomely but gradually morphed into a gigantic mass of sound with elements of Messiaen, Vierne, and others folded in, including a reprise of the Bach Passacaglia and Fugue from the first half. The audience was on its collective feet at the end, deservedly…. No encores were played… or needed.”

In 2014, Mr. Olivera was invited to perform at the Grand Hong Kong Cultural Center Concert Hall and the magnificent Shenzhen Concert Hall in China.
In 2016, Maestro Olivera toured Australia, where he brought the house down at the glorious Sydney Town Hall, the resplendent Melbourne Town Hall, and the stunning Brisbane City Hall.

Once again, in 2023, Maestro Olivera was invited to perform at the prestigious Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, receiving standing ovations and rave reviews.
Maestro Hector Olivera received the prestigious “Delta Omicron Gold Crest,” awarded to musicians with an outstanding musical career and international renown.
Mr. Olivera continues to thrill audiences with solo classical and orchestral compositions, now released on DVD and over 20 classical, contemporary, and film score CDs.

Most famous for his prodigious technical proficiency and charismatic stage presence, Mr. Olivera’s amazing effect on audiences has made many of the most sophisticated and demanding organ aficionados claim that Maestro Hector Olivera is “one of the greatest organists in the world today.”

Meet our 2026 ArtistsSusan Ferré and Ann Labounsky will present a PowerPoint Lecture/Recital for entitled "Tales from th...
08/20/2026

Meet our 2026 Artists

Susan Ferré and Ann Labounsky will present a PowerPoint Lecture/Recital for entitled "Tales from the Tours: Remembrances of Jean Langlais' American Tours" on Monday, November 9 at St. Luke's Methodist Church, Kilgore.

Register today for our 2026 festival at royperryfoundation.org

César Franck at 200

What do we know about the performance practice of the organ music of César Franck? Is there one correct interpretation? Both Labounsky and Ferré have studied the complete organ works of César Franck with Jean Langlais at Sainte-Clotilde during the 1960s and provide first-hand accounts of his performance practice. Langlais was part of a continuum of interpretation through his teachers at INJA in Paris, his study with Marchal and later with Tournemire. This style of interpretation was directly opposed to the Dupré’s style. In what ways did they differ? Was there a common denominator in interpretation in this style? How did the organs affect the interpretation? Other issues include tempi, repeated notes, registration, acoustics, adapting to American organs, levels of musical and technical difficulty, editions, recordings, and errata in the scores. Participants will receive handouts with historical background, errata, and how Franck composed.

Our study with Jean Langlais

Labounsky studied organ and improvisation with Jean Langlais from 1962-1964 under a Fulbright grant and subsequently recorded his entire opus of organ music. She also wrote a biography of the composer “Jean Langlais: the Man and His Music” as well as a video of his life based on the. Ferré studied with Langlais in Paris in the summer of 1964, and again on a Fulbright Scholarship in 1968-69. Both artists were guides of Langlais during his American tours in 1964 and 1967, respectively and both studied with Dupré. As contrasted with understanding Franck’s style of interpretation through a continuum of interpretation, these two artists have first-hand knowledge of Langlais’ style and life from study with him. Both artists studied with him at the Schola Cantorum in Paris as well as at Sainte-Clotilde. Detailed handouts will be given to the participants.

We've just about got our final schedule in place for this year's East Texas Pipe Organ Festival, November 8-12 in Kilgor...
08/18/2026

We've just about got our final schedule in place for this year's East Texas Pipe Organ Festival, November 8-12 in Kilgore, Longview, and Shreveport.

Register today at www.royperryfoundation.org

We are receiving programs from our artists, and they are dazzling!

Edward Landin Senn is a newcomer to our roster! He will be performing for us on Wednesday, November 11, at St. Luke's Methodist Church, Kilgore. His program includes music by two Bachs, Decker (a newly commissioned "Chaconne and Fugue" - commissioned by Edward, himself), Dickinson, Franck, Karg-Elert, Mendelssohn, and Widor.

EDWARD LANDIN SENN began his intensive musical training at the St. Thomas Choir School in New York City under the direction of Gerre and Judith Hancock. He continued his studies at Interlochen Arts Academy, where he studied organ with Thomas Bara, and later earned a Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance from Westminster Choir College. At Westminster, he studied organ with Ken Cowan and harpsichord with Kathleen Scheide.

From 2013 to 2025, Edward served as Assistant Director of Music at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church in Bryn Mawr, PA. His previous church appointments include Christ Church United Methodist (New York City), St. Peter’s Episcopal Church (Morristown, NJ), and Grace Epiphany Episcopal Church (Philadelphia, PA).

Edward has performed in recital throughout the United States and internationally in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, and Wales. A passionate advocate for new music, he has commissioned works from composers including Carson Cooman, Pamela Decker, and Craig Phillips.

He currently works for the Organ Historical Society, based in Villanova, PA, and remains active as a freelance musician, performing on organ and piano, and composing on commission.

Visit our page at Bandcamp https://easttexaspipeorganfestival.bandcamp.com/to stream and download our fabulous recording...
06/25/2026

Visit our page at Bandcamp https://easttexaspipeorganfestival.bandcamp.com/

to stream and download our fabulous recordings of Perriola Aeolian-Skinners.

We've just added an album on the Perriolas at St. Mark's, Shreveport, and First Presbyterian, Kilgore of music by Mr. Perry's friends, Richard Purvis, Charles Callahan, and Leo Sowerby.

The East Texas Pipe Organ Festival was established in 2011 to honor the life and work of Roy Perry (190601978). The festival holds an annual pipe organ conference based in Kilgore, Texas, and produces recordings of Aeolian-Skinner pipe organs. For more information, visit our website at www.easttexas...

We have just uploaded Alcee Chriss' recital on the 1959 Aeolian-Skinner at St. Mark's Cathedral, recorded during our 202...
05/14/2026

We have just uploaded Alcee Chriss' recital on the 1959 Aeolian-Skinner at St. Mark's Cathedral, recorded during our 2025 East Texas Pipe Organ Festival by our own Bart Ghent.

https://youtu.be/l5hIuLQKz8U

EAST TEXAS PIPE ORGAN FESTIVAL

ST. MARK’S CATHEDRAL
SHREVEPORT, LA
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2025
3:00 P.M.

ALCÉE CHRISS, III, ORGANIST

PROGRAM

Toccata in D Minor, BWV 913 Johann Sebastian Bach
I. Presto (1685-1750)
II. Thema

Entrée de Polymnie, from Les Boréades Jean-Philippe Rameau
(1683-1764)

12 Pièces pour orgue, Op. 18 Alexandre Pierre Françoise Boëly
Fantasy and Fugue in B-flat Major (1789-1858)

Mazeppa, Symphonic Poem No. 6, S. 100 Franz Liszt
III. Allegro (1811-1886)
Arr. Alcée Chriss, III/Rashaan Allwood

Improvisation on American Gospel Tunes Alcée Chriss, III
(b. 1992)

Symphony No. 2, Op. 26 Marcel Dupré
Preludio (1886-1971)

Scherzo Gaston Litaize
(1909-1991)

Fantasy and Fugue on B-A-C-H, Op. 46 Max Reger
(1873-1916)

________________________________________________________________________
EXCLUSIVE MANAGEMENT: Karen McFarlane Artists, Inc. concertorganists.com

A featured star in the PBS documentary Pipe Dreams (2019), ALCÉE CHRISS, III is an organist and keyboardist from Fort Worth, TX. Dr. Chriss is the winner of the 2017 Canadian International Organ Competition and the Firmin Swinnen Silver Medal at the 2016 Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition. He has been celebrated for his “grace, skill and abundant proficiency” by the Journal Assist News, Albuquerque. And of his most recent solo recording at Montreal Symphony Hall, Art et Rhapsodie (2019), the American Record Guide wrote that “he plays with clarity, imagination, musicality, virtuosity, and yes, personality.”

Dr. Chriss has performed throughout North America and Europe. Recent and upcoming performances include the International Orgelsommer (Stuttgart, Germany), Stockholm City Hall (Sweden), and as soloist with the Montreal Symphony in a performance of Copland’s Symphony for Organ and Orchestra. Other engagements include the Princeton University Chapel, Spreckels Organ Pavilion and International Organ Summer Karlsruhe, Germany. In July 2022 he was a featured performer at the national convention of the American Guild of Organists, held in Seattle, WA.

In July 2019, Dr. Chriss was appointed as University Organist and Artist-in-Residence at Wesleyan University, where he teaches courses in organ and keyboard skills. In October 2019, he was awarded his Doctorate of Music degree from McGill University, where he studied with Hans-Ola Ericsson. He previously studied at Oberlin Conservatory of Music where he received his Master’s degree in historical keyboard and a Bachelor’s degree in Organ Performance, studying with Olivier Latry, Marie-Louise Langlais, and James David Christie.

Dr. Chriss is active as a church musician, guest lecturer, and remains engaged with his lifelong love of gospel and jazz music. He is currently Assistant Organist at Trinity Church Wall Street, New York City, and serves on the editorial board of Vox Humana magazine.

1959 Aeolian-Skinner, Opus 1308
The O’Ferrall Memorial Organ

Honoring the Life and Work of Roy Perry (1906-1978) Festival InfoContribute 3 The East Texas Pipe Organ Festival Contact us by email at [email protected] Festival Info ContactThe Roy Perry FoundationThe Roy Perry American Classic Organ Foundation was established for the purpo...

One of our favorite Aeolian-Skinner artists to play for the organ festival is Scott Dettra.  We always say to Scott, "We...
04/13/2026

One of our favorite Aeolian-Skinner artists to play for the organ festival is Scott Dettra. We always say to Scott, "We'll take you whenever we can get you."

We've just uploaded Scott's fabulous recital for us as the closing recital of our 2025 East Texas Pipe Organ Festival onto YouTube. Scott played our flagship organ, the 1949 Aeolian-Skinner, Opus 1173, at First Presbyterian Church, Kilgore, Texas.

This year's festival is set for November 8-12, and features your favorite Aeolian-Skinner artists (well, the ones that are still living...).

Register today at www.royperryfoundation.org

Click on the link below to watch Scott Dettra in action in Kilgore, recorded by our own Bart Ghent.

https://studio.youtube.com/video/RWflgPBaahQ/edit

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112 S. Rusk Street
Kilgore, TX
75662

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