By Joan C. McKinney, news and publications coordinator
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. - Clif Cason, director of music ministry at Maxwell Street Presbyterian Church in Lexington, will be the Noontime Organ Series performer at Campbellsville University Tuesday, Nov. 11, at Ransdell Chapel.
Cason, who has served at Maxwell Street Presbyterian for over 20 years, will play organ at the Tuesday Noontime Organ Recital Series which features the 1894 Farrand and Votey pipe organ organ in the chapel, according to Dr. Wesley Roberts, professor of music.
The program will be approximately 30 minutes in length beginning at 12:05 p.m. and ending at 12:35 p.m.
Roberts said the series is designed to “provide an opportunity for those in the community to hear outstanding organists and our prized instrument in short concert programs during their lunch break.”
Cason, a Lexington native, has two degrees in organ performance, a bachelor in music from the University of Kentucky in 1977 and a master in music from the University of Illinois in 1979.
His teachers have included Arnold Blackburn, Richard Dwyer and Jerald Hamilton. Additional organ studies have been with Marie-Claire Alain at the Conservatoire National de Musique de Rueil-Malmison, France, where he was awarded the Premier Prix in 1980, and post-graduate studies with Larry Smith at Indiana University (1988-1989).
Cason has served several churches as choir director and/or organist. Major choral works directed by Cason include Bach cantatas No. 4, Christ lag in Todesbanden, No. 61, Nun komm der Heiden Heiland, No. 106, Gottes Zeit ist die Allerbest Zeit, No. 172, Erschallet, ihr Lieder and the motet Jesu Meine Freude, Britten's Ceremony of Carols and Rejoice in the Lamb, Dubois' The Seven Last Words, the Durufle Requiem, Handel's Messiah, Mozart's Requiem, the Magnificat by Pergolesi, Pinkham's Christmas Cantata, Saint-Saens' Christmas Oratorio, and Schutz's Christmas Story.
Cason was married in July 1982 to Shari Senft. They have three children, Claire, Bradley and Holly.
In describing the history of the organ, Roberts said the instrument has played a significant historical role in church music and has generally been the leading instrument for congregation singing in recent centuries.
“Our rebuilt and refurbished 1894 Farrand and Votey pipe organ in Ransdell Chapel is a prized possession which was used for over a century in Christ Church Cathedral in Nashville and is now used on campus for chapel service, special events and concerts in Ransdell Chapel,” he said.
It is a 51-rank, three-manual instrument with over 3,000 pipes. It was installed at Campbellsville University in early 2007 in time for the dedication of the Ransdell Chapel April 18, 2007.
The organ was formally dedicated in a recital by Nevalyn Moore, assistant professor of music at CU, who retired in May.
Each organ recital is open to the public at no charge.
For more information, contact the School of Music at (270) 789-5237 or music@campbellsville.edu.
Campbellsville University is a private, comprehensive institution located in South Central Kentucky. Founded in 1906, Campbellsville University is affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention and has an enrollment of 2,601 students who represent 93 Kentucky counties, 27 states and 31 foreign nations. Listed in U.S.News & World Report's 2009 “America's Best Colleges,” CU is ranked 22nd in “Best Baccalaureate Colleges” in the South for the second consecutive year. CU has been ranked 16 consecutive years with U.S.News & World Report. The university has also been named to America's Best Christian Colleges®. Campbellsville University is located 82 miles southwest of Lexington, Ky., and 80 miles southeast of Louisville, Ky. Dr. Michael V. Carter is in his tenth year as president.