Robert Bates, professor of organ at the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston, has been appointed Fellow of the Yale Institute of Sacred Music and Senior Research Scholar at Yale University for the 2012–13 academic year. During the year he will complete a ten-year research project culminating in a book about the history of the organ of the French Renaissance based on legal documents held in French national and departmental archives.
Bates also continues his active concert career this fall. Recitals include a program of American organ music at Cornell University on September 22, and a performance of Bach’s Clavier-Übung III for the EROI Festival at the Eastman School of Music on September 30. In addition, he will perform a concert on the Pasi organ at Trinity Episcopal Church in Solebury, Pennsylvania in October.
During the past several years, Dr. Bates has been active in the development of the organ culture of the Houston area. He was consultant for two major organ projects in the city: Paul Fritts and Company’s Op. 29 at St. Philip Presbyterian Church (III/P, 48 stops) and Pasi Organ Builders’ Op. 19 at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart (IV/P, 78 stops). He served as co-chair (with Matthew Dirst) of the Westfield Conference, “Historical Eclecticism,” held in Houston April 12–14. He also serves as chair of the performance committee for the Houston 2016 AGO convention. (During his time at Yale University, Phillip Kloeckner will take over as committee chair.)
Daryl Robinson, who completed his Bachelor of Music degree in organ with Robert Bates at the University of Houston in 2011, won both the first prize and the audience prize in the AGO National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance, held in Nashville on July 1. Robert Bates is represented by the Penny Lorenz Artist Management, www.organists.net.
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