Marilyn Keiser - The Music of Dan Locklair

Today we wanted to share some more information about the wonderful organist, Marilyn Keiser featured on our new release The Music of Dan Locklair.

Marilyn Keiser:

A native of Springfield, Illinois, Marilyn Keiser began her organ study with Franklin Perkins, then attended Illinois Wesleyan University where she studied with Lillian McCord, graduating with a Bachelor of Sacred Music degree. Dr. Keiser entered the School of Sacred Music at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where she studied organ with Alec Wyton and graduated summa cum laude in 1965 with a Master of Sacred Music degree. She earned her Doctor of Sacred music degree from Union Seminary in 1977.

Upon graduation from Union Seminary, Dr. Keiser became Assistant Organist at the Riverside Church in New York City, and one year later was appointed Associate Organist/Choirmaster of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, a position she held from 1966-1970.

In constant demand as an organ recitalist and workshop leader, Dr. Keiser has appeared throughout the United States in concerts sponsored by churches, colleges, and chapters of The American Guild of Organists. An active member of the AGO, Dr. Keiser has served as National Registrar, dean of the Western North Carolina Chapter, and as a member of the National Nominating Committee and the Committee on Professional Education. She holds the Associate, Fellow, and Choirmaster certifications from the Guild. She has been a featured artist for regional conventions of the AGO as well as for national conventions in Dallas and Washington DC, where she played with orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and in Detroit, where she appeared with the Detroit Symphony. In addition, she has appeared as featured artist for the International Congress of Organists in Cambridge, England, in concert at the Royal Victoria Hall with the Singapore Symphony, at the American Cathedral in Paris, the Southern Cathedrals Festival in Winchester, England, and the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil.

A virtuoso concert organist, Marilyn Keiser has performed across the United States. In addition, she has given lectures and workshops in church music for all of the major denominations, specializing in music for small churches. She has been president of the Association of Anglican Musicians, a contributing editor to the hymnal Ecumenical Praise, has served on the Episcopal Church's Standing Commission on Church Music, and was a consultant to the Hymn Music Committee for the Episcopal Hymnal 1982. Dr. Keiser is past-Chairman of the Worship and Music Commission for the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis and is Director of Music at Trinity Episcopal Church in Bloomington. She is also the author of a publication in the Church Hymnal Teaching Series entitled Teaching Music in Small Churches. Dr. Keiser has been heard in performance on radio broadcasts throughout the United States, and has made several recordings, available from Pro Organo CDs and the Organ Historical Society.

Dr. Keiser is a member of Phi Kappa Phi and Alpha Lamba Delta national honor societies. She is also a national honorary member of Sigma Alpha Iota, a national professional music fraternity. In May of 1995, she was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris causa, from Virginia Theological Seminary, and has also had the Doctor of Humane Letters degree conferred upon her by Illinois Wesleyan University.

Marilyn Keiser retired in 2008 following twenty-five years of service to Indiana University. As Chancellor's Professor of Music in the Jacobs School of Music, she taught applied organ and courses in the church music curriculum. Prior to her appointment at Indiana University, Dr. Keiser was Organist and Director of Music at All Souls Parish in Asheville, NC, and music consultant for the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina, holding both positions from 1970-1983.

Make sure to listen to Marilyn Keiser on The Music of Dan Locklair from Loft Recordings