The Southern Nevada Chapter of the American Guild of Organists presents international organ sensation Richard Elliott in a free concert at 4 PM on Sunday, September 22. Dr. Elliott will perform on Nevada’s largest pipe organ, the 54 rank Schantz, at Christ Church Episcopal in Las Vegas. Richard Elliott is the Principal Organist for The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Participation in the free Saturday morning workshop is open to organists and church musicians of all ages and abilities. The workshop will be held on the same organ Dr. Elliott will perform on Sunday afternoon and will run from 9:30 AM to 11 AM. For more information on the workshop, please contact Dr. William Freeman, Dean, at wfreeman@gaclv.org or Mrs. Laurie Swain, Workshops Coordinator, at laurietswain@gmail.com.
Join Us Sunday Afternoon
The 2024-2025 Paul S. Hesselink Concert Series kicks off with internationally acclaimed organist Richard Elliott on Nevada’s largest pipe organ, the 54 rank Opus 2294 from Schantz. To learn more about the organ, please click here.
About the Artist
Richard Elliott is the Principal Organist for The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. For the past 33 years he has accompanied the choir on its weekly radio and TV broadcast, “Music and the Spoken Word,” as well as in general conferences of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, on dozens of CDs and DVDs, and in the choir’s annual Christmas concerts, which are broadcast each year on PBS. As accompanist for the Tabernacle Choir, he has performed in many of the world’s great halls and appeared on numerous TV and radio programs, including the NBC “Today Show,” the “CBS Morning Show,” “A Prairie Home Companion,” and the nationally syndicated “Pipedreams” radio program. In his work with the choir, Dr. Elliott has collaborated with many guest artists including Andrea Bocelli, the Canadian Brass, Kristin Chenoweth, Renée Fleming, Evelyn Glennie, the King’s Singers, the Sesame Street Muppets, Robert Shaw, James Taylor, and Bryn Terfel.
He also has a busy solo career, having given thousands of organ concerts on Temple Square as well as numerous performances on five continents. He appears on seven organ CDs and is a published composer and arranger of music for organ, choir, and orchestra. In June 2022, Dr. Elliott was awarded the Governor’s Mansion Arts Award by Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox and First Lady Abby Cox. The annual award recognizes Utah artists who have a positive impact on the arts and their communities. A Fellow of the American Guild of Organists, Dr. Elliott has been a featured performer at national and regional conventions of the guild.
Before becoming a Tabernacle organist in 1991, Dr. Elliott was an assistant professor of organ at Brigham Young University, and for several years he served as assistant organist at the John Wanamaker Department Store (now Macy’s) in Philadelphia, home to the world’s largest fully functioning pipe organ. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, he received his early musical training at the Peabody Conservatory. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in organ from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and MM and DMA degrees from the Eastman School of Music. His organ teachers have included David Craighead, Marjorie Jovanovic, Dale Krider, William Watkins, and John Weaver.
For more information on the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, visit www.thetabernaclechoir.org.