Organist Gail Archer to Perform at John and Alice Butler Pipe Organ Recital Series

DUBUQUE, Iowa - Organist Gail Archer, DMA, will perform the opening concert of the fourth annual John and Alice Butler Pipe Organ Recital Series at 3:00 p.m. Sunday, September 22, 2024, in John and Alice Butler Hall, Heritage Center, University of Dubuque. The recital will kick off the 12th annual Live at Heritage Center Performing Arts Series.

Archer will perform music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Franz Listz, and others.

An international organist, recording artist, choral conductor, and lecturer, Archer is known for drawing attention to composer anniversaries or musical themes with her annual recital series in New York City including A Slavic Celebration, Max Reger, The Muse's Voice, An American Idyll, and more. She also was the first American woman to play the complete works of Olivier Messiaen for the centennial of the composer's birth in 2008. Archer's recordings include her 2022 Polish release, Cantius, and Chernivsti, A Russian Journey, Frank Liszt: A Hungarian Rhapsody, Bach: The Transcendent Genius, A Mystic in the Making (Meyer Media), and The Orpheus of Amsterdam: Sweelinck and his Pupils (CALA Records).

Archer's 2024 European tour took her to Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Norway, Sweden, Poland, Germany, France, Italy, and the island of Menorca. Tour highlights include the Frauenkirche in Dresden, Germany, the Cathedral of Saint Mary in Alghero, Sardegna, the Collegiale di Notre Dame in Mantes-la-Jolie, France, the Bragernes Kirke in Drammen, Norway, and the Church of St Francis in Castelbuono, Sicily. The remarkable organ in the Church of St Francis, built in 1547 by Francesco Oliveri, is one of the oldest extant organs in Europe.

Archer is the founder of Musforum, an international network for women organists to promote and affirm their work. She is a college organist at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, the director of the music program at Barnard College, Columbia University in New York, New York, where she conducts the Barnard-Columbia Chorus and Chamber Singers, and a faculty member at the Harriman Institute, Columbia University in New York, New York. Archer also is the artistic director of the artist and young artist recital series at historic Central Synagogue in New York, New York.

The John and Alice Butler Pipe Organ was dedicated in May 2021 and has 3,033 pipes. The pipe organ has enhanced campus events and been utilized as a practice and recital instrument. UD Trustee John Butler (DHL'17) and his spouse, Alice (DHL'17), gifted the instrument. Dobson Pipe Organ Builders built and installed the pipe organ - the 97th new organ built by the firm.

Tickets may be purchased now! Stop by the Farber Box Office, Heritage Center, 2255 Bennett Street; call 563.585.7469; or visit www.dbq.edu/HeritageCenter to purchase tickets. The box office is open from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 90 minutes prior to events.

Patrons are encouraged to purchase tickets online for reduced ticket handling fees.

The Heritage Performing Arts Loyalty System (H-PALS) allows patrons to earn rewards with most ticket purchases. For every $200 spent on eligible events, patrons will receive one free ticket (valued up to $50) to their choice of eligible event. Reward points are redeemable for Live at Heritage Center Performing Arts Series events only. Visit www.dbq.edu/HeritageCenter for more details.