|
|
Bradley Hunter Welch
concert organist
First Place and Prize of the Audience Winner
most recent Dallas International Organ Competition
"ORGANIST BRADLEY WELCH DRAWS RADIANCE AND LUSTER FROM INSTRUMENT: Negotiated [the] instrument with astonishing ease and spoke about the music with engaging insight. An expert at defining darks, lights, shadows and colors, Welch set an ominous tone to begin Bach's Prelude and Fugue in A minor, but it didn't take long to blossom into full radiance....transformed this [Guilmant] music from bombast to great music." (Michael Huebner, Birmingham News, AL, 25 November 2007)
"A world-class virtuoso. A breathtaking performance...intensely moving."
(The American Organist)
"Visceral Excitement...consistently the most compelling player (in the competition)...he played with unmatched assurance and élan."
(Dallas Morning News, 2003)
"Clearly created the most excitement (in the competition)...there was a welcome naturalness in his playing, an effortless grace." (Dallas Morning News, 2000)
A native of Knoxville, TN, Bradley Hunter Welch began playing the piano at age 10 and organ at age 13. Bradley attended Baylor University in Waco, TX and studied organ with Joyce Jones and piano with Jane Abbott-Kirk. In May 1997, he received the Bachelor of Music degree magna cum laude in Organ Performance as well as winning the Dean's Award for Outstanding Performance.
After Baylor, Bradley continued his studies at Yale University where he studied with Thomas Murray and Martin Jean. In May 1999, he completed his Master of Music degree in Organ Performance at the Yale University School of Music/Institute of Sacred Music. Bradley then continued at Yale to earn the Artist Diploma in May 2000, at which time he was awarded the Horatio Parker Memorial Prize, the most prestigious prize awarded by the Yale faculty. In May 2001, he completed the Master of Musical Arts degree, and in 2007 he was awarded Yale's Doctor of Musical Arts degree. During his time at Yale, he also received the Robert Baker Prize (given to an incoming organ student who is deemed to be in the top 1-2% of the nation's young organists), the Charles Ives Prize, and the Yale School of Music Alumni Association Prize.
In addition to his studies, Bradley has competed in several competitions. He won First Place in the Undergraduate Division of the 1994 William Hall Organ Competition in San Antonio, TX. In 1995, Bradley was a National Finalist in the Organ Division of the Music Teachers National Association Competition. In July of that same year, he won First Place in the American Guild of Organists Region VII Competition for Young Organists. He is the 2003 First Place winner of the Dallas International Organ Competition and was also awarded the Audience Prize for the second time, having previously won it in 2000. In 2005 he was a featured artist at three regional conventions of The American Guild of Organists, and he made his European debut in France performing in the Chartres Festival.
He is Artist-in-Residence at Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, TX.
"To invoke an old Southern expression, Bradley Hunter Welch plays the organ like nobody's business. Between the virtuosity of the playing and the easy going spoken commentary, he also proved that 'entertainer' and 'organist' needn't be mutually exclusive. It would be hard to play Widor any better than this....splendidly idiomatic and communicative." (Dallas Morning News, 2004)
"A spectacular solo program...sensitive, well-balanced performances of the two required concerti both beautifully registered and delivered with requisite
virtuosity as well as deep musical insight....a powerhouse organist with considerable communicative skills...the subtlest and most consistent player
among the contestants." (The Diapason)
click here for more reviews
|
|
|
