Organ Study at PLU
Organ study is alive and well at PLU. In addition to weekly organ lessons, organ students have a weekly organ seminar, many performance opportunities both as soloist and accompanist, and are supported in finding a church position in the area if they so desire. Most lessons are taught on the Gottfried and Mary Fuchs Organ, an internationally-acclaimed instrument built by Paul Fritts and Co. It is a mechanical-action (“tracker”) instrument in a beautiful hall with superb acoustics. The key action is very sensitive and responsive, making the instrument the best teacher one can wish for. In addition, students have access to instruments built by Bosch, Schlicker, and Olympic Organ Co., as well as a recently restored 1890 Kilgen organ located across the street from campus at Trinity Lutheran Church.
Organ students study with University Organist and Paul Fritts Endowed Chair in Organ Studies and Performance Justin J. Murphy-Mancini. For more information about Jay, please visit his faculty page by clicking here.
Other learning possibilities include J-Term trips to the Netherlands and Germany as well as free attendance to the organ concert series that are held every academic year.
PLU is located just minutes from Tacoma’s bustling arts scene, about 40 minutes from downtown Seattle, and about one hour from Mount Rainier National Park. It is a school of about 3,100 students, of whom nearly 600 participate in some way in music programs and ensembles. We offer many experiences that are open to all students: large ensembles such as band, choir, jazz and orchestra, plus smaller ensembles for guitar, percussion, piano and chamber groups. For those who want to focus their studies in music, we offer degrees in performance, education, composition and the liberal arts. Our graduates have gone on to become highly successful music educators, opera singers, singer-songwriters, orchestra and chamber musicians, conductors, and even actors and reality television hosts. No matter what your field of study, there’s a place for you in our music community. Please check out the many avenues of music study available to you at PLU by visiting the main music page.
We offer music scholarships to prospective majors and non-majors alike that are stacked on top of other merit awards. Scholarship auditions are held in February. These awards are renewable for up to three additional years provided all scholarship requirements are met.
With so many opportunities for learning and performing, PLU provides an excellent environment for the best in undergraduate Organ studies.