Thomas Bara to present organ recital at Goshen College on Jan. 25

Concert: Organ Recital Series – Thomas Bara
Date and time: Sunday, Jan. 25 at 4 p.m.
Location: Rieth Recital Hall, Goshen College Music Center
Cost: $7 adults, $5 seniors/students, available at the door only one hour before the recital. GC students free with ID.

GOSHEN, Ind. – Organ instructor Thomas Bara will present a recital on Sunday, Jan. 25 at 4 p.m. in Goshen College Music Center's Rieth Recital Hall.

Bara is an instructor of organ and class piano at the Interlochen Arts Academy and Arts Camp, Interlochen, Mich., and is choirmaster at Central United Methodist Church, Traverse City, Mich. He arrived at Interlochen from Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, New York City, where he worked as assistant organist under Gerre Hancock. Prior to his appointment to Saint Thomas, Bara held positions as organist-choirmaster and fine arts chair at the Saint James School, Saint James, Md., and director of music ministries and organist at Bethany Presbyterian Church, Rochester, N.Y.

A graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy, Bara trained at the University of Michigan and the Eastman School of Music and was organ scholar at Saint Thomas Church and the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City. At Eastman, he received the prestigious performance certificate and the first Harold Gleason Emerging Artist Award. His teachers have included Robert Glasgow, Arthur Haas, Gerre Hancock, David Higgs, John O'Brien, Robert Murphy and Russell Saunders.

Bara won first prize in the Arthur Poister National Organ Competition and was a finalist in the National Young Artist Competition and Fort Wayne National Organ Competition. He has performed widely as soloist and as accompanist to The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys, including concerts at the Royal Cathedral, Copenhagen; King's College, Cambridge; Saint John's Smith Square, London; and Saint Paul's Cathedral, London. Recognized for his outstanding work at Interlochen teaching young organists and introducing new musicians to the organ, Bara served nationally on the Committee on the New Organist, which oversees the American Guild of Organists' tremendously successful Pipe Organ Encounters. His debut CD, "Pageant: A Pipe Organ Spectacular," was recently released on the Raven label.

Tickets for the concert are $7 for adults, $5 for seniors/students and are only available at the door one hour before the recital.

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college's Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron's Best Buys in Education, "Colleges of Distinction," "Making a Difference College Guide" and U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" edition, which named Goshen a "least debt college." Visit www.goshen.edu.