Organist Leon Couch III to present recital at Goshen College March 15

Concert: Organ Recital Series – Leon Couch III
Date and time: Sunday, March 15 at 4 p.m.
Location: Rieth Recital Hall, Goshen College Music Center
Cost: $7 adults, $5 seniors/students, available at the door one hour before the recital.
Web site: http://profcouch.us

GOSHEN, Ind. – Converse College organist and professor Dr. Leon Couch III will present an organ recital at Goshen College in the Music Center's Rieth Recital Hall as part of the Organ Recital Series on March 15 at 4 p.m.

Couch's CD, "Playing Dietrich Buxtehude's Works Rhetorically," released by the American Guild of Organists in 2008, was recorded on Goshen College's Opus 41 pipe organ.

The recital will include: "Praeludium in C minor, BuxWV 138" and "Praeludium in F-sharp Minor, BuxWV 146" by Dieterich Buxtehude, "Toccata in F Major, BWV 540/1" by Bach, "Variations on 'Aria Sebaldina'" by Johannes Pachelbel and "Homage to Dietrich Buxtehude" by Petr Eben.

Couch presents organ recitals, masterclasses and lecture-recitals throughout the United States. He is represented by the Concert Artist Cooperative. His recording "Hamburger Rhetorik" was released on the ProOrgano record label in 2007, and his study of musical rhetoric "Playing Dieterich Buxtehude's Music Rhetorically" was published in December 2007 by the American Guild of Organists. This past year, he performed in more than15 states.

Couch serves as College Organist at Converse College, where he teaches organ and music theory at the undergraduate and graduate levels. From 2002 to 2006, he designed and coordinated the music-theory curriculum at Texas A&M University, where he was named the 2005-06 Montague Teaching Excellence Scholar for the College of Liberals Arts and Sciences. Earlier, he taught organ studio, music theory and undergraduate mathematics at the University of Cincinnati.

As a scholar, Couch concentrates on pragmatic applications of contemporary and historical music theory to keyboard performance. He has presented at numerous international, national and regional conferences, and particularly enjoys giving workshops and lectures to local American Guild of Organists (AGO) chapters, colleges and the public.

Couch has been the recipient of numerous grants for his scholarship, performances, teaching and public service. He is also active in several musical organizations. For many years he has served as a church musician for a variety of denominations.

He earned two doctoral degrees from the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music: the D.M.A. in organ performance and the Ph.D. in music theory. His undergraduate degrees in physics, mathematics and music are from the University of Florida. His principal organ teachers include Willis Bodine and Roberta Gary.

Tickets for the recital are $7 for adults and $5 for seniors and students. They are 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.