USU organ student will perform at the Salt Lake Tabernacle
Eric Gundersen, an organ student of James Merrit Drake at Utah State University, has been selected to be a guest organist at the Salt Lake Tabernacle for the next six months.
During this time, he will be playing various selections for the daily recitals. Each day, visitors from around the world come to see the Tabernacle and hear the famous organ, and this USU student will have the opportunity to contribute to their enjoyment.
Gundersen, a senior at USU, went through a rigorous audition process and was asked to submit an audition tape to the three tabernacle organists. He then went through three screening rounds before the organists.
After the assessments, he was chosen by John Longhurst, chief organist at the Tabernacle, as well as Richard Elliot and Clay Christiansen.
“Eric is one of the finest organ students ever to be selected,” Christiansen said.
John Carmen, a junior majoring in finance said, “We don’t see many of our fellow students playing the organ these days. It’s just not a common thing. I think it’s wonderful that [Gundersen] has pursued his talents in such a unique area and that people from USU are going out into the real world and doing great things.”
Gundersen said he began playing the organ to be different.
“I decided I would do something else than just go with the crowd,” Gundersen said.
Gundersen was born and raised in Fredrikstad, Norway. He began taking lessons at the age of 17 when he was a senior in a Norwegian high school.
Because most musicians start while they’re young, Gundersen practiced for seven hours a day in an attempt to “make up for lost time,” he said.
After graduating from high school, Gundersen served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in England. When he was 21, Gundersen moved to the United States and attended BYU-Idaho, where he studied the organ with Darwin Wolford for two years.
One of his favorite composers is Bach, Gundersen said.
“If you analyze music, everything comes back to Bach,” he said.
In the Tabernacle, Gundersen will be playing everything from Bach to the common LDS hymn “Come, Come, Ye Saints,” which is played every day.
In August of 2001, Gundersen came to USU to continue his organ studies with Drake, a professor of music.
He said he came here because USU’s organ program is respected internationally, and Drake is an international concert organist himself.
In the summer of 2002, Gundersen was invited as one of six organ students from around the world to participate in the London, England organ course tour.
He performed at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and Westminster Roman Catholic Cathedral.
Drake has tutored hundreds of other organists from the United States as well as Korea, Denmark, Germany and England. Many of his former organ students are now teachers at music conservatories, and some are now concert organists.
Drake has also trained five other organ students in the past who were chosen to play at the Tabernacle.
“The organ program at USU is geared for training organists to serve in various churches throughout the community where the organists live,” Drake said.
Gundersen plans on earning his doctorate in music.
“From there, I plan on teaching or playing in a church that pays you to play,” Gundersen said.
Kelley Ford, a junior majoring in music, said, “Music from organs can fill churches and congregations with so much feeling and inspiration. We are lucky that we have such fine musicians like [Gundersen] among us.”
–karalcam@cc.usu.edu