JANICE BECK
Janice Beck's recital career has taken her from coast to coast in the U.S., and to Europe where she is widely known. Words such as 'Olympian', 'mesmerizing', consummate', and impeccable' consistently appear in critical and popular reviews of her performances and recordings. Whether at home or abroad her performances are routinely met with great audience enthusiasm and standing ovations.
Her extensive European recital tours have taken her to Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Many of her recital appearances have been at international music festivals, including the Bury Music Festival at Bury St. Edmonds, England, the Kosice International Organ Festival in Slovakia, and the International Festival of Organ and Chamber Music in Szczecin, Poland. She has performed in such noted venues as the Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp, and the Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk, Melsele, in Belgium; The Basilica of Ste. Clotilde, Paris and the Cathedral of St. Maurice, Angers, in France; St. David's Hall, Cardiff, Coventry Cathedral, Lincoln Cathedral, Chester Cathedral and Westminster Abbey in Great Britain; the Janacek Conservatory of Music in the Czech Republic; Oliwa Cathedral, Gdansk, Poland, and the Matyas Church, Budapest. In North America she has performed at the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D. C., Hill Auditorium at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Calvary Episcopal Church, Pittsburgh, First Congregational Church, Los Angeles, Christ Church Cathedral, Ottawa, Trinity College Chapel, Hartford, the Duke University Chapel, Durham, and Rollins College, in celebration of the renovation of the Knowles Chapel organ, to name but a few, in addition to performances at national conventions of the American Guild of Organists and the Organ Historical Society.
From very early in her career, Janice Beck has been sought after to premiere newly composed organ works. As a student in Paris, she gave the World premiere of Jean Langlais' American Suite. More Recently, she gave the World premiere of Pamela Decker's Retablo III: Victimae Paschali in 1997 at the University of
Michigan, and in May, 1999 premiered Ms. Decker's Three Tangos at the University of Arizona
Janice Beck's recordings include the six organ sonatas of Felix Mendelssohn, and the Sixth Organ Symphony of Louis Vierne on the Arkay label, works of Pamela Decker on the Albany label, and three recordings of American organ music for the Musical Heritage Society. She has been heard on National Public Radio's Pipedreams and on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
A native of Virginia, Janice Beck received her early organ training in Williamsburg. Her major organ study was completed at Rollins College with Catharine Crozier and the University of Michigan with Marilyn Mason. A Fulbright scholarship took her to Paris where she studied with Jean Langlais and Nadia Boulanger. In the recent past she has served as organist of St. John's Episcopal Church in Detroit, and as Artist-in-Residence at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Detroit. She is the recipient of the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, presented by Rollins College "for leadership, great achievement in one's chosen field, and service to others." In 1999 she was honored again by Rollins College with an Alumni Distinguished Achievement in Musical Arts Award.
8:00 p.m. Organ Concert with Janice Milburn Beck '59 Knowles Memorial Chapel, Rollins College Campus
Critically acclaimed for her recordings and solo recitals, Janice Beck is one of America's premier organists. Widely known in the United States and Europe, her recital career has taken her from coast to coast, delivering brilliant performances in many prestigious venues worldwide.
Program
JANICE BECK
Janice Beck's recital career has taken her from coast to coast in the United States, and she is perhaps more widely known in Europe than any other active American organist. She has performed in many prestigious venues at home, including the Duke University Chapel, Hill Auditorium at the University of Michigan, the Mormon Tabernacle, and the First Congregational Church in Los Angeles. Abroad she has given dozens of performances in seven European countries, and is one of the first Americans to perform extensively in eastern Europe since the fall of communism. Whether at home or abroad her brilliant performances are routinely met with great audience enthusiasm, often with spontaneous standing ovations.
Her love of Europe, its great churches and organs, originated during her experiences as a Fulbright Scholar in Paris. Among her European performance venues are Coventry Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, London; the Cathedral of St. Maurice, Angers, France; Oliwa Cathedral, Gdansk, Poland; the Janacek Conservatory, Ostrava, Czech Republic; and the Matthias Church, Budapest, Hungary.
Her extensive repertoire includes works of Buxtehude, Bach, Mendelssohn, Brahms and many others. She has as well an abiding interest in contemporary music and the repertoire of the 19th and 20th century French schools.
Janice Beck grew up in Newport News, Virginia and received her early organ training in nearby Williamsburg. She studied with Catharine Crozier, her major teacher, at Rollins College, with Marilyn Mason at the University of Michigan, and with Jean Langlais and Nadia Boulanger in Paris.
In her hometown of Ann Arbor, she is organist of the First United Methodist Church, and has served as dean of the Ann Arbor Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. She has also served as a member of the Advisory Committee of the University Musical Society, and the Alumnae Board of Governors of the University of Michigan School of Music.
Janice Beck's discography includes three LP records of works of American composers produced by the Musical Heritage Society, and compact disc recordings such as the Six Sonatas for Organ of Felix Mendelssohn, and the Sixieme Symphonic of Louis Vierne on the Arkay label, and works of Marcel Dupre on the French label, REM Editions.
"Her recording of the mighty Sixth Symphony [of Vierne] is like a cold, clean wind on a stormy March day--refreshing, energized, bracing, forceful."---American Record Guide
"Janice Beck's Bach interpretations glow from refined articulation and scintillating touch. [She presented] a radiantly fresh and lively interpretation of Vierne's famous 'Carillon de Westminster. "'---Gelhausen Tageblatt, Germany
"Under the expert fingers of Janice Beck. . the Cavaill& Coll in the cathedral was handled with masterful skill." ---Le Courrier de I'Cluest, France
"[Janice Beck's] classical approach to the formal fugato movements [of the Mendelssohn sonatas] and her impeccable technique bring a fresh insight into these well-known works."---Organists' Review, UK
"In the Franck [A minor Choral] one felt a spontaneous accord between artist and composer which warmed the soul. %--L'Clair, France
"Janice Beck possesses the technique and the temperament of a virtuoso."---Ann Arbor News
"I love your playing--warm, clear; and each 'phrase' has focus and shape. %--Vincent Persichetti
"What is especially attractive in Janice Beck's playing [of the Vierne Sixth Symphony] is her highly developed rhythmic sense, combined with elan and verve. These qualities make the fast movements, especially the Scherzo and Final, take on an electrifying brilliance. %--American Record Guide
"Throughout the recital, I felt you were always playing the music more than you were playing the organ. I was so grateful to have heard music played that way--with so much integrity and substance, the organ as a vehicle rather than as a thing in itself."---Thomas Warburton, Professor of Musicology, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
"Organ lovers in Olomouc and Ostrava will remember your masterful performances fora long time."---Petr Plant', organist and Senior Lecturer, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic