Timothy J. Tikker
1958 -
Timothy J. Tikker, organist, composer, and improviser, is enjoying a
distinguished career in all three areas. He graduated magna cum laude with a
B.Mus. in organ performance in 1983 from San Francisco State University,
studying analysis with Wayne Peterson and Eileen Soskin
and counterpoint with Herbert Bielawa and Robert
Nixon.
While
completing an M.Mus.
in organ performance at the University of Oregon at
Eugene, Tikker studied improvisation with Guy Bovet
and fugue with Harold Owen. Supported by a Ruth Lorraine Close Award from the
UO School of Music, he subsequently studied organ and improvisation in Paris,
France, with famed organist-composer Jean Langlais,
who called Tikker "one of the most gifted
temperaments I have ever encountered."
He subsequently took master
classes under Xavier Darasse, André Isoir, Daniel Roth (Haarlem Academy, Netherlands) and Ewald Kooiman (Toulouse). He
completed a D.M.A. in organ performance at the University of Michigan in 2013,
studying with Marilyn Mason.
Tikker has played and won in numerous
performance competitions, taking first prize in the San Anselmo
Organ Improvisation Competition in 1987 and second prize in the Fuller
Festival's Competition in the French Tradition at Mechanics Hall, Worcester, in
1985. His solo CD recording, Charles Tournemire: The Last Symphonic Organ Works (Arkay Records), has been praised by critics in the US and
England.
His
composition Variations sur un Vieux Noël
(Variations on an
Old French Carol) received its world premiere in October 1993, in a concert
celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Reuter organ at Central
Presbyterian Church in Eugene, Oregon. The work, which he performed for that
event, is dedicated to Kenneth and Julia Narducci of Riverside,
California.
The composition won the 1993/94
biennial North American organ composition competition sponsored by the American
Guild of Organists, the unanimous choice of a panel of three internationally
noted judges from more than thirty different works submitted by composers from
the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The award included
a $2,000 cash prize, publication of the work by Hinshaw
Music in 1994, and a performance by David Dahl at the 1994 AGO National
Convention in Dallas, Texas. Tikker gave its first
European performance in Stadtkirche, Hannover,
Germany, in April 1998.
In 1997, he won first Prize
in the UNESP Organ Composition Competition in Brazil, and in 2000 a finalist
award in the Aliénor Harpsichord Composition
Competition in the U.S.
Tikker’s compositions have been recorded on
Centaur, JAV, Pro Organo, and Raven labels. A partial
listing of these would include Magnificat for choir, harp, and organ;
Tiento de Batalla sobre el Balletto del Granduca for organ, recorded by Diane Meredith
Belcher for JAV Records; plus works for brass, choir and piano.
A second solo CD recording,
Raven OAR-670, recorded by him and released in July 2003, includes his Variations
sur un Vieux Noël,
along with works by Dupre and Tournemire. He has also published numerous articles in
various music journals, most of them reflecting his
interest in and passion for French music and organs (see listings of published
writings at the end of this biography).
Jean Langlais
has observed that Tikker is “without doubt, in the
United States one of the best interpreters of the work of Tournemire.”
He has given numerous performances of the composer’s works; written an essay on
the performing of his organ music, included in a book published by the
University of Michigan in 1996; and lectured and given master classes about the
subject in symposiums and workshops.
Tikker is an active recitalist and has given
concerts in Europe and the U.S. Venues
have included the Sacre-Coeur Basilica and Eglise St.-Sulpice in Paris; the
Muensters of Konstanz and Bonn, Germany; Denver South Seventh-day Adventist
Church; Green Lake SDA Church, Seattle; St Mark's Cathedral, Seattle; Cathedral
of St. John the Baptist, Charleston; Pacific Union College; and Walla Walla
College, now University.
More recently, he was
featured soloist with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, where he played De Falla’s Harpsichord
Concerto; and with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, where he performed
Copland’s Organ Symphony. He also did his first improvised accompaniment
to a silent film, DeMille’s The King of Kings, at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival.
He has been active as a
church musician since his teenage years. He is currently the College Organist
for Kalamazoo College in Michigan and Music director/Organist at St. Paul’s
Episcopal Church in Flint, Michigan. He has previously served as organist and
choir director at the Ascension Lutheran Church in Ann Arbor, Michigan; and as organist
in churches in Charleston, South Carolina, and Eugene, Oregon. While in
Charleston, he was actively involved in planning and performing in the Piccolo
Festival of the Arts.
Alphonse Leduc of Paris
published Tikker’s translation of Olivier Messiaen's "Lecture at Notre Dame" in 2000. At
the request of the publisher, he also completed a translation of Messiaen's "Lecture at Kyoto."
ds/2013
Sources:
Timothy Tikker website (ttiker.com); Music Ministry, Journal of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church Musician’s Guild, January-March 1988, 3; Other online sources.
The following listings are from
Timothy Tikker’s website; ttikker.com. (2013). Please
refer to that website for continuing updates and current contact information
for him.
Music by Timothy Tikker
Organ
Fuga a 4: “Nun komm’,
der Heiden Heiland” (1983)
Variations sur un vieux Noël [tune:
“Chartres”](1986-93)(8:30):
I. Thème
II. Canzona (en trio)
III. Fonds (canon à l’octave)
IV. Flûtes
V. Berceuse
VI. Musette
VII. Trio (canon à la quarte)
VIII. Fugato et Final
Winner
of the Holtkamp/AGO Award for Organ Composition,
1993-94. First performance: Central Presbyterian Church, Eugene, Oregon, 17
October 1993, by the composer; featured at the AGO National Convention, Dallas,
Texas, July 1994, David Dahl, organist; first European performance: Stadtkirche, Hannover, Germany, 25 April 1998, by the
composer; recorded by Carla Edwards, Calcante Records
020 (not released); by the composer, Raven Records OAR-670 (released July
2003). Published by Hinshaw Music,
1994.
Three Improvisations
on “Austrian Hymn” (1988-):
I.
Toccata (1:30)
II. Choral orné (3:00)
III. Fugato (incomplete)
First
performance (I & II): Trinity Lutheran Church, Worcester, Massachusetts,
November 1988, by the composer. Piccolo Spoleto Organ Festival, Charleston, SC,
June 2003, by Julia Harlow
Three Gregorian
Sketches, for organ (1994-96)(18:00):
I.
Prelude: Kyrie (Orbis Factor)
II. Fugue: Asperges me
III. Fantasy-Paraphrase: Te Deum
First prize, Fúrio Franceschini Organ Composition Competition, Instituto de Artes, UNESP, São Paulo,
Brazil, 19 November 1997. Commissioned by John-Paul Buzard, organbuilder,
Champaign, Illinois. First performance of II: Chapel of St John the Divine, Champaign,
Illinois, organist Christopher
Young,
31 December 1995. First complete performance: simultaneously by Christopher
Young, Grace Episcopal Church, Sandusky, Ohio, & the composer, Central
Presbyterian Church, Eugene, Oregon, 14 April 1996. First
European performance by the composer, Église de St.-Sulpice, Paris, France, 5 September 2002. Recorded
by Dr. Young on the CD To Thee All Angels Cry Aloud, Pro Organo Records CD 7081.
Tiento de Batalla sobre el Balletto del Granduca (1998)(8:20)
Commissioned by Manuel Rosales, organbuilder,
Los Angeles, California. First performed by Diane
Meredith Belcher,
United
Church of Christ Congregational, Claremont, California, January
19, 1999; recorded by Dr. Belcher for JAV
Records (JAV 115).
First European performance by the composer, Münster, Konstanz, Germany, 25 August, 2000.
Fleurs Grégoriennes,
feuilles d’orgue (2000):
I. Introït: Petite Fleur musicale (Veni
Creator Spiritus)
II. Communion: Rose mystique (Ubi Caritas et Amor)
III. Sortie: Guirlandes nuptiales
(Veni Creator & Ubi
Caritas)
Commissioned by Guido Krawinkel,
Bonn, Germany.
Introït first performed 18 August 2000, Taizé Chapel of St. Johannes Lutheran Church, Charleston,
South Carolina, by the composer. Communion first performed 21 April 2011,
Saint Philip’s Episcopal Church, Rochester, Michigan, by the composer.
Sequentia: Dies Iræ;
Introduction & Passacaglia (1998-2003)(11:25);
& Fugue: Lacrimosa (2011)
Commissioned
by the Charleston Chapter of the American Guild of Organists for the Region IV
AGO Convention; first performance of Dies Iræ:
Cathedral of St John the Baptist (RC), Charleston, South Carolina, 5 June 2003,
by the composer.
Introit: Requiem Æternam (2004; revised 2011)(8:00)
Commissioned
by Donald McQuitty; first performed by Deborah Friauff at memorial service for Sylvia Culp, Kalamazoo,
Michigan, 2004
Toccata Kopanitsa (2004)(7:00)
Commissioned
by Brad Hughley, Music Director, St.
Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, Atlanta, GA, for the dedication recital series
on their new organ, opus
29 of Manuel Rosales;
first performance by Mr. Hughley, 9 May 2004. Recorded by Mr. Hughley for Raven
Recordings, OAR-930.
Divinum Mysterium:
Solemn Meditation (2008; revised 2011)(9:30)
Commissioned
by Marion Metson for the 2008 National
Convention of the Organ Historical Society, Seattle, Washington; first
performance by Joseph Adam, St. James Cathedral, Seattle, 18 July 2008. A
recording of this performance is available on the 4-CD album Historic Organ of Seattle, OHS-08.
Other Keyboard
Variations
on “Mit ganczem Willen”, for keyboard (1981-2)
First performed June 1982, Central
Lutheran Church, Eugene, Oregon, by the composer
Three
Bulgarian Dances, intermediate studies for harpsichord (1999)(6:45)
I. Pravo (2:00)
II. Lesnoto (2:45)
III. Ruchenitsa (2:00)
First performed 2 March 2000 at the
final round of the Aliénor Harpsichord Competition,
Hilton Head, South Carolina, by the composer; winner of Finalist Award.
Recorded by Elaine Funaro: Centaur Records CRC 2651. Published by Wayne Leupold Editions,
2007.
Three
Unlikely Gymnopédies, for piano:
I. For A.C. (1994/98)(3:56)
II. For A. S. (incomplete)
III. For O. M. (incomplete)
First performance (I): Sacred Heart
Major Seminary Chapel, Detroit, Michigan, 1999, by Deborah Friauff.
Second performance, 29 September 2002, First Baptist Church,
Kalamazoo, MI, by the composer.
Micro-Toccata, for piano (1981)
(1:10)
First performance: 29 September
2002, First Baptist Church, Kalamazoo, Michigan, by the composer
Choral
Nunc dimittis,
for unaccompanied SATB choir (1981)(in English)(1:30)
Magnificat, for SATB choir, harp &
organ (1999)(in English)
Two above choral works first
performed 1 June 1999 by Vox Æterna,
dir. Scott Atwood, Cathedral of St John the Baptist, Charleston, South
Carolina, Piccolo Spoleto Festival of the Arts
Living
Stones, anthem for SATB choir & orchestra (or organ) (2000)(6:45)
Commissioned by
the Basilica of St Josaphat, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in
commemoration of their centennial. First performance 17 November 2001 by the Milwaukee Symphony
Orchestra & Chorus. Performed again by the 13
October 2002. First performance of organ version at
First Baptist Church, Kalamazoo, Michigan, Easter Sunday 2002.
Instrumentation: 3.3.3.3; 4.3.3.1; timp, 3 perc. hp, strings
Psalm
98, festive anthem for trumpet, organ & SATB chorus (2002)
First performance 8 June 2003 at
First Baptist Church, Kalamazoo, Michigan, by the First Baptist Church Choir,
Timothy Tikker, conductor, Deborah Friauff, organist, Michael McMinn, trumpet.
Liturgical
Mixolydian Communion
Service (AKA Westminster Communion Service)(1993-1994),
for unison congregation and accompaniment (2:10)
I. Kyrie
II. Sanctus
III. Memorial Acclamation
IV. Great Amen
V. Agnus Dei
First performance: Westminster
Presbyterian Church, Eugene, OR, Easter Sunday 1994
Rejoicing
in Hope, hymn for congregation, choir, organ & brass (1999)(5:20)
Commissioned by the Catholic Diocese
of Charleston for the ordination of Bishop Robert J. Baker, 29 September 1999;
first performance on that occasion; second performance at Piccolo Spoleto
Festival of Churches, June 2000
Works written for and performed in
liturgies at the Cathedral of St John the Baptist, Charleston, South Carolina
Beach
Spring: 4 hymn verses for brass, organ, congregation (1996-97)
Let
My Tongue Be Silent, Response for Gelineau’s setting
of Psalm 137 (1997)
Psalm
34 (Gelineau style) (1997)
Hosanna,
for congregation, cantors, and accompaniment (1999)(duration
variable)
Light
of Christ, ostinato response for congregation, cantor (1999)(duration
variable)
Magnificat Quinti Toni, for SATB chorus & handbells
(1999)
Hosanna,
for congregation, cantors, and accompaniment (2001)(duration
variable)
First performance at First Baptist
Church, Kalamazoo, Michigan, Palm Sunday 2001
Orchestra
Toccata
Kopanitsa (2004/5)(7:00)
Transcription of organ work listed
above. Instrumentation: 3.3.3.3; 4.3.3.1; timp, 4 perc, pn/cel,
hp, strings
Sequentia: Dies Iræ;
introduction & passacaglia (2003)(11:45)
Transcription of organ work listed
above. Instrumentation: 3.3.3.3; 4.3.3.1; timp, 4 perc, pn, strings
Living
Stones, anthem for SATB choir & orchestra (2000)(6:45)
(See full listing below under Choral
Music)
Concert Band
Variations sur
un vieux Noël (1986-93/2006)(8:30):
I. Thème
II. Canzona
III. Canon à l’octave
IV. Fileuse
V. Berceuse
VI. Musette
VII. Canon à la quarte
VIII. Fugato et Final
Transcription of organ work listed above.
Transcriptions
Transcription
of Mass to Saint Anthony by Lou Harrison, to be published by
Peer Music, New York; for SATB unison chorus & organ, optional trumpet
and/or harp
Film
La
Cattura e Interrogatorio de
Gesù, for string quartet (2002)(3:30)
written for extract from Roberto Rosselini’s Il Messia
L’Ultimo Viaggio,
for chamber orchestra (2007)
written for extract from Roberto Rosselini’s Anno
Uno; Instrumentation: 1.1 (e.h.).1.1; 1.1.0.0;
strings
Publications by Timothy Tikker
Essay
“An Organist’s Journey with Franz Liszt,” in Liszt:
A Chorus of Voices, published by Pendragon Press, Hillsdale, 2012.
Olivier Messiaen’s
Lecture at Kyoto (translation of “Conférence de Kyoto”), Éditions Musicales Alphonse
Leduc,
Paris, France
Review of Jean-Louis Florentz,
l’œuvre d’orgue: Témoignages croisés by Marie-Louise Langlais in the January 2011 (vol. 44, no. 1) issue of The American Organist.
“Westfield
Center:
The Eugene Conference,” report in the
December 2010 (vol. 43, no. 12) issue of The
American Organist.
“Organ Works
of Olivier Messiaen: Works Before the War,” review of book by Olivier Latry and Loïc Maillé, in the October 2009 (vol. 43, no. 10) issue of The American Organist.
“Appariation de l’Église Éternelle,” review of Paul Festa’s DVD, in the April 2009
(vol. 43, no. 4) issue of The American
Organist.
“Messiaen Plays Messiaen,” The American Organist, November 2008 (vol. 42, no. 11); the promised supplement referred to endnote 10 about the compositions of the mixtures of the organ at l’Église de la Sainte Trinité, Paris is linked here: Messiaen Article Supplement (final revision)
“La Symphonie-Choral pour Orgue de Charles Tournemire: vers une explication de sa forme,” l’Orgue, no. 278-279, 2007
“Tournemire: L’Orgue Mystique Intégrale,” feature review of 12-CD set recorded by George Delvallée, The American
Organist, August 2007 ( vol. 41, no. 8 )
“Organ
Playing as Spiritual Discipline,” The American
Organist, June 2007 (vol. 41, no. 6)
Review of
two recordings of Olivier Messiaen’s improvisations, The American Organist, January 2005
Obituary of
composer Jean-Louis Florentz, The American Organist, November 2004; The Diapason, October 2004
Review of
Michel Bourcier’s CD of works of Jean-Louis Florentz, The American
Organist, January 2004
Translation
(from German) of Günther Lade’s
“A Conversation with Olivier Messiaen,” The American Organist, July 2000
Edited
translation (from German) of article by Guido Krawinkel,
“The Klais Organbuilding
Workshop of Bonn, Germany,” The American
Organist, July 2001
“The
Interpretation of the Organ Works of Charles Tournemire,”
Hommage à Langlais, ed.
Marilyn Mason, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan School of Music, 1996
Review of Index to l’Art du Facteur d’Orgues by L.
G. Monette, Journal
of American Organbuilding, March 1995
“Proposed
Design for an Electronic Key Action,” translation (from French) of article by
Dominique Fellot, The
Diapason, February 1994
“The Organ
at San Francisco Central SDA Church,” Music
Ministry, 1989
“My
Study with Jean Langlais of the Music of Charles Tournemire,” St. Paul Tournemire Symposium, St Paul. MN, July 1989
“The Organs
of Olivier Messiaen,” series of four articles, The Diapason, December 1988-March 1989
Report on
the 1988 Organ Historical Society Convention, The
Diapason, November 1988
“Recollections
of Edwin Fischer,” based on interviews with Joan Benson, Journal of the American Liszt Society,
June 1987 (available online)
Articles on
the history and restoration of the Cavaillé-Coll
organ at Sacré-Cœur Basilica, Paris, France, The Diapason, March 1987, June 1988
“Conférence de Notre-Dame,” translation (from French) of
lecture by Olivier Messiaen, The Diapason, January 1985; republished
in: Almut Rößler, Contributions to the Spiritual World of Olivier Messiaen, Gilles & Francke,
Duisburg, 1986; revised version published by Éditions Alphonse Leduc, Paris, 2000
“On a
Successful Organ in a Dry Acoustic,” The
Diapason, January 1984
Poems
and Variations: Tikker at Claremont: Dupré Évocation,
op. 37; Tikker Variations
sur un vieux Noël;
Tournemire Trois Poèmes,
op. 59; Raven OAR-670
Charles Tournemire: the Last Symphonic Organ Works: Deux Fresques Symphoniques Sacrées,
opp. 76, 75; Symphonie Sacrée,
op. 71; Symphonie-Choral d’Orgue,
op. 69; Arkay AR-6118
Historic Organs of San
Francisco: Tournemire Sortie, op. 3; 2 CD OHS-88
Historic
Organ of Seattle: A Young and Vibrant History: Joseph Adam, organist, 1907 Hutchings-Votey organ,
Saint James RC Cathedral, Seattle, WA: Divinum Mysterium:
Solemn Meditation: OHS-08 (4 CDs; see disc 3)
Preludes,
Fugues and Variations: Brad Hughley, organist, Rosales organ, op. 29, St.
Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church,
Atlanta, GA: Toccata Kopanitsa; Raven OAR-930
To Thee All Angels Cry
Aloud: performed by Christopher
Young on the Buzard organ at St.
John the Divine Chapel,
Champaign, IL; Three
Gregorian Sketches; Pro Organo CD 7081
Great Organs of America:
Modern Landmarks, vol. 2: Diane
Meredith Belcher on
the Glatter-Goetz/Rosales organ at Claremont United Church of Christ, CA: Tiento de Batalla sobre el Balletto del Granduca; JAV 115
Poems & Variations: Tikker at Claremont: Variations
sur un vieux
Noël; Raven OAR-670
Dances with Harpsichords: performed by Elaine Funaro:
Three Bulgarian Dances;
Centaur CRC 2651
Cecil
B. DeMille’s The King of Kings; improvised organ accompaniment to
silent film; E. M. Skinner organ at Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian Church, Detroit, MI; Criterion Collection
DVD 266