Exceptional organist plays Fresno

On Oct. 4, the audience at the Fresno State Concert Hall was treated to an outstanding concert by Isabelle Demers, organist.

The concert, part of the Philip Lorenz Memorial Keyboard Concerts, was co-sponsored by the San Joaquin Valley Chapter, American Guild of Organists and L’Alliance Francaise de Fresno. The Martin Ott organ is a mechanical-action pipe organ of 22 ranks in the Baroque tradition, and most organists who play it choose Baroque music to display its uniqueness.

Ms. Demers did play a musically articulated J.S. Bach Trio Sonata, but every other piece was delightfully fresh. She used every sound available in creative combinations and the organ soared and danced at her every touch. In the “Excerpts from Cinderella” by Prokofiev, her fingers were flying to and from the keyboards and draw knobs, without an assistant.

Ms. Demers, head of the organ program at Baylor University, has added an admiring audience from Fresno to those places she has played throughout the world. The Keyboard Concert Series board, Andreas Werz, president, and the San Joaquin Valley Chapter American Guild of Organists, Michael Varlas, dean, are to be congratulated for scheduling such an exceptional organist to play in Fresno.

This story was originally published October 10, 2015 at 5:56 AM with the headline "Exceptional organist plays Fresno."