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 Hailed
as “elegantly assured” by the Dallas Morning News,
and featured as a “young talent” in interview and
performances with nationally syndicated radio show Pipedreams,
Damin Spritzer has performed organ recitals
from coast to coast since receiving her first scholarship from
the American Guild of Organists as a high school student. Ms.
Spritzer’s performances are notable for varied programs
that champion unknown romantic works for organ as well as new
compositions by living composers, and she often collaborates with
other instruments such as harp and trombone. Her commissioned
work from award-winning composer Aaron Travers (Three Pieces for
Organ) has been performed on at least nine separate occasions
by a number of different organists.
 She
designed and performs an educational concert for teaching children
about the organ that was featured as a “Best Bet for Children”
in the Dallas Morning News. She was invited to perform and present
at the AGO’s Regional Convention in Tulsa, Oklahoma for
two events: playing the Grand-Orgue for Louis Vierne’s Messe
Solenelle with conductor Constantina Tsolainu, and serving as
a panelist with C. Michael Hahn and Michael Bauer in a discussion
titled “Walking the Minefield of the Worship Wars”.
 As
a performer, Ms. Spritzer has had the honor of being heard with
Michael Barone’s nationally-syndicated “Pipedreams”
radio broadcast on three occasions: program no. 0432, entitled
“Twenty-Somethings”, the “Pipedreams: Live!”
performance at the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, Texas in
2005, (performed to a completely full house of 2,062 seats), and
program no. 0713, “Merriment at the Meyerson”. She
has competed and won awards in many organ competitions, and was
selected as one of the initial 25 competitors in the 2006 National
Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance. She has received
both First and Second prizes in AGO Chapter and Regional Competitions
in Portland, Oregon and Cleveland, Ohio, and was a Finalist in
the National Competition for Young Organists in Ottumwa, Iowa.
She received the Honorable Mention for Repertoire Playing as well
as the prize for Best Hymn Playing in the graduate division of
the Thirty-second Annual William C. Hall Pipe Organ Competition
in San Antonio, Texas.
Beginning in February of 2009, Ms. Spritzer joined the music staff
of University Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas as
Associate Director of Music and Organist. From August 2000 until
December of 2008, she was the Associate Director of Music and
Organist for Saint Rita Catholic Church, also in Dallas. She is
currently working towards the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts
at the University of North Texas with Jesse Eschbach. She is also
a recent graduate of two of the most prestigious music schools
in the country, having received her Master of Music degree in
Organ Performance from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester,
New York with David Higgs and her Bachelor of Music degree in
Organ Performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, studying
primarily with Haskell Thomson.
Her
organ teachers have included David Boe, Gerre Hancock, Joel Martinson,
Karel Paukert, and Delbert Saman. Her recent recital appearances
include Louisville, Kentucky, Lubbock, Texas, Sacramento, California,
in conjunction with an AGO event for children, Fayetteville, Arkansas
(presenter of an AGO Chapter workshop on building a church repertoire
library, and a recital at First Baptist Church), Buffalo, New
York (St. Paul’s Cathedral), Portland, Oregon (Trinity Episcopal
Cathedral), and Dallas, Texas (Saint Rita Catholic Community,
Episcopal Church of the Ascension, St. Mark’s School of
Texas, Spring Valley United Methodist Church, Wynne Chapel at
Highland Park Presbyterian Church, and the Meyerson Symphony Center).
Ms. Spritzer serves the Dallas Chapter of the American Guild of
Organists as a member of the Executive Committee. Ms. Spritzer
is currently working on a disc for Raven
Recordings of the music of Rene Louis Becker, release date
TBD 2011
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