David Spicer (organist)

David Charles Spicer (December 26, 1946 – January 18, 2017) was an American organist and church musician. He was Minister of Music and the Arts at the First Church of Christ in Wethersfield, Connecticut, where he co-founded the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival USA and directed it from 1997 to 2015.[1][2]

Life and career

A native of Austin, Texas, Spicer was a 1968 graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music[3] in Philadelphia, where he was an Artist/Scholar under Alexander McCurdy and a devotee of Virgil Fox. Graduate studies were completed at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, also in Philadelphia. Before assuming the Wethersfield position in 1986, Spicer was Director of Music at the First Presbyterian Church in Lincoln, Nebraska. Prior to that, he was Organist-Choirmaster at the Wayne Presbyterian Church in Wayne, Pennsylvania. A gifted conductor, Spicer presented many oratorio concerts with orchestra throughout his career, including several premiere performances. Also an educator, Spicer mentored numerous younger organists including Diane Meredith Belcher, and trained and inspired hundreds of children and youth in his church choirs. He served on the faculty of Tunxis Community College in Farmington, Connecticut. In 1997, Spicer co-founded, with Harold Robles, the annual Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival USA. The festival competition attracts outstanding young organists, both high school and young professionals, from across the country.[1][2]

Spicer died of cancer in Malvern, Pennsylvania, on January 18, 2017. He was survived by his wife Dana and their blended family of seven children, sixteen grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.[1]

Discography

References

  1. 1 2 3 "David Spicer Obituary". Hartford Courant. January 22, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Eighteenth Annual Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival". First Church of Christ in Wethersfield. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Full Alumni Listing". Curtis Institute of Music. Archived from the original on September 12, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Vintage Spicer". Pro Organo. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Kaleidoscope". Retrieved April 2, 2014.
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