Thomas Gaynor, an award-winning organist, plays the St. Petersburg College Music Center at the St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus as part of the Heissler Organ Concert Series on Friday, Sept. 23,  at 7 p.m.

General admission is  $10. The concert is free to SPC students and staff with a valid ID card.

Thomas Gaynor, Outstanding Artist

Gaynor was the winner of the Third International Bach-Liszt Organ Competition in Erfurt/Weimar, Germany, the Sydney International Organ Competition, and the Fort Wayne National Organ Playing competition. He is rapidly making his mark on the organ scene in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

A student of David Higgs at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., Gaynor recently graduated with a master of music degree and the Performer’s Certificate. He is currently pursuing his doctor of musical arts degree there, as well as the prestigious Artist’s Certificate.

Gaynor recently released his first CD, recorded at Wellington Cathedral of St. Paul, New Zealand. Jamal Rossi, dean of the Eastman School of Music, picked this CD as one of five recent recordings that best represent the current Eastman School sound in an interview in the Rochester Review, the University of Rochester’s alumni magazine.

The Sept. 23 concert marks Gaynor’s première performance at SPC. This is the perfect opportunity to see a talented musician in top form.

About the Heissler Organ

In 2002, a Heissler tracker pipe organ made of solid oak was installed in the SPC Music Center. It has 1,600 pipes, 24 stops and 31 ranks, three manuals, including a coupling manual, a computer memory system and a Zimbelstern. This organ was built to the specifications of Robert Setzer, faculty organ instructor, consultant and major donor for this project.

The organ was assembled in Markelsheim, Germany, disassembled, packed and shipped. It was reassembled here at the SPC Music Center from December 2001 through February 2002 by Darwin Klug of Heissler in America. The only electronics in the organ are in the air pump, stop action and the very versatile memory, with 256 separate settings available for different applications.

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