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Marc D’Anjou studied the organ at the Conservatory of Music in Rimouski, Quebec, graduating in 1986 with first class honours awarded unanimously by the jury.  He then studied improvisation with Richard Gagné and Rachel Laurin, and improvisation and French repertoire in Paris with Jean Galard.  In 1980 he won the national organ finals in the junior category of the Baldwin Competition in Toronto.  He received an honorable mention from the Sir Ernest McMillan Foundation in Toronto in 1989, and was also a remarkable finalist at the first Quebec Organ Competition in 1992.  He is an active concert artist and accompanist, both in Canada and abroad.  In addition to giving solo recitals, he is often a soloist with orchestras and ensembles, including the Quebec Symphony Orchestra.  In 1998 he gave a recital and masterclass at Towson University (Baltimore); he gave a recital and participated in an improvisation match in Toulouse, France, in October 2006, and toured Ecuador in 2009, giving five concerts.  In September 2011 he accompanied the prestigious Vancouver Chamber Choir in a concert recorded by the CBC.  He has given recitals in various churches in Vancouver over the years, including Holy Rosary Cathedral and Christ Church Cathedral.

From 1986 to 1992, Marc D’Anjou worked in organ building, for Orgues Marcel Bertrand.  During the same period, he obtained the position of co-organist at the historic church of St-Jean-Baptiste in Quebec City, and became the principal organist there in 1991, remaining until 1993.  In December 1993 he was chosen by competition to be the titular organist at the Quebec City Cathedral-Basilica, where he remained until he moved to Vancouver in May 2010.  He was the Music Director (organist, pianist and choir director) at South Burnaby United Church from September 2010 until September 2012, during which time he founded the “Burnaby Chamber Choir” and was its artistic and music director.  In May 2012 he again obtained the position of titular organist at the Quebec City Cathedral-Basilica, this time by acclamation, and became Music Director there in 2015, supervising the restoration of its 4 manual, 91 rank gallery organ (by Casavant Frères) and 2 manual, 27 rank chancel organ (by Létourneau).  In July 2022 he accompanied the choir of St. Michael’s Cathedral (Toronto) during Vespers, which were presided over by Pope Francis at the Quebec City Cathedral-Basilica.

RBH Casavant Organ Opus 3055, 1969: 43 stops, 64 ranks, 3105 pipes

Accompanied live on the historic Wurlitzer organ..

Info: https://vancouvercivictheatres.com/events/silent-movie-mondays-go-west-apr-8-2024/

RBH Casavant Organ Opus 3055, 1969: 43 stops, 64 ranks, 3105 pipes

For church organists who need to know the basics of tuning and fixing simple problems on their instrument.

J.S. Bach’s monumental Orgelbüchlein (BWV 599−644) is a collection of 46 Lutheran chorale preludes for organ, spanning the entire traditional liturgical year. As Bach composed these various chorale preludes mainly throughout his Weimar appointment from 1708-1717, the Orgelbüchlein is a showcase of his development as a composer through this early period of his career, as well as the development of the chorale prelude form as a whole. Several of the pieces within the Orgelbüchlein have stood as being among the most popular pieces in the organ literature, with many receiving transcriptions for other instruments (famously, Ferruccio Busoni’s transcriptions for solo piano, and Leopold Stokowski’s transcriptions for orchestra.) This concert will present the Orgelbüchlein in its original form, for solo organ.