OU alumna, organist to be lauded
NORMAN — The American Organ Institute at the University of Oklahoma School of Music will pull out all the stops — organ and otherwise — April 7 and 8 to honor organist Diane Bish, an OU alumna and a worldwide ambassador for the pipe organ.
Bish is best known as the host of the international TV series “The Joy of Music.”
Since 1982, she has hosted and produced a television series that reaches more than 300 million people and, more recently, has begun posting selected YouTube performances to a large viewership around the world.
The celebration idea originated with Jeremy Wance, associate director of The American Organ Institute. Wance approached Bish’s management by saying, “Everyone who is under 50 in the organ world owes a large part of their early awareness of the pipe organ to Diane. She’s done more for the pipe organ in the last 100 years than anyone, as far as making the organ relevant and accessible.”
A dinner will be held April 7 in Bish’s honor at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art.
At 3 p.m. April 8, choir and brass ensembles from the OU School of Music will join the institute’s faculty and students to perform a concert featuring music composed and arranged by Bish as well as other favorite works.
The gala will culminate in a Champagne reception following the concert where Bish will greet guests.
Seating is limited. For ticket, event and scholarship details, go to www. ou.edu/aoi.
ARCADIA — Classical guitarist Edgar Cruz will perform during the April 8 Round Barn Rendezvous at the Arcadia Round Barn.
The monthly acoustic jam session will start at noon in the loft of the barn, and Cruz will play from 3 to 4 p.m. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted to support the nonprofit historical site. The museum and gift shop will be open during the concert. Free coffee is available in the loft.
Members of an Oklahoma City Volkswagen club will cruise to Arcadia around noon on April 8 and “ring the barn” with about a dozen Volkswagen beetles and buses. Other classic cars are also expected for the cruise-in.
Cruz performs more than 200 concerts a year and has played across the United States, Europe and South America. He has been a headliner at the Chet Atkins Guitar Festival in Nashville every year since 1995. He holds a degree in guitar performance from Oklahoma City University, which gave him its Distinguished Alumni Award in 2010.
Cruz encourages singing, dancing, clapping and audience participation during his concerts. His YouTube video of “Bohemian Rhapsody” has had more than 14 million views.