UCLA Performing Arts Organist David
Higgs, from the Eastman School of Music, performs in Royce
Hall Tuesday in his only California performance this season.
By Janet Nakano
Daily Bruin Contributor
It is said that no two organs are alike and UCLA’s own
antique Royce Hall organ will soon have its chance in the
spotlight.
Concert organist and chair of the organ department at the
Eastman School of Music, David Higgs, will give a solo recital
Tuesday evening in Royce Hall.
Higgs, head of one of the most prestigious organ departments in
America, was personally invited to perform on the Royce Organ by
UCLA University Organist Thomas Harmon.
“He is widely admired as one of the most outstanding
concert organists of the younger generation,” Harmon said.
“He is a consummate artist with dazzling technical skills and
impressive stylistic versatility and perception.”
Higgs is planning to dazzle the audience with his opening
virtuoso showpiece by Liste.
According to Higgs, Liste was a famous concert pianist in the
19th century who dazzled his audiences and even caused women to
faint by playing faster and louder than anyone had done before.
This passionate opening piece will be followed by others,
including Dupre’s “Variation on a Noel” and
Conte’s “Soliloquy.”
A passion for the organ stemming from before he can remember
drives Higgs to his esteemed position.
“Before you’d expect a kid to notice, my mother said
that I was kneeling in front of a sofa making believe it was the
organ that I had seen at church,” Higgs said in a phone
interview from Rochester, New York.
Because he was unable to reach the pedals at such a young age,
Higgs didn’t officially start his musical career as a church
organist until he was 10.
“I started playing every chance I could by going to
churches in New York City, asking if I could play their
organ,” Higgs said.
Higgs then played other instruments with various R&B, soul
and gospel groups throughout his teens and early 20s, but soon
discovered that his true passion was the organ.
“I felt that this was a lot deeper and richer to me and it
was something that I could do until I was 80,” Higgs
explained. “I can play music spanning over 400 years, which
is fun to explore considering some of those instruments are still
around in Europe, built in the 1500s.”
The organ appeared around 300 B.C. and developed into a more
modern version in the 16th century. The modern organ can be
extremely large and difficult to maneuver.
“The organ console itself is probably more confusing than
the cockpit of a 747,” said UCLA production manager, Michael
F. Wolf.
According to Wolf, a staff takes five hours to tune the organ
and must then remove several rows of seats to move the console to
center stage from its storage position which is off to the side of
the audience.
Because of this extensive process, organs do not have the luxury
of travel, which means that an organist plays a different organ at
each performance.
“The real pressure is on Mr. Higgs who has very little
time to get acquainted with the organ,” Wolf said.
Higgs will only have Monday and Tuesday to practice for the
upcoming performance, Wolf said.
“It’s kind of a pain but it also makes it a lot more
interesting rather than just playing your own instrument,”
Higgs explained.
The Royce Organ was designed by Harold Gleason, also from the
Eastman School of Music, and built in 1930 with more than 6,600
pipes.
“It feels like you’re playing a building more than
playing the organ because the organ is often such a part of the
building, so you really get a sense of what the acoustic is like
and how the concert mood is put together,” Higgs said.
With natural talent and passion for the organ, it’s no
wonder that Higgs is so well known and admired.
“I heard him last year at the Crystal Cathedral and he was
fantastic,” said Ho Jun Lee, a doctoral student in
composition and theory currently studying under Harmon.
Higgs plans on filling Royce Hall with this versatile music of
passion during his only California performance this season.
MUSIC: Higgs will perform at Royce Hall on
Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. For ticketing information contact the Central
Ticket Office at (310) 285-2101.