International organ virtuoso Isabelle Demers performs for first time in Florida in celebration of the organ at Redeemer

March 15, 2014 / Sarasota, Fla. — Internationally acclaimed organist Isabelle Demers — hailed for her “dazzling virtuosity and a dramatic sense of timing" (U.K.’s Newbury Weekly News) — will make her first-ever appearance in Florida on Sun., March 30, at the Church of the Redeemer in Sarasota. The concert will begin at 5 p.m., and is sponsored by Redeemer and the Sarasota-Manatee Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.

Intended to be a celebration of Redeemer's massive 50-stop Nichols & Simpson organ, Demers will present an exhilarating program, playing entirely from memory such works as "Dances from Terpsichore" (Praetorius); "Scherzo and Nocturne" from "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" (Mendelssohn); excerpts from Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66 (Tchaikovsky); and "Prelude and Fugue in B-Major, Op. 7, No. 1" (Dupré); and many more.

“Isabelle Demers is a major contemporary artist — a true virtuoso of the organ," said Redeemer Organist and Choirmaster Ann Stephenson-Moe. "We are thrilled to be able to bring her to Sarasota."

Praised for her  “expressive” and “outstanding” performances by organ aficionados across the globe and in major publications such as the Chicago Tribune and The New York Times,  Demers’ recent engagements include the cathedrals of Cologne and Regensburg in Germany, St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, and the Royal Opera House of Muscat, Oman. She has played at major universities and concert halls in the United States, among them Davies Hall (San Francisco), Disney Hall (Los Angeles), the Kimmel Center (Philadelphia), the Wanamaker Organ (Philadelphia), Yale University and the Eastman School of Music.

A native of Quebec, Demers is organ professor and head of the organ program at Baylor University. She began studying piano and organ at age 11 at the Montreal Conservatory of Music. After graduation, she studied in Paris at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris and then received her Master and doctoral degrees from Juilliard. While in New York, she studied with Paul Jacobs, a Grammy winner and the chair of Juilliard’s organ department.

Advance ticket purchase is highly recommended. Tickets are $20 and may be purchased online at redeemersarasota.org or by calling the parish office at 941-955-4263. The Church of the Redeemer is located at 222 S. Palm Ave., in downtown Sarasota.