Robert Parris is Charles B. Thompson Professor of Music and University Organist of Mercer University, where he was appointed to the faculty in 1979. He is also Choirmaster and Organist of Christ Church, Macon, the oldest parish and mother church of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, a post he has held since 2004.
A native of Virginia, Parris received the Bachelor of Music degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees as well as the Performer's Certificate in organ from the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester. Post-doctoral studies were undertaken in Boston and in northern Germany. His teachers include Rudolph Kremer, David Craighead and William Porter in organ, and William Penn and Samuel Adler in composition.
In 1979, at the beginning of his professional career, he was invited by the late Ruth Plummer to join the long-established Artist Recitals roster of concert organists she guided from her office in Los Angeles. Since that time, he has established himself as a player and improviser in both historic and modern styles, performing under the sponsorship of churches, colleges and universities, and chapters of the American Guild of Organists. In 2004 he was a featured performer at the AGO national convention in Los Angeles, appearing with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in Walt Disney Hall.
His command of historic performance technique has caused his frequent performances on significant antique instruments in northern Europe to meet with enthusiastic press reaction. His 2002 performance of Bach's Clavieruebung, Part III on the Arp Schnitger organ in Weener (Germany) was described as "…having the audience's rapt attention throughout. Parris's playing seems less about 'concertizing' and more about expressing the poetry of Bach's music … this is in sharp contrast to German organists of the present day…" (Ostfriesische Zeitung). Other highlights include three concerts for the North German Organ Academy, and a recital on the famed Schnitger organ in Norden on the 350th anniversary of Schnitger's birth in 1998.
Parris has recorded repertoire by Mozart and Reger on the Spectrum label, and music of Sowerby in an album titled Jubilee on Premier. His most recent recording was released in early 2006, a recital titled Land of Rest on the Loft Recordings label, including music of Buxtehude, Bach, Franck, Sowerby, and Dupre.
As a composer, Parris enjoys exploring several seemingly divergent aspects of his artistic heritage. In recent years, his experience with various styles of improvisation has had a pronounced effect on the evolution of his language. Since 2005, Parris has been engaged in an ongoing project, composing preludes on hymntunes (most of them contemporary) from the Hymnal 1982 of the Episcopal Church.
At Mercer University, Parris teaches organ and harpsichord, as well as courses in both music history and music theory at graduate and undergraduate levels, often centering around the Renaissance and Baroque eras. In addition to music, he is active in the area of interdisciplinary studies, specializing in courses which integrate, compare, and contrast various forms of artistic expression. He was a featured speaker at the 2003 national conference of the Association for Core Texts and Courses.
…the introduction (of Vierne Symphony V) had just the right amount of foreboding, the second movement showed a fine sense of musical unrest, the scherzo possessed a demonic wit, the fourth movement was a luxurious moment that never approached sentimentality, and the final allegro moderato was filled with virtuosic joy…
The American Organist
…Robert Parris and the orchestra then treated the audience to Sowerby's Concerto I in C major and the organ, hall, architect, acoustician, and organ builders received the standing ovation that was very much their due…
The Diapason
...The listeners experienced a breathtaking evening of organ playing, and expressed themselves with an extraordinary amount of applause. Towering over it all, however, was the improvisation on Vater unser im Himmelreich. Robert Parris was visibly pleased with the instrument (from 1724), and communicated this to his listeners.
Stendaller Zeitung
Dr. Parris may be contacted at parris_rw@mercer.edu.