Composer / Arranger Spotlight

A church musician is similar to an avid reader. People who love to read have their favorite authors and genres. Those authors are often in high demand at the library, and the same books fly on the shelves at your local bookstore. Composers and arrangers of music are no different.  One of my favorite composers is Gordon Young. His name is synonymous with Gresham, Patterson, and Steele. Gordon Young has long been a staple of organ repertoire due to his accessible service music. The term “accessible” is debatable but with some practice, the organist can master the tune, dynamics, and overall musicology of his works. Young passed several decades ago, but there is not a Sunday that goes by that his unmistakable style is not heard in churches large and small around the world.  Young is best known for his organ work "Prelude in Classic Style" (from Nine Pieces for Organ, Sacred Music Press, 1966), which has entered the worldwide standard organ repertoire.