George Ritchie

George Ritchie has contributed to the organ profession in a number of significant ways, as a performer, teacher, author, and Bach scholar. His recordings include a set on the Raven label of Bach’s complete organ works, documenting several important historically-informed American organs built by American builders in the past 40 years.  He is also co-author with George Stauffer of the book Organ Technique: Modern and Early, widely used today in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.  As an active recitalist and lecturer, he performed and lectured at numerous Regional and National AGO conventions and the International Congress of Organists.  He was among the featured Karen McFarlane artists on the back cover of The American Organist for decades.  He served as a faculty member at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for 34 years, where his teaching touched the lives of hundreds of organ students, many of whom have gone on to successful careers as church musicians and teachers themselves.  He was the Marguerite Scribante Professor of Organ and was given the Sorensen Award, an all-university award for distinguished teaching in the humanities.   At the University of Nebraska, he and his long-time colleague Quentin Faulkner created a comprehensive program in organ and church music and also initiated a highly successful series of organ conferences featuring many world-renowned specialists.