Organs

Daryl Robinson

Daryl Robinson has earned international acclaim from critics and audiences alike, being described as an artist with “… a driving muscular poetry underpinned by nimble technique and nuanced sense of style …” (Choir and Organ) and possessing “… flawless technique and rhythmic verve …” (The American Organist). Winner of both First Prize and Audience Prize in the 2012 American Guild of Organists National Competition in Organ Performance, he has since maintained an active career as a recitalist, collaborative artist, church musician, and educator. Mr. Robinson began his teaching career on the faculty of Westminster Choir College and currently serves as Assistant Professor of Organ at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music.

Notable recital venues include the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Shanghai Oriental Art Center, and the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. Mr. Robinson has also been a featured artist at conventions of the Organ Historical Society (2018) and the American Guild of Organists (2014, 2015, and 2016). His collaborative career has included performances with the GRAMMY®-winning the Houston Chamber Choir and Houston Symphony, and he is a frequent collaborator with the GRAMMY®-nominated Ars Lyrica Houston. In 2016 he served as Organist-in-Residence for the Choral Institute at the University of Oxford in the U.K. and in 2019 on the Audition Jury for the Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition.

Multiple critically-acclaimed commercial discs are available; these include the first commercial recording of the organ at Walt Disney Concert Hall, American Fantasia (2018, Gothic Records), and his debut solo album, Sempre Organo (2013, ProOrgano Records), both of which have garnered rave reviews internationally. Mr. Robinson’s performances are routinely featured on nationally syndicated radio programs, including Pipedreams® and With Heart and Voice. Mr. Robinson recorded A Love So Fierce: The Complete Solo Organ Music of David Ashley White (2021, Acis Productions), the first commercial recording of the organ at Christ Church Cathedral, Houston, where he serves as Associate Minister for Music and Cathedral Organist. Collaborative recordings include Carolae - Music for Christmas (2016, Naxos Records), recorded with the GRAMMY®-nominated Williamson Voices of Westminster Choir College. Committed to routinely commissioning and recording new music for the organ, Robinson has commissioned Rachel Laurin, Aaron David Miller, Jason Roberts, George Baker, Tom Trenney, David Briggs, and David Ashley White to write music for him.

A passionate educator committed to training young organists for careers as soloists and effective collaborative musicians, his students currently hold many prestigious church positions and routinely concertize across the U.S. The University of Houston’s Faculty Senate honored his research and teaching by featuring him on the Assistant Professor of Excellence Lecture Series in the 2021-22 academic year. In 2019, Robinson served as Director of the American Guild of Organists’ Pipe Organ Encounter Advanced, a summer program focused on young organists entering grades 9 through 12 and currently serves on the AGO National Committee on the New Organist. Holding degrees from the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston and the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, Robinson’s studies were directed by distinguished instructors, including Robert Bates, Ken Cowan, and David Higgs, who impressed upon him the importance of using his gifts and talents in service to others.

Mr. Robinson is represented by Karen McFarlane Artists, Inc. Further information, including recordings and current engagements, can be found at: www.darylrobinson.com.