Watch Organist Brian Mathias Perform His First Organ Solo
On January 22, 2018, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir announced that Brian Mathias would be the new Tabernacle organist taking over for Clay Christiansen following his retirement. Before joining as a Tabernacle organist, Mathias was an adjunct faculty member at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas.
Upon joining the Choir organization Mathias marveled, “I have been an avid fan of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir since I was a teenager, and it is a dream come true for me to have the opportunity to be a part of what they do. The conductors and organists are musicians of the highest caliber, and I am thrilled to work alongside them.”
Mathias is the 21st person to join a choice list of world-class organists, which dates back to 1867, and includes names such as Alexander Schreiner, Joseph Daynes, Robert Cundick, Frank Asper, and John Longhurst. Mathias will work alongside Richard Elliott, Clay Christiansen, and Andrew Unsworth, Bonnie Goodliffe and Linda Margetts.
On March 11, 2018, Mathias performed his first organ solo on Music & the Spoken Word. Watch "Finale," from Symphony no. 6 by Charles-Marie Widor, from episode 4617.