David Boe (born Mar 11 1936, Duluth, Minnesota) is an organist and is head of the organ department of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he has taught since 1962. He is most notable for his work as a pedagogue, having trained a large number of famous organists during his time at Oberlin.
Life
Boe attended St. Olaf College during his undergraduate years, and studied with Arthur Poister at Syracuse University. As a Fulbright scholar, he studied with Helmut Walcha, and later Gustav Leonhardt. Shortly after his study with Walcha, he was appointed to the organ faculty at Oberlin, where he is now the longest serving conservatory professor. Boe commissioned organ-builder John Brombaugh's first major instrument, Opus 1, and has always been keenly interested in historical performance and early temperaments. He was interviewed on the nationally televised program The Wind at One's Fingertips. Since 1962, Boe has taught hundreds of organists at Oberlin, including famous concert organist and fellow faculty member James David Christie; Notre Dame organ faculty Craig Cramer; the leading clavichord expert of today, Joel Speerstra; and many others. Boe served as music director and organist for over 40 years at First Lutheran Church, Lorain, Ohio.
Performances
Boe rarely performs publicly now, and performed less regularly than most concert organists during his time, having preferred spending his time teaching instead. He was signed with WindWerk Artists for many years, and gave concerts in many parts of the U.S., as well as Europe. Boe has made significant appearances on two CDs: Brombaugh Opus 9, a commercial recording highlighting a new mean-tone organ by Brombaugh, and Organs of Oberlin (Gasparo), a recording of the various styles of organ at the conservatory.
External links
- Faculty page at Oberlin Conservatory
- Biography from the piporg-l mailing list
- Biography from Windwerks (from the Internet Archive)
