Organist Isabelle Demers Kicks Off Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ Series, Jan. 19

Quebec native Isabelle Demers kicks off The Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ Recital Series on Saturday, January 19 at 3 p.m. in Verizon Hall. Revered by both critics and audiences alike for her virtuosic capabilities on the organ, Demers studied with Paul Jacobs at Julliard and is an internationally renowned talent recognized in organ competitions held in the United States, Europe and Canada. Prior to the afternoon performance, all ticket holders are welcome to attend a pre-concert lecture with Michael Barone, host of American Public Media's PIPEDREAMS, and Isabelle Demers at 2:15 pm in Verizon Hall.

Demers' program at Verizon Hall includes J.S. Bach's Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue BWV 903(transcription by Max Reger), Mendelssohn's Scherzo, from Symphony No. 5, Op. 107, 'Reformation' (transcription by Isabelle Demers), John Bull's Bull's Goodnight, Max Reger'sFantasia on the chorale 'Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott, Op. 27, Henry Martin's Prelude and Fugue in G-flat Major; Prelude and Fugue in A Major, Tchaikovsky's Excerpts from Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66 (transcription by Isabelle Demers), and Raymond Daveluy's Toccata, fr Sonata No. 6.

Tickets are currently on sale at kimmelcenter.org, 215-893-1999, or at the Kimmel Center Box Office located on Broad and Spruce streets, Philadelphia, Pa. (open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., later on performance evenings). Tickets are available for $17, plus applicable service charges.

Hailed as having 'virtuosic fingers and feet' by the Chicago Tribune, Demers studied with the legendary Paul Jacobs at The Julliard School in New York City, receiving not only her Master's and Doctoral degrees, as well as the Richard French Prize for the best dissertation for her analysis of Bach's St. John Passion. Asked to perform at the 2010 national convention of the American Guild of Organists, in Washington, D.C., critics deemed her concert "one of the most outstanding events of the convention" (The American Organist), and the standing-room-only audience called her back to the stage five times.