Timothy E. Albrecht
Professor Emeritus of Church Music; Professor Emeritus of Music; University Organist
Degrees
DMA, Eastman School of Music, 1978
MM, Eastman School of Music, 1975
BA, Oberlin College, 1973
BM, Oberlin Music Conservatory, 1973
For 40 years, Dr. Timothy E. Albrecht held a joint faculty appointment as professor of church music at Candler and as professor of music in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Music. He also served as Emory University organist for the length of his tenure. He retired at the close of the 2021-2022 academic year.
Albrecht has authored twelve published volumes of Grace Notes for Organ I-XII (Augsburg Fortress, 1987-2006) and has recorded nine solo compact discs, including several Bach CDs and recordings of his own compositions. He is currently researching Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier.
A renowned performer, he has delighted international audiences from Alaska to the Andes, Chicago to China. The American Organist, the most widely read journal devoted to organ and choral music in the world, hails his “creative, fertile imagination” and “energized, electric performances.” Desmond Tutu once wrote Albrecht regarding an upcoming performance saying, “I am so looking forward to that … knowing you will play as if your life depended on it!”
As he did throughout his time at Emory, Albrecht leads workshops around the country for the American Guild of Organists, has taught a master class at the Juilliard School and has taught many summers in Vienna, Austria. A member of the American Guild of Organists, Albrecht also served Emory University by performing at dozens of events annually and sitting on several committees and advisory boards.
In 1999, Albrecht was awarded the Wittenberg Award from The Luther Institute in Washington, D.C., for lifelong contributions to Lutheran church music. He is a Life Member of Cambridge University in England, where he has spent two sabbaticals, and he represented the United States at the Sixth International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig, East Germany.
Albrecht is a member of Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on Emory’s campus, where he is Organist Laureate.
BOOKS
Exploring the Magic of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, (Self-published), 2022
Ein feste Burg: A Mighty Fortress is Our God, Augsburg Fortress, 2003
Go Tell It: Go Tell It on the Mountain, Augsburg Fortress, 2003
Contributing Composer, Pull Out the Stops, Augsburg Fortress, 2001
Grace Notes for Organ, Volume IX, Augsburg Fortress, 2001
Contributing Composer, Augsburg Organ Library: Christmas, Augsburg Fortress, 2001
Contributing Composer, Augsburg Organ Library: Easter, Augsburg Fortress, 2000
Contributing Composer, Augsburg Organ Library: November, Augsburg Fortress, 2000
Grace Notes for Organ, Volume VIII, Augsburg Fortress, 1999
Grace Notes for Organ, Volume VII, Augsburg Fortress, 1998
Grace Notes for Organ, Volume VI, Augsburg Fortress, 1997
Centennial Hall of Fame: Wisconsin Lutheran High Alumni Award
Wittenberg Award, The Luther Institute
Musician of the Year Award, National Pen Organization
U.S. Representative to the International Bach Organ Competition
Outstanding Young Man of America nomination in several years between 1974-1984.
Phi Beta Kappa, Oberlin College
Selby Houston Award, Oberlin Music Conservatory
Pi Kappa Lambda, Oberlin Music Conservatory
Bach for Pastors
Ecclesial Keys, Bach to Brubeck, Holtkamp to Hammond
Organ Construction and Design
Organ Literature
Service Playing and Hymn Improvisation
In the media
Organ Recital on Johann Sebastian Bach
The 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation: An International Conference, Emory University Center for the Study of Law and Religion and Candler School of Theology
