2020 Performers
Dr. Emma Whitten
Emma Whitten is an accomplished organist specializing in early Baroque and contemporary repertoire. Emma has studied and performed on historic organs in Germany, Spain, Colombia, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
In December 2014, Emma graduated with her D.M.A. in Organ Performance from Arizona State University, where she studied with Kimberly Marshall. Her doctoral dissertation, entitled “Synthesizing Styles: International Influence on Organ Music in Restoration England,” explores French and Italian musical elements in the organ works of Matthew Locke, John Blow, and Henry Purcell. In 2011, Emma received her Masters of Music degree from the University of Kansas under Michael Bauer, and in 2009 she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of Notre Dame, where she studied organ with Craig Cramer. Her previous teachers include László Attila Almásy of the Bartók Conservatory in Budapest and John Brock of the University of Tennessee.
Emma is currently Organist and Associate Director of Music at Mission San Luis Rey Parish in Oceanside, California, the largest of the 21 California missions and a center for Franciscan worship, pilgrimage, and theological study. She frequently performs in Southern California and Arizona, and she maintains a private teaching studio in Oceanside. Emma is an active member of the American Guild of Organists, both locally and as a long-distance member of the Central Arizona chapter, where she is editor of the Pipeline newsletter.
For upcoming performances, please visit her website at www.emmawhitten.com.