1401-04 008.CR2

Don Cook portrait in office

January 10, 2014

Photography by Mark A. Philbrick

Copyright BYU Photo 2014
All Rights Reserved
photo@byu.edu  (801)422-7322

Dr. Don Cook

Don Cook joined the organ faculty of Brigham Young University in 1991. In that capacity he serves as organ area coordinator, as university carillonneur, and oversees the group organ program.

Formerly he held associate organist/ choirmaster positions at Christ Church Cranbrook, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and at First United Methodist Church, Lubbock, Texas. He toured Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia with the Lubbock choir, and accompanied the Parish Choir of Christ Church Cranbrook on a singing tour of England.

After earning Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in organ at Brigham Young University, he received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Organ Performance from the University of Kansas. His principal organ teachers were J.J. Keeler at BYU and James Moeser at KU. For many years he served as head of the instrumental area for the BYU Workshop on Church Music, and currently directs the annual BYU Organ Workshop, founded in 2002. He appears frequently as a Guest Organist at the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City.

Dr. Cook studied carillon with Albert Gerken while pursuing doctoral studies in organ at the University of Kansas. He became a full member of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America in 1984, and has performed actively throughout North America since that time. He has served on the Board of Directors and as chair of the Music Publications Committee for the Guild. Carillon performances include a concert tour of Holland in 1990, and a recital tour of east-coast carillons in the summer of 1992. In 1994 he hosted the annual Congress of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America at Brigham Young University.

He has developed and published the first multimedia organ tutorial for pianists, Organ Tutor Organ 101 in several versions. The tutorial is used for private and group instruction, BYU Independent Study courses, and by individuals in at least nine countries.

Landon Finch

Landon Finch

A native of Elk Ridge Utah, Landon Finch is a current undergraduate organ performance major at Brigham Young University, passionate about helping others become organists leading to a lifetime of fascination and service in organ playing!

Landon began studying organ with Lisa Bradshaw of Elk Ridge, Utah as a senior in high school. Upon graduating, he served as a full-time missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Missouri St Louis area from 2017-2019. Upon completing his service, he again studied with Lisa prior to being accepted into the organ program at BYU. Landon has served as a church organist in a variety of settings, he currently serves as organist for his local congregation and frequently performs in the BYU Marriott Center on the organ for campus devotionals and other events.

Renee Gastelum

Renee Gastelum

Renee Gastelum is an accomplished concert organist, church organist, concert pianist, choir accompanist, jazz pianist, improviser, composer, and educator. She hopes that the music she performs, teaches, and writes will give power to its performers and to its listeners.

Renee will graduate in 2023 with a Bachelor’s Degree of Organ Performance from Brigham Young University. She became a Colleague of the American Guild of Organists at the age of 19 and an Associate of the same organization at the age of 22. Renee maintains private piano and organ studios and performs regularly on both instruments throughout Northern Utah.  

Renee served as a volunteer representative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Taipei, Taiwan from 2019-2020. Upon returning to the United States, she taught Mandarin Chinese at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. Renee currently serves as an organist for both her local LDS congregation and for the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Provo. She grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area.

For updates on Renee’s music, private studio, AGO certification training, live music, or community service, please visit her website at www.reneechiumusic.com.