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.
Dr. Linda Margetts
As a Temple Square organist in Salt Lake since 1984 and adjunct associate professor of music at the University of Utah (U of U) since 2000, Dr. Linda Margetts has extensive performing and teaching experience. Dr. Margetts performs with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square and its affiliated Chorale and Bells at Temple Square. She joins with her four fellow organists in presenting daily 30-minute organ recitals at Temple Square in both the Tabernacle and Conference Center. She accompanies the Tabernacle Choir on Music and the Spoken Word broadcast as assigned. In addition, Dr. Margetts is associate director of the Choir School which trains new Tabernacle Choir members.
At the U of U, Dr. Margetts teaches matriculated organ students and runs the School of Music’s community organ training program. She has concertized on organs in the United States, Canada, Armenia, Israel, England and Austria. She is a published composer.
Dr. Margetts is a Fellow of the American Guild of Organists (their highest rating) and has presented recitals and workshops at their conventions. As chapter Dean and Western Region Coordinator, she worked to help organists and to promote the organ.
Linda and her husband, Bert, are the parents of six children and 26 grandchildren.
Kimberly Moody
Kimberly Moody received her Bachelor and Master’s degree in Organ Performance and Pedagogy from Brigham Young University, studying under Dr. Parley Belnap and Dr. Don Cook. During the spring of 1997, she received first runner-up in the national MTNA organ competition in Dallas, Texas. Currently she performs as a Tabernacle guest organist in Salt Lake City. As a mother of five children Kimberly stays active performing and teaching private and group lessons. She has a small studio of organ and piano students and has taught group organ at Brigham Young University and the University of Utah. Kimberly was born and raised in San Luis Obispo, California, and is the daughter of Elmo and Betty Keller. She and her husband, Jonathan, reside in Kaysville, Utah with their five children.
Dr. Kenneth Udy
Kenneth Udy, a native of Salt Lake City, earned his DMA in organ performance from Claremont Graduate University and also studied at the University of Southern California and Utah State University. His organ teachers include Clay Christiansen, James Drake, Cherry Rhodes, and Robert Noehren. A practicing church musician since age 15, he has served since 1991 as Director of Music and Organist at Wasatch Presbyterian Church. He was also organist at Congregation Kol Ami for 25 years and frequently appears as a guest organist at the Salt Lake Tabernacle. He previously held posts at multiple churches in southern California.
In 2000 Dr. Udy joined the faculty of the University of Utah where he designed curriculum and helped implement the undergraduate and graduate degrees in organ performance. As University Organist he teaches organ majors and all organ coursework. Recently he assisted with the University’s acquisition of a new Flentrop practice organ. In addition, he maintains a studio of private organ students.
He is active in the Salt Lake City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists as their current Treasurer. He has previously served as Chapter Dean, District Convener, Co-Chairman of the Bi-Regional AGO Convention in June 2003, and an ex-officio board member.
Dr. Udy is the author of Alexander Schreiner: The California Years, a biography on the early career of Mormon Tabernacle organist Alexander Schreiner, published by Harmonie Park Press of Detroit. Last month his edition of six previously unpublished organ pieces by Alexander Schreiner was released by Wayne Leupold Editions. He is currently developing an online reference database for organists, choir directors, and church musicians.