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. Elizabeth Berghout

    A native of Utah, Elizabeth Egbert Berghout completed a Doctor of Musical Arts (Organ) at the University of Kansas, a Master of Music (Church Music), also from the University of Kansas, and a Bachelor of Music degree (Organ Performance andPedagogy) from Brigham Young University. Her major instructors on organ and carillon include Michael Bauer, Parley Belnap, Albert Gerken and James Higdon.

    Dr. Berghout is an Associate Professor of Music and the University Carillonist at the University of Kansas. In addition, she oversees the maintenance and preservation of the world-renown 53-bell Taylor carillon housed in the historic World War II Memorial Campanile. Dr. Berghout performs weekly carillon recitals at the Lawrence campus that are also live streamed on YouTube. 

     

    Dr. Jacob Hofeling

    Originally from Arizona, Dr. Hofeling has a bachelor of music degree from Arizona State University in Organ Performance, where he studied under Kimberly Marshall. Hofeling holds a master of music degree and a doctorate of musical arts in organ from the University of Kansas where he studied under James Higdon and Michael Bauer. Hofeling also has a master of music degree in music theory from the University of Kansas. Recently, Hofeling has returned from a study abroad in Bremen, Germany. While there, he studied at the Hochschule für Künste under Professor Edoardo Bellotti. Hofeling holds a position as Director of Music and Liturgy at St. Mark Catholic Church in Independence, Missouri, and was recently the interim professor of organ at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. 

    As a solo recitalist, he has recently performed concerts in Salt Lake City, Utah, Gold Canyon, Arizona, Gilbert, Arizona, Kansas City, Missouri, and several cities in Western Kansas. In addition, he performs frequently at the Community of Christ Temple in Independence, Missouri, where he holds the title of staff organist. Hofeling is also a guest recitalist at the Salt Lake Tabernacle which houses the famous and historic Aeolian-Skinner organ.  The KC Metropolis wrote that Hofeling’s playing, “had a wonderful variety of registers and colors and displayed a secure sense of control.” As a continuo player he has had the honor of performing with the Kansas City Symphony in December 2018. Hofeling was a semi-finalist in the Mikhael Tariverdiev International Organ Competition in Kaliningrad Russia, and he was awarded second prize in the Fort Wayne, IN National Organ Playing Competition. His performances have been heard on the radio at KBAQ in Phoenix, Arizona and KPR in Kansas. 

    Sharee Thompson

    Sharee Thompson is an active performer, accompanist, church musician, and teacher. She currently serves as organist at Second Presbyterian Church in Kansas City, MO. Prior to living in Kansas, Sharee appeared frequently with the Utah Symphony, as a guest organist on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, and accompanied a number of large choirs along the Wasatch Front including Vox Humana Choral Ensemble, Utah Valley Millennial Choirs and Orchestras, Maple Mountain High School Choirs, Sterling Singers, and Mapleton Chorale.

    Sharee earned the Master of Music degree in organ performance from the University of Kansas where she studied organ with Dr. James Higdon and carillon with Dr. Elizabeth Berghout. She received a Bachelor of Music degree from Utah State University where she studied with Dr. James Drake. While a student at KU, she served as organist at First Presbyterian Church, Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church, and Baldwin First United Methodist Church. Visit shareethompson.org to learn more about Sharee and see and hear some of her performances. 

    Sharee is married to Director of Music at Country Club Christian Church, Dr. Matthew Thompson, and they are the parents of three children.