Theme and Variations on "L'e Ping" 2010 AGO/Holtkamp Organ Composition Competition Winner

A programmatic piece for solo organ, the Theme and Variations on "Le P'ing" is based on a Chinese folk song that focuses on the dawn of a new day. Each variation illustrates a different facet of God's world greeting the dawn: the first sunlight, the birds, the lake, the woodland creatures, the breeze, and a final carillon where all creation praises God.

A full-time church musician since 1973, Michael Bedford currently serves as Organist/Choirmaster and Composer-in-Residence at St. John's Episcopal Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he plays the organ and supervises a full graded choir program including three singing choirs and a handbell choir. He has held similar positions in Texas and Colorado. He is also the founder and CEO of Crescendo Press where he publishes much of his own sacred music, including music for choirs, organ, handbells, extended works for choir and orchestra, service music, and hymn concertatos for choir, congregation, organ, brass and timpani. (Website: www.crescendo-press.com )
A native of Sherman, Texas, he began early organ studies with Mary Fisher Landrum and Richard J. Tappa. In 1972 he earned the BMus and BMusEd degrees from Texas Christian University, studying organ with Emmet G. Smith and choral conducting with Dr. B. R. Henson. In 1975 he earned the MMus degree in organ performance from the same institution. On a Fulbright scholarship in 1972-73 he studied organ with Michael Schneider and harpsichord with Hugo Ruf at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne, Germany. In 1998 he earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in organ performance from the University of North Texas, studying organ with Dale Peters. A long-time member of the American Guild of Organists, he is Past Dean of the Fort Worth (TX), Colorado Springs (CO) and Tulsa (OK) Chapters, and is currently serving as Regional Councillor for Region VII (TX, OK, NM, AR and western LA). In May of 1991 he earned the Associate (AAGO) and Choirmaster (ChM) certificates through the American Guild of Organists Professional Certification examinations.
Dr. Bedford has published choral music for children's, youth and adult choirs, as well as organ collections and handbell pieces. Through fifteen different publishers he now has over two hundred titles in print. He also serves as workshop leader and clinician for children's and youth choir festivals, handbell festivals, hymn festivals and organ workshops throughout the United States. His Psalm 96 for choir, organ and trumpet was awarded 1st Prize in the Ninth Biennial Competition for the 2004 American Guild of Organists/E. C. Schirmer Publishing Award in Choral Composition and is available through E. C. Schirmer. His Theme and Variations on "L'e Ping" for solo organ was recently awarded 1st Prize in the 2010 AGO/Holtkamp Organ Composition Competition, and will be published in 2010 by Hinshaw Music, Inc.
In addition to membership in the American Guild of Organists, Dr. Bedford also belongs to Choristers Guild (of which he is a past board member); the Association of Anglican Musicians; the Royal School of Church Music in America; the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers; the American Choral Directors Association; and the Oklahoma Choral Directors Association (of which he is a past board member). In 1984 his bio was featured in Outstanding Young Men of America, and in 1989 it appeared in the International Who's Who in Music.