Program Instructor: The program instructor, Arthur Omura, grew up attending St. Alban’s Church Services and studied organ with Richard Cushman as a teen. Mr. Omura has advanced degrees in keyboard music from the University of Southern California; in addition to the organ, he is also a fine pianist and harpsichordist, one with a fine hand in servicing on the latter. . (He built his first harpsichord in a classroom at St. Alban’s.)
Corbett: Sonata for Trumpet and Violin, Op.1 No. 12 (Dominic Favia, Trumpet)
Arthur Omura and William Cayanan: Overture to Les Indes Galantes by Rameau
Program Capacity: At this time, there is space for a maximum of two students at a time.
Finances: In order to emphasize the value of the lessons, students are expected to contribute a portion of the lesson cost, according to their means, with Calliope offsetting the balance. Please see the application for more details. (link to application)
Geographic reach: Students should be current residents of Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Kensington, Richmond, Oakland, or Alameda.
Age of Participants: Playing the organ requires sufficient height to reach all of the components. At this time, the minimum age of participants is 15; however, the application has a section where a student of 13 or 14 may petition to take part in the program (space permitting).
Maximum Length of program participation per student: The maximum length of participation in the program is three years. As a general concept, each year will have a theme: year one - introduction to basic technique; year two - getting to know the repertoire; year three - journeyperson - able to play for church services and/or concerts.
Agreements: After being accepted into the program (should capacity permit), students (or their parents, if they are under the age of 18) must complete an agreement regarding expectations surrounding behavior, practice, payment, and the like.
>> To inquire about current openings in the program, please email calliopeebma@gmail.com
>> To apply for the program, please complete an application
Calliope: East Bay Music & Arts Organ Scholarship Program
Program History and Overview: Calliope: East Bay Music & Arts, a secular nonprofit arts organization with the mission of “building community and advancing social justice through the arts”, has the unique advantage of being housed at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church. St. Alban’s, with aesthetically beautiful, welcoming spaces and gorgeous acoustics, is also home to a very fine historic pipe organ; a 1914 Hook and Hastings instrument which was originally designed and built for the Sisters of the Presentation Convent in San Francisco.
St. Alban’s beloved longtime organist, the late Dr. Richard Cushman, (add link to bio) had a lifetime passion both for organ music and for teaching, and was dedicated to keeping organ music alive as an art form by training young organists in the discipline. When he died unexpectedly in December of 2024 he had just started working with two new students.
Inspired by Dr. Cushman’s legacy and sudden passing, Calliope began work with St. Alban’s leadership on the creation of this special organ scholarship program: one where rising young keyboard musicians, with our support, can study with a highly qualified organist (who himself originally trained with Dr. Cushman!) to become accomplished organists who can, in turn, hone their craft by playing for the Calliope and St. Alban’s communities. The program is slated to launch in May of 2025.
About Dr. Richard Cushman
Dr. Richard Cushman, a long-time, beloved organist and choir leader at St. Alban’s, passed away on December 26, 2024. A church organist since his first years of high school, he began to play professionally at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Petaluma, where he conducted several choirs and oversaw a highly successful rebuild of the pipe organ.
Though always dedicated to sacred music, Dr. Cushman devoted his graduate PhD studies at UC Berkeley to Renaissance literature, lyric, and drama, with a special focus on sacred verse. He taught at Stanford University, where he received the Walter J. Gores Award for Faculty Excellence in 1997. He also taught at the University of San Francisco and at the College of the Holy Names. Most recently, Richard taught courses in literature at the College Preparatory School in Oakland, including classes in classical Greek and Roman literature, Dante, Shakespeare and early twentieth-century fiction. He also played organ for his own place of worship, The Newman Center at UC Berkeley. Richard was an inspiring teacher and a champion of young musicians, with a special passion for teaching the organ so that the art form would continue to thrive. This program is dedicated to his memory, and designed to honor his commitment to organ scholarship.
About Our Beloved Organ
Built in 1914 by Hook & Hastings, one of America’s premier organ makers. It has 520 pipes divided into three major “organs:” the pedestal organ, 1 rank of 32 pipes; the great organ and the swell organ, each having 244 pipes arranged in 4 ranks. It operates on air pneumatic actions with electrical assist. It has not been altered from its original voicing, specification or action and is a valuable historical artifact.
This wondrous instrument was designed for the Sisters of the Presentation Convent in San Francisco; when they built a new, larger hall, and purchased a larger organ for the hall, St. Alban’s became the lucky purchaser and new caretaker of this fine historic instrument.
Purchased by St. Alban’s in 1970, it has been played every Sunday and for special concerts and recitals. A major fund-raising campaign was undertaken and the organ was carefully upgraded from tubular pneumatic to electric pneumatic and the console restored by Warren Potter in 1994.