“To invoke an old Southern expression, Bradley Hunter Welch plays the organ like nobody’s business. Between the virtuosity of the playing and the easy going spoken commentary, he also proved that ‘entertainer’ and ‘organist’ needn’t be mutually exclusive. It would be hard to play Widor any better than this....splendidly idiomatic and communicative.”
About Dr. Bradley Hunter Welch
Hailed as “A world-class virtuoso” and “an expert at defining darks, lights, shadows and colors,” Bradley Hunter Welch is increasingly in demand as a recitalist, concerto soloist, and collaborative artist.
In August 2018, Bradley Hunter Welch was named Resident Organist and holder of the Lay Family Chair by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, where he performs with the DSO and serves as Curator of the Meyerson Symphony Center’s Lay Family Concert Organ, built by C.B. Fisk. A lifelong and passionate church musician, Dr. Welch also serves as Artist-in-Residence at Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church in Dallas, TX.
A native of Knoxville, TN, Bradley holds the Doctor of Musical Arts, Master of Musical Arts, Master of Music degrees, and the Artist Diploma from Yale University where he studied with Thomas Murray and Martin Jean. He also holds the Bachelor of Music degree magna cum laude from Baylor University where he studied with Joyce Jones.
Dr. Welch is the 2003 First Place winner of the Dallas International Organ Competition and was also awarded the Audience Prize for the second time, having previously won it in 2000. He was Director of Music & Arts at Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, TX from 2009 to 2014 and currently devotes his full-time attention to a thriving solo concert career. In addition to these duties, he performs approximately 20 concerts annually under the exclusive artistic management of Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists, Hartford, CT.
His premier recording is the first solo organ recording of the Cliburn Organ at Broadway Baptist Church. Bradley is married to Kara Kirkendoll Welch, a flutist in the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Adjunct Professor of Flute at Southern Methodist University. They have a son--Ethan Hunter Welch--and a daughter--Avery Kristine Welch.