David Heller

Workshop Presenter

David Heller is Professor of Music and University Organist at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, where he also serves as Department Chair.  He received his undergraduate degree with honors from Lawrence University Conservatory of Music.  He completed the Master of Music and the Doctor of Musical Arts degrees at the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester which also awarded him the Performer’s Certificate in Organ.  His primary teachers have been Miriam Clapp Duncan, Russell Saunders in organ, and Colin Tilney and Lisa Crawford in harpsichord.  Post-graduate organ study was with David Craighead and Gerre Hancock in improvisation.  In addition to his numerous national and international performances, Dr. Heller is a frequent lecturer and clinician in the area of church music studies and organ pedagogy.  He is the author of the acclaimed Manual on Hymn Playing (G.I.A. Publications), and has five compact disc recordings on the Calcante, Pro Organo, and Raven labels. In 2010, Dr. Heller was the recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award for Scholarship and Artistic Achievement from Trinity University, one of the university’s highest awards given to its faculty.  He currently works as a freelance church musician in the San Antonio metropolitan area.