Save the Date: Spring Concert Series
This spring, the First Unitarian Church of Dallas presents a special concert series featuring distinguished guest artists and members of our own music ministry.
Organ & Trumpet Recital
Sunday, March 22, 1:30 pm, Sanctuary and Livestream
Grant Wareham presents a recital of music for organ and trumpet with trumpeter Tim Andersen. The program will feature Okna, written by composer Petr Eben as a musical depiction of the glorious stained glass windows crafted by artist Marc Chagall, which feature Jewish sacred art.
Earth Day Concert
Sunday, April 19, 1:30 pm, Sanctuary and Livestream
Our sanctuary choir presents a program celebrating the Earth, featuring selections from Randall Thompson’s Frostiana and Nancy Galbraith’s setting of the Aurora Levins Morales poem “Resurrection”, which we commissioned and premiered in May of 2025.
Walker Pipe Organ 35th Anniversary
Sunday, May 24, 1:30 pm, Sanctuary (in-person only)
Internationally celebrated organist Ken Cowan is joined by his wife, violinist Lisa Shihoten, for a recital commemorating the 35th anniversary of our Walker pipe organ.
About Ken Cowan
Regarded as one of North America’s finest concert organists and praised for his dazzling artistry, impeccable technique, and imaginative programming by audiences and critics alike, Ken Cowan maintains a rigorous performing schedule that takes him to major concert venues in America, Canada, Europe, and Asia.
Mr. Cowan has been a featured artist in recent years at national conventions of the American Guild of Organists in Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Houston. He has performed at many regional conventions of the AGO and has been featured at several conventions of the Organ Historical Society and the Royal Canadian College of Organists.
A native of Thorold, Ontario, Canada, Mr. Cowan received the Master’s degree and Artist Diploma from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, studying organ with Thomas Murray. Prior to attending Yale, he graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where he studied with John Weaver. Following initial studies with his father, David Cowan, his primary teacher during his high school years was James Bigham.
Numerous critically acclaimed compact disc recordings by Mr. Cowan are available. His most recent releases are Dynamic Duo, (Pro Organo), featuring Mr. Cowan and Bradley Welch in a program of works for duo organists, performed on the monumental Casavant organ at Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, TX and Ken Cowan plays The Great Organ (Pro Organo), recorded at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City. Many of Mr. Cowan’s recordings and live performances have been featured on the nationally distributed radio show PIPEDREAMS from American Public Media.
Mr. Cowan is currently Professor of Organ and head of the organ program at The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. He is additionally Organist and Artist-in-Residence at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church in Houston, TX
About Lisa Shihoten
Violinist Lisa Shihoten enjoys an active career as a chamber musician, soloist, and teacher. She is a member of the prestigious New York City-based Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players, where she appears regularly alongside some of the world’s most prominent musicians. Her solo appearances have included concerto performances under the direction of Kurt Masur, Robert Spano, and David Shallon. As a chamber musician and soloist, she has appeared in concert halls throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Her numerous awards include honors from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, the Caramoor Center’s Evnin Rising Stars program, the Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists, and the Paganini International Violin Competition. Her appearances at summer festivals have included the Caramoor Music Festival, the Ravinia Festival, the North Shore Chamber Music Festival, the Norfolk Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Verbier Music Festival. She regularly performs duo recitals throughout the U.S. with her husband, organist Ken Cowan. Upcoming engagements include solo appearances in China.
A native of Chicago, Ms. Shihoten earned her bachelor’s degree at The Juilliard School as a student of Dorothy DeLay and Masao Kawasaki, and her master’s degree from the Yale School of Music as a student of Peter Oundjian. After a decade on the violin faculty at Princeton University, she is currently a faculty violin instructor at the Michael P. Hammond Preparatory Program at Rice University in Houston. Ms. Shihoten is also a guest instructor at the Betty Haag Academy of Music in Chicago, where she has the great honor of working with her childhood violin teacher, Betty Haag-Kuhnke.
