Briar Cliff University Media Announcement

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Briar Cliff University invites the public to attend an organ recital performed by Sister Mary Arnold Staudt, OSF, assistant professor of music at BCU, on Sunday, April 5 at 3 p.m. in Our Lady of Grace Chapel on campus.

Sister Arnold will perform on the 25-rank Moeller pipe organ, which was installed in the Chapel in 1959. In honor of the organ’s 50^th anniversary, Sunday’s program will include chorale-preludes by Brahms and two movements of a Handel organ concerto, which were played at the organ’s dedicatory recital.

This year also marks the 200^th anniversary of Felix Mendelssohn’s birthday. Three short movements from Mendelssohn’s organ sonatas will be performed. Variations on “Wondrous Love” by Samuel Barber, “Jig Fugue” by J. S. Bach and “Finale” from the Fifth Symphony by Widor will complete the program. A choir of Cliff Singers, under the direction of Sean Burton, DMA, assistant professor of music and director of choral activities at BCU, will perform the chorale melodies and the early American hymn “Wondrous Love.” The event is free and open to the public.

At Briar Cliff, Sister Arnold teaches classes in music history and music appreciation. She also gives private music lessons and serves as organist for liturgies and special events. She holds a bachelor’s degree in music from Briar Cliff and a master’s degree in organ from the University of Iowa.

Briar Cliff University is a Catholic institution with an enrollment of more than 1,100 students from 24 states and four countries. Students are educated in the Franciscan tradition of excellence in the liberal arts and career preparation in an environment of care and compassion. For more information, please visit briarcliff.edu.