Gayle h. Martin
Gayle h Martin is University Organist and teaches organ performance, aural skills, choral conducting, introduction to conducting, and music history. She also directs the Elliott Chorale and Choral Society, and coaches the early music group Opella Nova.
Martin’s passion for music, animals and nature began in the countryside where she grew up, the beautiful Green Mountain State of Vermont. She holds the following degrees: B.Mus. (Crane School of Music, SUNY, Potsdam), M.Mus. (McGill University) and D.Mus. (University of Alberta). Further studies followed with a three-year stay in France, where Martin was organist at the American Cathedral in Paris and lived in the cathedral tower. She received a premier prix à unanimité from the Conservatoire de Rueil Malmaison, studying under the tutelage of renowned organists Jean Langlais and Susan Landale.
Martin has recorded six CD’s. First, Celtic Impressions, recorded on the organ at the Mount Allison University Chapel, features a commissioned work by Edmonton composer Jacobus Kloppers, based on Scottish jigs, airs, strathspeys and marches. Air Races, a collaborative CD with piper Ian MacKinnon, was nominated for an East Coast Music Award and contains various Celtic tunes arranged by Martin. Prism, Martin’s first solo CD, was recorded on the restored organ at Trinity-St. Stephen’s in Amherst Nova Scotia, and features music from the French symphonic era and music by Petr Eben. She has just finished recording her fourth solo CD to be released in January 2015.
Gayle h. Martin has accompanied various choral groups including the University of Alberta Madrigal Singers, the Université de Moncton choir, Chorale Beausejour, Choeur Louisbourg, Camerata Singers of Halifax, and Cantabile Singers of Truro. In addition, Martin has taken part as organist/accompanist for several other recording projects such as Songs of the Stable: Christmas Music from Canada, with the Camerata Singers. Martin also serves regularly as an adjudicator for festivals and competitions. She plays continuo for Sacabuche; most recently they concertized with the Houston Chamber Choir. Other performances with Sacabuche have taken them to Macau, Hong Kong, British Colombia and Minnesota.
