August 2006

Organist and U-M alumnus John W. Vandertuin

John Vandertuin was born in Brandon, Manitoba, in 1957. His parents, Dutch immigrants, had a Reed organ in the house, and Vandertuin began learning to play it by the time he was three. He has grown into one of the finest organists in Canada, according to David Palmer, past president of the Royal Canadian College of Organists, which has welcomed Vandertuin into its ranks.

Born blind, Vandertuin has had to memorize his entire repertoire. It helps that he has, as former U-M music professor William Rothstein says, “a fine ear and prodigious musical memory,” adding that the vast “musical 'library' that he carries in his head is one of his most remarkable attributes.”

Vandertuin's abilities go well beyond his memory, however. His music is assured, graceful, and powerful. Palmer says that his improvisations “awe and entertain his colleagues,” and that his playing of canonical works and his original compositions come “straight from the heart of the music.”

Vandertuin earned his Ph.D. from U-M's School of Music in 1994. He also studied in France with the famous (and also blind) organist Jean Langlais, and in the Netherlands, and earned a degree in music from the University of Western Ontario as well as several other music degrees and certificates. He's won national prizes and awards in both the US and Canada, and has performed there and in Europe. He has published several original compositions, and has released two CDs, Glory to His Holy Name and Live in concert at St. Peter's Cathedral Basilica, London, Ontario (from which this audio selection is excerpted).

John Vandertuin currently lives in Brantford, Ontario, with his wife Shirley.