We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jeong-Suk Bae. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jeong-Suk below.

Jeong-Suk, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the best or worst investment you’ve made (either in terms of time or money)? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

The best investment I’ve made was switching from piano to organ. The organ is such an important part of my life now, and has given me so many opportunities.

Originally from South Korea, I grew up playing the piano since an early age, majored in piano performance in college, then moved to US to continue study Church music in the masters program at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, where I had the opportunity to switch my major from piano to organ with a full scholarship.

The idea of my organ study was initiated by my husband Hyeok Lee, who was my fiancé at that time during our senior year in college in Seoul, Korea. We shared much time listening to recordings, attending concerts, and performing recitals together. As we planned and performed numerous choral/instrumental events we strongly felt the need for the organ, and Hyeok finally cast these words to me: “Why don’t you go to US with me and study organ?” Growing up as a church accompanist, I’ve always loved church music, and organ study seemed very attractive new path of my musical journey, so I said “Yes!”

Switching from piano to organ for my master’s degree was enjoyable but at the same time it was subtly challenging. I did have piano technique, but there were so many other things that I needed to learn quickly to render the repertoire that I was dealing with—things like pedal technique, registration skills (i.e, choosing the sounds of the organ to use for a particular piece of music), organ literature, and understanding of organ building. Ideally one would spend years to acquire these skills, but I had to jump on all these various tasks as I did my best for weekly lessons, church services, and concerts projects. With wonderful teachers and generous performing opportunities during my masters study and subsequent DMA at the University of Houston, I gradually established my organ technique, trained my ears for different tonal colors of the organ pipes, and learned how to work in ensembles.

I’m so grateful to be an organist and thankful for the opportunities that were available to me. Organ study opened me a path to become a church musician, a concert artist, and a teacher at local university. Every performance, whether major or minor, was worthwhile, as it led me to the next opportunities, and helped me become a better musician and person.

I cherish many great memories during my years of organ study, like my teacher’s hug after my last solo degree recital, or the moments when the music “comes to me” while I am making music in an ensemble, or the feeling of huge relief after performing a very “scary” piece which I prepared for months. There is such an abundance of organ music, both classical and sacred, and my hope is to continue to grow and keep learning for the rest of my career.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?

There are several different positions that I currently serve in Houston — all relating to the organ, but each with its own challenges and rewards. As a church musician, I play organ for liturgies at First Presbyterian Church and Co-Cathedral. I also teach organ students at University of St. Thomas, and concertize around the city as a solo organist and collaborative keyboardist on organ, harpsichord, and piano.

For weekend services and masses at First Presbyterian and Co-Cathedral, I try to play voluntaries in various styles that fit the liturgical year and the worship theme of the day. One of my predecessors gave a great piece of advice that “You’ll never know who will be sitting in the pews at each service. There might be people who loves classical organ repertoire, or people who are interested in orchestral works or opera, or other seasonal music.” So I try to provide music with the variety that stays in the boundary of good organ repertoire. For example, I might play a Bach prelude and fugue one weekend, then maybe some hymn arrangements or orchestral transcriptions another week, or once in a while, a piece of 20th century music or something very popular like the Toccata in F by Widor. For other elements in the liturgies, such as hymn singing and choir anthems, I try to play with different colors to reflect the text, and provide creative introductions and interludes that lead to modulations or reharmonization for the last verse. All of this is to bring inspiration to the service and encourage people to sing!

One particular thing about my job is that I get to play different organs on a regular basis. I am very blessed to have access to three beautiful organs in the city — the historic Aeolian-Skinner at First Presbyterian Church, Martin Pasi’s magnificent Op. 19 at Co-Cathedral, and very intimate Schoenstein in the Chapel of St. Basil at St. Thomas. I enjoy playing these instruments every weekly, and since these organs are all quite different (every organ is unique, in terms of its size and the arrangement of sound colors), I usually get to play one piece in three different tonal versions. Otherwise, I prepare a number of pieces in one weekend to fit each organ’s needs. This has been my routine for many years, and I’ve learned so much from these instruments.

One of the things I love my job is how it allows me to connect with people. Connecting with the audiences in concerts as a soloist or an ensemble player is a great privilege of course, and I also love the opportunity to share music for people’s special moments—maybe the prelude music before worship service when someone gets to hear it as the first thing that day, or the moment a bride is walking down the aisle…a family singing a hymn together at funeral, or when you find a child holding a hymnal in his bosom with smile after singing a hymn. At that “very” moment, music, like fragrance, becomes a part of the moment and will stay in my memory. I think this is something very special about being an organist, and maybe the reason I try to work for the very best, every moment of my career.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sacredhearthouston.org/dr-jeong-suk-bae
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/680068007/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeong-suk-bae-8a272317/
• Other: https://stthom.academia.edu/JeongsukBae