She is an organist, conductor, composer and author known as “the first lady of the organ” born Diane Joyce Bish in Kansas. She studied with Dorothy Addy in Kansas and on the receipt of grants from the French Government and Fulbright went on to study in Paris with Marie Claire Alain, Gustav Leonhardt and Nadia Boulanger.
While still a young performer she began her television show The Joy of Music and it has now run for over 25 years continuously and rakes in around 300 million people a week who watch her solo performances, accompanying various ensembles and her narratives on subjects that include world travel.
Being recognised for her major contribution to music and bringing awareness of organ music to the public, she was honoured with a National Citation by the National Federation of Music Clubs of America in 1989. Aside from her successful television career, for more than 20 years she was the artist-in-residence and senior organist of the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
She has appeared on over 30 recordings over the years including Diane Bish Organ Favorites, Classic Hymns with Tim Zimmerman & The King’s Brass , The Panpipes of Zamfir and Glorious Pipes with Gheorghe Zamfir, Sacred Music with Susan McDonald and a CD where she is the first American woman to feature on a recording on the four organs of Germany’s Freiburg Cathedral.
As a composer she has written many works for organ that include symphonic pieces and solo works as well has arranging many tunes and hymns. In publishing she has written the book Church Music Explosion, The Joy of Music and Warren Woodruff published his Diane Bish: First Lady of the Organ in 1993.
Another project she has been involved in entailed her working with the Allen Organ Company on her Diane Bish Signature Organs, which have since been used in many areas of the United States.
Here she is performing the wonderful “Toccata & Fugue in D Minor” by J.S. Bach….
Sources:
- http://www.dianebishtv.com/diane_bish.htm
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_Bish
- http://www.allenorgan.com/www/products/mainbish.html
- http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&keywords=diane+bish&index=blended&page=1
- http://www.trumpetguild.org/pdf/2006journal/200603CDReviews.pdf