George Baker
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A native of Dallas, George Baker has received training with some of the finest organ teachers of the twentieth century. He obtained his bachelor’s degree (organ) from SMU under Robert Anderson, after which he traveled to Paris to study with Marie-Claire Alain, Pierre Cochereau, Jean Langlais, André Marchal and Nadia Boulanger. Baker earned the Prix de Virtuosité with Maximum Mention from the Schola Cantorum in Paris, under Langlais (1975). Ultimately, he returned to the United States, where he earned his M.M. and D.M.A. degrees, before deciding to undertake the challenge of becoming a medical doctor. Although he obtained his M.D. and became a dermatologist, Dr. Baker never ceased performing, composing, teaching and recording.
In his early years as a musician, Baker won first prizes by unanimous jury decisions in several major organ competitions including the AGO (Buffalo, 1970), the Grand Prix de Chartres (Chartres, France, 1974) and the International Improvisation Competition (Lyon, France, 1979). His recording credits include the complete organ works of J. S. Bach (1979, the first to be recorded by an American artist) and the complete organ works of Louis Vierne (world premiere recording, released in 1994, a project he shared with Pierre Cochereau). Other recordings include works of Langlais, Milhaud, Reger, Hindemith, Clérambault, DuMage, Ives, Sowerby and Dupré. Baker has been awarded three French Grand Prix du Disque.
His current self-published catalog includes more than 20 titles. Stefan Engels premiered his latest work, Le Tombeau de Jean Langlais, at the AGO Seattle National Convention in July 2022.
Baker is currently adjunct associate professor of organ at SMU in Dallas, TX, where he teaches improvisation.
