Tate Addis
Piano & Organ Faculty
A native of Kansas, Tate Addis’ performances have been described as ‘spectacular’ and acclaimed for their ‘deeply communicative musicality’ leading the Kansas City Star to write ‘this organist has the right stuff.’ His recent solo recital appearances have taken him to Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and the Bloomfield Organ Series at Wichita State University. Additionally, his performances have been broadcast on American Public Media’s nationally syndicated program Pipedreams.
Active as a church musician from an early age, Tate has held positions at New York City’s Brick Presbyterian Church, at Second Presbyterian Church in Kansas City, and at the Yale Berkeley Divinity School in New Haven. Currently, he serves as organist at First Baptist Church in Asheville, North Carolina where he collaborates with the Minister of Music in a comprehensive music program, presents a series of organ recitals entitled Bach’s Lunch, directs the youth and adult handbell ensembles, and teaches organ and piano in the church’s Academy for the Arts. In addition, he is the assistant director and accompanist for the Asheville Symphony Chorus. As a collaborative pianist, he has performed with violinists Daniel Hope and Benny Kim, tenor Vinson Cole, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
Tate Addis received the Bachelor of Music degree from Wichita State University where he studied organ with Lynne Davis and Robert Town and piano with Andrew Trechak. He holds the Master of Music degree from Yale University where he studied with Thomas Murray and obtained the Artist Diploma from Oberlin Conservatory as a student of James David Christie. Further graduate study was at the University of Missouri - Kansas City where he studied piano with Robert Weirich and organ with Elisa Bickers. Additional organ studies were with Marie-Louise Langlais and Roman Summereder.
Tate, his wife Laura, and their pet pig Virgil make their home in the mountains of western North Carolina.