Saint Mark Lutheran Church
Visiting Theologian Program
Bruce Bengtson Visiting Theologian - June 5 - 7, 2009
Bruce A. Bengtson is Director of Music at Luther Memorial Church in Madison, Wisconsin, a position he has held since 1978. Besides the duties of organist, he is responsible for the choral and instrumental program of the parish. He plays weekly Wednesday noon organ recitals at the church throughout the University's fall and spring semesters.
Mr. Bengtson's organ study was begun at the age of 11 with William Fawk of Salem, Oregon. Undergraduate work was in organ performance under Dr. Robert Anderson at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Graduate work in organ and church music was done at Valparaiso University with Dr. Philip Gehring.
Besides concerts in the United States, Mr. Bengtson has been featured in concerts in Mexico, Canada and Europe. The Lahti Organ Festival in Finland, Gävle Organ Week in Sweden, and the cathedrals of Paris, Salzburg, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki and Uppsala are among the European concert sites. Recitals have been played for the National Convention of the Organ Historical Society and for National Conferences of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians (ALCM). He has served as organist and clinician at national conferences of Chorister's Guild and the Hymn Society of the U. S. and Canada, and is active in the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians. As an accompanist for singers and instrumentalists, Mr. Bengtson has also been heard on Wisconsin Public Radio broadcasts. His anthems for choir and organ are available from Augsburg Fortress Publishing Company.