Lenora McCroskey at University of North Texas

Dr. Lenora McCroskey is Professor of Music Emeritus at the College of Music, University of North Texas, Denton, having joined that faculty in 1982. In addition to teaching organ and harpsichord, she was the assistant director of Early Music Studies, teaching Baroque performance practice, continuo, and coaching chamber ensembles. Her keyboard students have consistently won prizes in regional, national, and international competitions, including first prize at the first Dallas International Organ Competition held at the Meyerson Symphony Hall in 1997. She founded The Handel Project at UNT with Maestro Graeme Jenkins, music director of the Dallas Opera, performing Handel oratorios with professional and student musicians. Her numerous contributions to UNT include assembling an outstanding collection of early keyboard instruments and helping to establish a thriving and ever-growing early music program. She has won numerous grants for study in France and she is a fellow of the Mary Ingraham Bunting Institute (now the Radcliffe Institute) at Harvard. She was awarded the 2008 Paul Riedo Award from the Dallas Bach Society for service to early music in the Dallas/Fort Worth community. Critically acclaimed as an “elegant keyboardist, performing with vibrant energy,” she has performed extensively on many concert series including recitals at Harvard; Yale; the University of California, Berkeley; Notre Dame; Methuen Recital Hall; Old West Church; Piccolo Spoleto in Charleston, SC; national and regional conventions of the American Guild of Organists, the Organ Historical Society, the Midwest Historical Keyboard Society, and the Southeast Historical Keyboard Society. International appearances include solo organ recitals at l’Eglise du Val-de-Grace in Paris; continuo for the ensemble Musica Poetica at the Dresden Festival; and five concerts as artistic director of Fort Worth Early Music with countertenor Ryland Angel in Paris and at the Brantôme Festival in southern France. She was co-founder and co-artistic director of Fort Worth Early Music from 1994-2002. She performs regularly with several historical instrument ensembles in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, including the Orchestra of New Spain, the Dallas Bach Society, the Denton Bach Society, Orpheus, and is a founding member of the Denton Bach Players. She has appeared as continuoist with the Dallas Opera playing Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea and Handel’s Ariodante. Dr. McCroskey is a frequent lecturer on various aspects of Baroque literature with a particular interest in French Classic liturgy and the keyboard music of Sir Charles Burney. She is the author of the performance practice section of the preface to the new edition of the Nicolas di Grigny organ works, published by Leupold Editions. She has served as reviewer of books for Oxford Press, and Notes, the journal of the National Library Association, and is currently on the review board for the new edition of the complete organ works of J. S. Bach, published by Leupold Editions. Active in the Dallas Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, she has served as Dean, director of various committees, and as district convener for North Texas. Prior to her appointment at UNT, Dr. McCroskey, was the Assistant Organist/Choirmaster in the Memorial Church at Harvard, and was on the faculties of Stetson University, the Longy School in Cambridge, and the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester. She holds the BA and BM degrees from Stetson, where her organ study was with Paul Jenkins; an MA from Harvard in musicology; and the DMA from the Eastman School of Music, where her organ study was with Russell Saunders. She studied harpsichord with Gustav Leonhardt and continuo with Veronika Hampe at the Amsterdam Conservatory in the Netherlands. In her retirement years, she is Director of Music, Trinity Presbyterian Church, Denton; accompanist for the Denton Bach Society; plays continuo for various performances in the area; is a volunteer at the Denton Christian Preschool, a school for at-risk children; and busy with various boards and committees of local institutions. She is most proud of the wonderful activities and accomplishments of all her students from Stetson, Harvard, Eastman, and North Texas. Their successes and their continuing communications give her great joy.