Dallas Organist to Provide Live Accompaniment to Silent Classic at WT

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — A classic silent film will come to life with special instrumental accompaniment in an upcoming screening at West Texas A&M University.

Benjamin Kolodziej, a prominent organist in Dallas, will accompany Buster Keaton’s classic “The General” at 7 p.m. Oct. 7 in Mary Moody Northen Recital Hall on WT’s Canyon campus.

Tickets are free but required; they may be reserved at cur8.com/22281/project/133279.

In the heyday of silent films, movie theaters would provide live musical accompaniment, ranging from a piano in a small theater to a full orchestra in large theaters in major metropolitan areas.

“Having an organist like Mr. Kolodziej accompany ‘The General’ with live music provides a wonderful opportunity for families to come and have a wonderful evening together,” said Dr, Michael Johnson, instructor of organ.

Keaton’s 1926 film depicts a Southern train engineer attempting to rescue both his fiancée and his beloved locomotive after they are seized by Union spies during the Civil War. The film highlights Keaton’s death-defying stunt work and is one of the most influential action-comedies ever made. It was selected for the inaugural class of films chosen for preservation in the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry in 1989.

The concert is sponsored by the WT School of Music, the Amarillo chapter of the American Guild of Organists and Dr. J’s Woodwind Repair in Amarillo.

Kolodziej holds an undergraduate degree in organ performance as well as graduate degrees in sacred music and theology from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He has performed solo organ concerts in Norway, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Italy and throughout the United Kingdom.

A frequent performer for concerts and hymn festivals in the US, he has performed at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and St. Thomas Church in New York City, Washington National Cathedral, and St. Philip’s Cathedral in Atlanta.

Kolodziej is organist and choirmaster at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Dallas and also is organist at Perkins Chapel at Southern Methodist University, where he plays for 100 weddings a year.

Fostering an appreciation of the arts is a key component of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign has raised more than $175 million and will continue through 2025.

About West Texas A&M University

A Regional Research University, West Texas A&M University is redefining excellence in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. A Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, WT boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers 66 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor’s and master’s degree, a specialist degree and two doctoral degrees. WT recently earned a Carnegie Foundation classification as a Research College and University. The University also is home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 16 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

—WT—