Robert Parkins plays the newly renovated 1932 Aeolian organ at Duke – the last built by this builder and the only organ of its size and significance built for a church. His unusual program includes American works influenced by German Romantic and jazz/blues traditions. Robert Parkins is the University Organist and a Professor of the Practice of Music at Duke University, where he joined the faculty in 1975. From 1982 to 1985, he served on the faculty of the School of Music at Ithaca College before returning to Duke. Dr. Parkins received his degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and the Yale University School of Music. In 1973 he was awarded a Fulbright fellowship to study with Anton Heiller at the Hochschule fur Musik in Vienna. Other teachers have included Gerre Hancock, Ralph Kirkpatrick, Charles Krigbaum, and Michael Schneider.
