PCM: You found yourself being the only American many time at the competitions in Europe?

CR: That is one of the mistakes in my press release, it should be that I am the first American to win an international competition in Europe period. The press release says I am the first American to win a prize at the Munich Competition. That is a completely different thing.

It was always my dream and I think it was my moms influence on me. She was an artist and studied art at Fontainbleau, she always told me how wonderful Paris was. Then it became my goal to go to Germany because all the great masters are German and French. It became my goal to go to both countries. When I heard Carl Richter play in Frankford, I was blown away. I asked him if he would take me as a student. He said, "Yes". I went there and I studied three years. I studied, I sang in his Bach choir which was fabulous. We toured in Italy, England all over Germany it was such an incredible experience. He was a master musician I learned so much.

PCM: Did you have pressure or put pressure on yourself being the first American organist in the European competitions.

CR: I didn’t feel any pressure, I feel like it plummeted me into having concert offers and opening doors for me. I was happy about that.

PCM: What lead you to the competitions?

CR: When I was in Munich I entered a competition and that was a fluke too. One of my students friends said you know they’re having an international competition in Munich why don’t you enter it. I said, "What, me enter?". I didn’t think anything of it. Dr. McCurdy never spoke of competitions, it wasn’t in my vocabulary so to speak. This person said, "I think you should enter". I had about two and a half months to prepare. I had  some pieces that fit in. There were two rounds. My friend who also studied with Carl Richter was going around to the churches hearing the competitors and she would report to me how good everybody was. I didn’t think I would have a chance.  I won! Then they said we can talk to any of the judges so I picked the judge from France because I knew I wanted to go to France. It as Jean Guillou. I asked him if he had any comments he would like to offer me. He asked if we could meet at an organ the next day. I said I can arrange that. We met  and before I knew it two hours were up. I asked him if I came to Paris could I study with you. He said, "Well I don’t take student but I’ll take you".

PCM: Didn’t you also study with Marie-Claite Alain in Paris?

PCM: Yes, when I was studying with Guilou I also wanted to study early French music that I knew Guillou wasn’t interested in so I asked him if it was ok if I also studied with Marie-Claire Alain. I didn’t want to sneak behind his back and destroy our relationship. I contacted her and she said that she was all booked up and had a waiting list. I told her that I would only be in Paris for one year. She told me to call back in a month. I called her back and she still had no time. I asked her if she could at least her me play. She agreed. I trekked out to the suburbs of Paris by train and played for her. She was silent when I finished and then asked, "When do we start?".

PCM: Where do you practice?

CR: Well I have a wonderful pipe organ in my home. It’s a tracker organ mechanical action. It’s a Reiger Organ from Austria. It’s a two manual with 10 ½ ranks. I practice here. I also practice on my Steinway.

PCM: Do you have a lot of ground?

CR: No, they can’t hear the organ unless they are right outside our window. They’re more apt to hear the piano than the organ. I’m not going to play full organ, I don’t want to break my ears.

Even if it were full it’s not that kind of earth shaking sound. Because I don’t have a church job I don’t have access to large instruments. I do have very supportive musician friends in this area who let me work out on their instruments from time to time. I have a mechanical action organ that I work out on it’s three manuals. I have to drive fifty minutes to get there but it’s fine because it’s right on the cliffs next to the ocean. The cathedral in Los Angeles has been letting me work out on their instrument in preparation for Kimmel Center because it’s the same builder who built both instruments.

PCM: Do you practice on the piano first?

CR: Actually I do. I like to finger my music on the piano simply because I don’t have to be perched on an organ.

PCM: When you’re practicing on the piano are you longing to play it on a big instrument?

CR: When I take a piece of music I am analyzing it as I’m working out what finger I’m going to use for a particular note. Working out patterns, and every piece has different patterns you haven’t done before. So I am actually longing to hear the piece but I’m at the baby stages. Yeah, I long for it but I know I can’t do that until I thoroughly analyze, work out my fingering and my pedaling. I enjoy the process. When I was a teenager I use to hate to finger music. Now I love it. It’s like a puzzle fitting the pieces together and when they fit and you get the most graceful fingering for your body. That’s when it is locked in. I get so excited.

PCM: What brought you the works of George Walker and William Grant Still?

CR: Actually George Walker was commissioned to write a piece for me for a regional convention in Washington DC. I had never played any of his music before that. I had several conversations on the phone with him that were delightful. William Grant Still lived in Los Angeles. When I came out here in 1975 after Europe. I was told the American Guild of organists had people write for a monthly booklet that they had. Apparently William Grant Still was invited by Rainer Brown one of our organists here to write something for the book. He had never written for organ before. He wrote two pieces. Reverie is the one I play . I think it is simply gorgeous.