Organist Paul Manz, who led music at Minneapolis's Mount Olive Lutheran Church for 37 years, died October 28 in St. Paul following a long illness. He was 90.
In his career, Manz played with the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Chicago Symphony at Symphony Center and the Minnesota Orchestra at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis.
He was named one of the 101 Most Notable Organists of the 20th Century by the American Guild of Organists in a survey of its members published in 2000 and was honored by the AGO at its national convention in Minneapolis last year. He also received awards from the Lutheran Institute of Washington and the Chicago Bible Society and once was on a list of the "10 Most Influential Lutherans."
His best-known works include "E'en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come," a choral work that has sold more than 1 million copies, and a setting for organ of "God of Grace and God of Glory." He is also well-known for his arrangement of the tune of St. Anne, often sung to Isaac Watts' text "Oh God, Our Help in Ages Past."
Manz studied organ with Edwin Eigenschenk, Albert Riemenschneider and Edwin Arthur Kraft, and earned his master's degree in organ performance from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He
taught at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and Macalester College in St. Paul, and was chairman of the music department for 19 years at Concordia University in St. Paul.
Paul Manz is survived by three sons: Peter of Portland, Ore.; John of St. Paul and John Mueller of Spokane, Wash.; three daughters,: Mary Mueller Bode of St. Paul, Anne Mueller Klinge of St. Louis and Sarah Mueller Forsberg of Minneapolis; 12 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
October 30, 2009
THE DIAPASON
