When I first met Joseph Golden almost ten years ago, I was immediately struck by his intelligent humor and musical genius. As a performer, he is respected beyond measure for his moving performances and his impeccable sense of musical style. As an educator, he has touched countless lives by sharing his wide-array of experiences in multiple genres and careers. He is known for his patience, kindness, and unfailing perseverance for his students' success. It is perhaps most important to know that he is one of the most genuine, giving, and warm individuals you will encounter in our community. He is a true champion of the arts, and always has been. I had the pleasure of sitting down with him recently to discuss his fascinating background and his upcoming concert on April 17 in Legacy Hall. Here are excerpts of the interview, with some of the questions edited for length and the order of some of the questions rearranged for clarity.

Tell me about your background. Where were you raised?

I grew up on a farm and ranch outside of Dallas. Out in the middle of nowhere in the country. The closest town was Trenton, Texas. It had 500 people. There were 12 people in my graduating class in high school.

How long have you been playing the organ?

I started playing the organ when I was 15. There was no music in town. No music teachers, no music at school. There wasn't even a bad unison choir.

So who got you interested in music then?

Growing up in the country as an only child, I had chores to do every day. In summers though, I would stay in and watch television. The television broke in June one year and my father said, "I'm not having that thing fixed until September. " And I thought, "Oh MY, what do I do?" I didn't drive and lived far away from everyone else.

My mother had a Silvertone chord organ that she bought for herself from Sears and she learned the little songs by the numbers and pushing the buttons for the chords. It had been in the closet for years. It was easy to play the little numbers by pushing the buttons. I finished the little book and I'd play it backwards. I'd play the last song first, and play through it, you know? One day, my left hand just flopped down on some of the keys and I listened, and it was the same sound as when you pushed that button. It was a C Major chord. So then I found the other chords. I would play the songs though one time pushing the buttons and one time playing the chords with my left hand. I thought if I could just read that melody line and didn't have to use the numbers, I could play out of the hymnal. So I got my father to take me to the closest music teacher. She was about 25 miles away. I told her that I didn't have the money to pay her for lessons, but would she write down the lines and spaces for treble clef? She said "I'll charge you $25 for that." Which was a lot of money. So I paid that, and she wrote down the lines and spaces.

I went back and I got the hymnal, and I could play the melody and then since I'd heard all of the hymns, I found the chords by ear. Then I started taking lessons from a woman who was about 35 miles away who had been trained at Julliard as a pianist and then given it up to play swing music in the 30's. She taught me to play jazz and pop music on the Hammond organ. I got a job as a senior at The Holiday Inn in a nearby town playing three nights a week and lunches on Sunday. I made $17,000 that year which was a fortune.

After that, I went to audition at the nearby university where I met my first teacher, Mr. Smith. The audition was on a pipe organ. I'd never seen or played a pipe organ before. He said, "Play something you know really well." I said, "Oh, okay." So he set the organ up for me and I played "Deep Purple." When I finished (my really hot arrangement, I thought) I turned around and his mouth was hanging open. And he said, "What was that?" And I said, "It's 'Deep Purple'." And he said, "Isn't that like a popular song?" And I said, "Oh about 30 years ago." "OH." he said, "Do you know anything FAST?" And I said, "Oh yes." And he said, "Push that red button over there." (It was for full organ.) And then I did the Glenn Miller arrangement of "In the Mood." I had copied it off the orchestral recording.

You got an organ scholarship to college with "Deep Purple" and "In the Mood?"

Yes. And he said, "Now I'll fill out the scholarship form and while I do it, as a formality you just have to read this hymn." I could play the soprano and alto so I did that slowly and when I finished the first phrase, he said, "Oh that's funny. Now go back and put it all together." And I said, "Well I can't." "What do you mean you can't?" "Well I can't read it." "Why can't you read it?" "Well I don't know the lines and spaces for that." "What do you mean you don't know the lines and spaces? WHERE DID ALL THOSE NOTES COME FROM in your feet and the left hand?!"

I said, "I made them up off the recording." "YOU MADE THEM UP OFF THE RECORDING?!" he exclaimed.

So, he tore off a little piece of paper and he wrote on it, folded it up, and got up to me shoulder to shoulder so that the head of the department in the back of the room couldn't see it. He passed it to me and said, "Now, those are the lines and the spaces for the left hand. The bass clef. You go home and learn them before you come back to school and don't ever tell anybody I gave you a scholarship and you couldn't read the bass clef." So I put it in my pocket and I went home that night and a whole new world opened up. Voicing, you know. I went back to school in the fall and I could do all of that. It was the most inauspicious beginning and I don't recommend it to anybody.

Were your parents thrilled? Were they very supportive of all this?

Yes. Although there were no musicians anywhere on either side of the family. No one. For generations. And so there was, you know, a lack of familiarity with how things were done. But they were very supportive. They did everything they could to encourage it. So I appreciated them for that.

I know that you were the organist for the Texas Rangers at some point...

There was a STABLE of organists. We rotated depending on who was available. There were two lead organists and then there were three other people who would sub. If there was a double header, sometimes a different person would play each game. I probably shouldn't say anything about the Texas Rangers in those days... they were not as famous as they are now. BUT it was fascinating to see some of the great names of that era come through and play in that stadium. You could see some great, great ball playing. We had a bird's eye view. So it was fun. A lot of fun. And you know, you just play the same thing over and over again... It was a wonderful way to make extra money.

But did you just play the same thing over and over again? I can't imagine you playing the same thing every time.

Of course not. It was fun. I would play with the tune. My favorite thing was incorporate playing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" in the left hand while playing something else in the right hand.

So would your parents come to games and sit with you?

Yes, and I had a cousin who was a very successful businessman in Dallas who would bring his family and business associates with him all of the time. So I would see them a lot. He would go up and get my parents and bring them down and we'd all spend the night at his house, which was nice.

How did you get to Columbus?

The job came open at Trinity Episcopal Church. The late G. Gunby Jordan had endowed the music department and given the organ to the church. He was deeply committed to having a good person. He was not on the search committee but he was deeply interested in the search. I didn't meet him until I had come here to work and he took me to lunch the second day I was on the job. I knew all about him by that time. He was a great patron of the Metropolitan Opera and he loved organ. He told me that he wanted the very best at Trinity and he said, "You let me know if you need something." And so through the years we wanted to make changes and improvements to the organ and buy things for the choir and he was always there. He never said no. He always provided whatever we needed. Trinity Parrish was so nurturing to me and so open to new ideas and new kinds of music that I brought with me. I spent twelve wonderful years full time there before I began teaching at Columbus College.

You have an extensive performance background, and you have been an educator for many years. What is your favorite role to play? Do you identify more as a performer or an educator? Can you separate the two?

No. Because I should just say that I've been not fortunate, I would go so far as to say blessed, to have been able to perform in the jazz idiom, pop, musical theater, operetta, and opera. I've had experience in choral conducting, building a choir, maintaining one, and then playing the organ at church, which is a totally different experience. It is gratifying on it's own level and you just can't describe it unless you've experienced it. I have been an organ solo performer of classical music, done theater organ work, and a lot of musical arranging and composition. Putting all of that together has made a well from which to draw as an educator. There are so many crossover ideas from one of those experiences that can enrich the others. It makes a stronger statement to people who are looking for an answer to a challenge that they have to give them four examples dealing with the same concept, and then let them take all of that for what it's worth, and maybe make their own combination of things that is perfect for their solution. I'm talking about students agonizing over something in a classroom or in the studio or for a performance. It makes a richer experience as an educator to be able to have a broader perspective. I think it's good. It's been good for me.

Let's talk about who has influenced you most as a musician?

I would say three people. My uncle Jimmy Thompson from Texas was a legend in his own time in Texas. He was the organist/choirmaster at the Episcopal Church, he was the foreman of a big ranch, and he was 51% owner in the only interior decorating business between Dallas and Tulsa. He was a marvelous organist and choral person. I learned so much about liturgical music from him and the wonderful tradition he had in Paris (Texas) at his church. Then, there was Richard Forrest Woods in Houston. He was such a comprehensive musician having been a performer, composer, and conductor. He knew everything about liturgical music. There wasn't anything that he didn't know about liturgical practice and music and I just rejoiced at his feet for four years as his associate. Then there was Robert Glasgow, my teacher at Michigan, who is one of the great recitalists of his day and known for a very distinctive playing style. His playing was so warm, graceful, elegant, and at the same time thrilling. I had that implanted in my ear and in my soul that one must play that way. I couldn't imagine taking $100 million dollars for that experience. Because it was like the great challenge of my life. To do something similar.

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