Organist Susan DeKam will present the inaugural performance in the Distinguished Alumni Recital series at Hope College on Thursday, Sept. 22, at 7:30 p.m. in the Concert Hall of the Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts.

The public is invited.  Admission is free.

DeKam, who is a 2002 Hope graduate, is not only active in solo concertizing, but also holds the roles of an accompanist, chamber musician and teacher.

She is an award-winning pianist and organist, and has received awards from the Music Teachers National Association Collegiate Organ Competition, the Miami International Organ Competition, the Bank District Organ Competition held in London, and the National Young Artists’ Competition in Organ Performance. She has also been featured several times on the weekly national radio show, “Pipedreams.”

DeKam serves as an organist at Northaven United Methodist Church, as an adjunct piano and organ faculty member at Mountain View College in Dallas, and as primary accompanist for Coppell High School, and also maintains a private piano and organ studio.

Recently, she began composing for commercials and film. Her latest work includes spots for Visionworks, The American Fallen Soldiers Project, CitySquare, Morris Manufacturing & Engineering, and Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen.

She completed her undergraduate studies with a major in piano performance, and developed her love for organ under the guidance of Huw Lewis of the Hope music faculty.  After graduating from Hope, DeKam went on to study organ performance at the University of Michigan, where she earned her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees.

The program will include works from composers including Walter Galphin Alcock, Herbert Howells, Franz Joseph Haydn, Louis Vierne, Jean Berveiller, Paul Hindemith and Marcel Dupré. The recital is sponsored by David P. Roossien of Holland, who also donated both the Casavant Frères (Casavant Brothers) organ that was custom-built for the Concert Hall and the Steinway D concert grand piano that is also featured in performances in the Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts, which opened in the fall of 2015.

The Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts is located at 221 Columbia Ave., between Ninth and 10th streets.