About David
Dr. David Stultz is an American concert organist, improviser, conductor, and educator whose musical career encompasses international performance, sacred music leadership, and academic scholarship. Recognized for his artistic versatility, technical command, and exceptional fluency in keyboard improvisation, David has established an active professional career as both a performer and an advocate for the continued vitality of organ and choral music. His work bridges the disciplines of concert performance, liturgical music, historical performance practice, improvisation, and pedagogy. He serves as Director of Music and Organist at First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham, Michigan, where he provides artistic leadership for the church’s music ministry. In addition to his performance and conducting activities, David holds prominent leadership positions within the American Guild of Organists (AGO), serving as Dean of the Ann Arbor Chapter and Sub-Dean of the Detroit Chapter.
Originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee, David began studying piano with his grandmother, Dr. Sigrid Luther, before pursuing advanced training in organ performance. He earned his Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (2021), studying with Dr. Edie Johnson, and his Master of Sacred Music in Organ Performance from the University of Notre Dame (2023), studying with Dr. Kola Owolabi. In 2026, he completed his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Sacred Music and Organ Performance at the University of Michigan under Professor Nicole Keller. His advanced studies also included historical organ improvisation with Dr. Bálint Karosi and harpsichord performance with Professor Joseph Gascho.
Dr. Stultz has earned numerous distinctions in national and international organ competitions, including First Prize and the Hymn-Playing Award in the 2015 Young Organist Competition sponsored by the Greater Columbia AGO Chapter and First Prize in the 2021 Southeast Regional AGO Competition for Young Organists. Among his most significant international achievements was his selection as a finalist in the prestigious 2024 International Organ Improvisation Competition in Haarlem, the Netherlands, where he was the only American among eight invited competitors selected from a worldwide applicant pool.
As a concert organist, David has performed in distinguished venues throughout the United States and abroad. In 2022, he was featured in the Rising Star recital at the American Guild of Organists National Convention in Seattle, Washington. His subsequent engagements have included solo recitals in major American cities, including most recent concerts in Detroit, Washington, D.C., and Boston. His repertoire spans a broad range of organ literature, with particular affinities for Johann Sebastian Bach, the North German Baroque tradition, nineteenth- and twentieth-century symphonic works, the Neo-Baroque, and recent compositions by women composers. A defining aspect of his artistry is his exceptional command of historical organ improvisation, particularly the spontaneous creation of complex fugues, chorale partitas, and intricate multi-voice counterpoint with remarkable fluency and ease. His improvisational approach unites historical musical language, contrapuntal sophistication, and expressive spontaneity.
An accomplished educator and dedicated advocate for organ pedagogy, David maintains an active teaching career with particular emphasis on historical improvisation, contrapuntal technique, and organ performance. He regularly presents masterclasses in organ improvisation and teaches a studio of aspiring organists through the Detroit AGO Chapters’ New Organist Initiative (NOI), fostering the development of the next generation of church musicians and concert artists. In 2026, he was invited to serve as a guest lecturer and instructor in improvisation at the University of Michigan’s MPulse Summer Organ Institute, where he presented masterclasses and provided individual instruction. He has also taught undergraduate music theory and aural skills at the University of Michigan.
Beyond performance and teaching, David is an active composer and arranger whose works include organ preludes, fugues, chorale-based compositions, motets, hymn arrangements, and descants. His artistic interests also extend to the visual arts, where he is regularly commissioned for oil paintings and pencil drawings, alongside work in graphic design, photography, and videography. Through his performance, scholarship, teaching, and professional leadership, Dr. Stultz remains dedicated to advancing the organ as a dynamic concert instrument, enriching the traditions of sacred music, and inspiring future generations of musicians.
