Michael B. Surratt became Director of Music and Organist of Union Church of Hinsdale, Illinois, in early 1979. A church organist since the age of twelve, he has toured Europe and played organ recitals throughout the Midwest and Southeast and has been featured on several Chicago-area radio stations. Originally from North Carolina, he attended the North Carolina School of the Arts, Winston Salem. He holds a Bachelor of Music from Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio and a Master of Music from Northwestern University in Illinois.

Surratt has served as an Adjunct Instructor of Organ at Elmhurst College in Illinois and continues to be active in several professional musical organizations. He writes for Overtones, a handbell journal, and serves as chair of the Communications Committee of the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers.

Tracks 1 through 5 were recorded in the Chapel of the Union Church of Hinsdale on the instrument built by the Martin Ott Organ Company in 1994. Tracks 6 through 13 were performed in the Sanctuary, on the 1962 instrument built by the Austin Organ Company.

Union Church has a congregation of 1,700 members, and is affiliated with the United Church of Christ, a Protestant denomination of about two million members in 6,500 congregations around the United States. Hinsdale is a suburban community of 18,000 residents, located seventeen miles west of Chicago, Illinois.

Track List

Recording Credits