Richard Dirksen

DIRKSEN, Richard Wayne. b. Freeport, Illinois, 8 February 1921; d. Washington, DC, 26 July 2003. Dirksen was on the staff of Washington National Cathedral for 48 years, as composer, organist, choirmaster and Precentor. He composed nearly 300 musical works for choir, instruments, and theater, including several hymn tunes. Dirksen grew up in a musical home. His mother, Maude Esther (née Logemann) (1902-1990) was a singer and pianist, and his father Richard Watson Dirksen (1897-1976) was the founder of the Freeport Organ Company. In Freeport High School, Dirksen, who played bassoon, came under the influence of the director of instrumental music, Karl Henry Kubitz (1902-1991), who was also a...