The McKinney Musical Arts Society is pleased to present Bradley hunter Welch in concert at the First United Methodist Church, 315 N. Church St. in McKinney on November 14th at 7 p.m.  Bradley, who performed here in March for the dedication of the new Sipe pipe organ, has chosen a family-friendly program, including Ravel's Mother Goose Suite. 

A native of Knoxville, Tennessee, Bradley began playing the piano at age 10 and organ at 13.  He attended Baylor University and studied organ with Joyce Jones, receiving his Bachelor of Music degree in Organ Performance and winning the Dean's Award for Outstanding Performance.

After Baylor, Bradley continued his studies at Yale University where he studied with Thomas Murray and Martin Jean and earned both a Master's degree and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree.  While there he received several awards:  the Horatio Parker Memorial Prize (the most prestigious prize awarded by the Yale faculty), the Robert Baker Prize (given to an incoming organ student who is deemed to be in the top one to two percent of the nation's young organists), the Charles Ives Prize, and the Yale School of Music Alumni Association Prize.

Active in competitions, Bradley was the 2003 First Place winner of the Dallas International Organ Competition and was also awarded the Audience Prize for the second time, having previously won it in 2000.  In 2005, he was a featured artist at three regional conventions of The American Guild of Organists and made his European debut in France performing in the Chartres Festival.  He is Artist-in-Residence at Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas.

Tickets are $5 for students, $17 for seniors, and $20 for adults and may be purchased through MPAC (www.mckinneyperformingartscenter.org or 214-544-4630).  This concert is sponsored in part by a generous grant from the McKinney Arts Commission.