George C. Baker

Biography

George C. Baker (born June 9, 1951, in Dallas, Texas) is an American organist, composer, pedagogue, and dermatologist.

Biography

Baker received his first musical instruction at age four. In 1961, he began to take organ lessons with Philip Eldridge Baker, organist at Highland Park Methodist Church in Dallas. He completed his organ studies with Robert T. Anderson at Southern Methodist University in Dallas in 1973 with a Bachelor's degree in Music. In 1969, he won the Regional Competition, and, in 1970, the National Organ Competition of the American Guild of Organists in Buffalo, NY.
Additional organ studies in France followed with Marie-Claire Alain, André Marchal, Pierre Cochereau, and Jean Langlais. In 1974, Baker won the Grand Prix de Chartres in organ performance. A year later, he obtained a Diplôme de Virtuosité from the Schola Cantorum in Paris, and, in 1977, a Master of Music from the University of Florida. He graduated with a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan in 1979 and joined the faculty of the Catholic University in Washington, D.C. The same year, he won a first prize at the International Organ Improvisation Competition in Lyon. His recordings include the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach and Louis Vierne (along with Pierre Cochereau), as well as the world premiere recording of the organ compositions of Darius Milhaud, which was awarded two Grand Prix du Disque.
In addition to his musical career, Baker obtained an MD from University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas in 1987 and began to practice medicine in 1991, after an internship in Internal medicine and Dermatology until his retirement in 2021. In 1996, he entered the Executive MBA program at Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University, in Dallas, where he graduated with an Master of Business Administration in 1998.
Baker was lecturer in Organ Improvisation at Rice University, Houston until his retirement in 2021. In November 2021, he was appointed as adjunct associate professor of Organ at SMU Meadows School of the Arts.

Organ Solo

The Wild Ouest Toccata (composed in 1969/revised in 2025. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2025)
Berceuse-Paraphrase (composed in 1992. Chicago, IL: H. T. Fitzsimmons Company, 1993)
Divertissement (Chicago, IL: H. T. Fitzsimmons Company, 1996)
At the River (Tarzana, CA: Fred Bock, 2000)
Tuba Tune Ragtime (composed in 2003. Tarzana, CA: Gentry Publications, 2004)
Ricercare on "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" (composed in 2004. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2020)
Toccata-Gigue on the Sussex Carol (composed in 2008/revised in 2019. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc.)
Variations on "Rouen" (composed in 2010. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2011)
Tiento Grégorien (composed in 2010. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2011)
Lamento (composed in 2013. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2013)
Prelude on "The Lone, Wild Bird" (composed in 2015. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2017)
Procession Royale (composed in 2016. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2017)
Danse Diabolique (composed in 2016. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2017)
Deux Evocations (composed in 2017. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2017):
Evocation 1: June 2, 1937 (Ad Memoriam Louis Vierne)
Evocation 2: April 22, 1984 (Ad Memoriam Pierre Cochereau)
Prelude on "If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee" (Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2018)
L'Envoi (Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2018)
Prière Grégorienne (composed in 2018. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2018)
Berceuse sur le nom de SWANN (composed in 2019. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2019)
Prelude on Salve Regina (composed in 2020. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2020)
Deux Miniatures (composed in 2020. Dallas: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2020):
I. Ave Maris Stella
II. Salve Regina
Recessional on "Hyfrydol" (composed in 2021. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2022)
Diptyque: Mors et Resurrectio (composed in 2022. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2022)
Le Tombeau de Jean Langlais (composed in 2021. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2022)
Tuba Tune Royale (composed in 2022. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2022)
Paraphrase sur le TE DEUM (composed in 2022. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2022)
Petit Choral – Dorian mode (composed in 2022. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2022)
Pièce Modale 1 – Dorian mode (composed in 2022. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2022)
Pièce Modale 2 – Phrygian mode (composed in 2022. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2022)
Pièce Modale 3 sur "Ave Maris Stella" – Lydian mode (composed in 2022. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2022)
Pièce Modale 4 – Mixolydian mode (composed in 2022. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2022)
Chorale and Variations on "Vom Himmel hoch, da komm' ich her" (composed in 2022. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2022)
French Classical Suite (composed in 2022. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2022)
Grand Plein Jeu
Petite Fugue sur la Trompette
Duo
Basse et Dessus de Trompette
Flûtes
Récit de Nazard
Dialogue dur les Grands Jeux
A Texas Pastorale (composed in 2022. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2022)
Meditation on "Ave Maris Stella" (composed in 2022. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2022)
A Short Lamento (composed in 2022. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2022)
Prélude on "St. Anne" (composed in 2022. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2022)
Prelude on the Sanctus of Mass VIII (composed in 2023. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2023)
Chant d'Espoir (composed in 2023. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2023)
Etoile dans le noir (composed in 2025. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2025)
Variations on "Picardy" (composed in 2025. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2025)

Organ and other instruments

Rumba for organ and four percussionists (composed in 2015. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2017)
Joie for organ, timpani and brass quintet (composed in 2020. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2021)
Ein feste Burg for organ duet (transcribed in 2012. Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2025)

Choral

Noels for SATB voices, accompanied (Tarzana: CA: Gentry Publications, 2000)
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland for choir and organ (composed in 2004. Manuscript)
Our Father for SATB choir (composed in 2005. Manuscript)

Transcriptions

Johann Sebastian Bach: "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring", arranged for organ solo (Dallas, TX: Baroque Notes, Inc., 2025)