Holbrook Organ Series
Friday, November 20, 2026 at 7:30 pm
Wine reception at the Interval
Chris Oelkers
Director of Music, The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, Austin
Arts on Alexander
2111 Alexander Ave
Austin, TX 78702
Holbrook Organ Series concerts are free and open to the public. Contributions are encouraged.
Chris Oelkers is Director of Music and Organist at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Austin. A recipient of numerous scholarships and awards, he studied organ and church music at Toronto Conservatory of Music and the University of Kansas, from which he holds diplomas and degrees. As accompanist, he has performed major works with the Festival Singers of Atlanta and Kansas City, the Kansas City Chorale, Conspirare, and others. Chris has placed in the Semifinalist and Finalist categories in national competitions, particularly in improvisation.
Chris is active as a recitalist and has given many performances in the United States, Canada, and Europe, most notably at the St. Thomas Church, Leipzig, Tewkesbury Abbey, Gloucestershire, St. Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh, and St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City. He was a semifinalist and finalist in the American Guild of Organists National Competition in Organ Improvisation. Chris was featured on the Great Organ Series at the University of Texas, and was Guest Artist on KMFA 89.5 FM radio’s weekly broadcast of Pipeworks. When not occupied as a church musician, he directs the Austin Sängerrunde, a German choir representing the oldest ethnic society in Austin, dating to 1879. Chris and his family live in Austin.