Award-winning organist, Leo Abbott will perform at 5 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 6 at First Presbyterian Church in Hastings.

Abbott’s performance will feature Sonata in A Major by Mendelssohn, Fantasie in f-minor by Mozart, Prelude and Fugue on B.A.C.H. by Lizst and much more.

Leo Abbott is music director and organist of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston. A native of Boston, he is a graduate of the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School and the Chaloff School of Music. His teachers have included Theodore Marier, George Faxon, Clarence Watters and Flor Peeters in organ, Naji Hakim in improvisation and Julius Chaloff in piano. He holds the Fellow and Choir Master certificates of the American Guild of Organists. Abbott has won first prizes in several international and national organ performance competitions, and was a finalist in the 1984 Grand Prix de Chartres competition in France.

Abbott has performed throughout the United States, in France, Belgium and Ireland, and for conventions of the American Guild of Organists and the Organ Historical Society. He is an active member of the American Guild of Organists, the Organ Historical Society and the Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians.

Leo Abbott’s appearance in Hastings is presented by the First Presbyterian Church and the Hastings College Department of Music. A free, light supper will follow in the church Fellowship Hall.

Hastings College students and faculty have been making music since the beginnings of the College in 1882. During its first century, the Music Department established an enviable reputation throughout the Midwest for its quality programs, dedicated faculty and talented students. Hastings College's commitment to music is a proud tradition and offers a glimpse into a future where the arts will be an even more important part of the college program.

Hastings College, founded in 1882, is a private, four-year liberal arts institution affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). A total of 64 majors in 32 areas of study and 12 pre-professional programs are offered to more than 1,150 students. Hastings College was named 75th Best Value College in the nation and #1 in Nebraska by Forbes.com and the Center for College Affordability and Productivity. It was named a 2010 “Best in the Midwest” by The Princeton Review and rated a “Best Buy in College Education” by Barron’s.