Dr. Karen Black
Rudi Inselmann Endowed Professorship in Organ
(319) 352-8275
More about Dr. Karen Black
The Rudi Inselmann Endowed Professorship in Organ
Established in 2010 with a gift from the Rudi Inselmann estate
Dr. Karen Black, chair of the music department, professor of music, and college organist, was named to the Rudi Inselmann Endowed Professorship in Organ in 2010.
Black has coached with organist Heinrich Walther in Freiburg, Germany, and has performed with the Wartburg Choir on European tours. She has performed organ recitals in the Castle Church at Wittenberg and St. George’s Church in Eisenach, Germany, and has appeared on Minnesota Public Radio’s nationally broadcast “Pipedreams” program. Her essay, “Musical Gifts for the Worshipping Body,” appears in Translucence: Religion, the Arts, and Imagination.
Black served as dean of the Waterloo, Iowa, chapter of the American Guild of Organists and as Region III president of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians.
A faculty member since 1993, Black received her bachelor’s degree in church music from St. Olaf College. She earned a Master of Music degree in organ and church music and a Doctor of Music degree in organ performance and literature from Indiana University.
Dr. Rudolf Inselmann ’56 graduated from Wartburg as a piano major. He earned a master’s degree in music and studied pipe organ at Indiana University, then attended Capital Bible Seminary and became an ordained Lutheran pastor. Later, he earned a doctorate in organ and sacred music at the University of Southern California. He was a longtime adjunct professor of piano and organ at Concordia University in Irvine, had a private organ studio, and was organist at two Orange County Catholic churches.
Established in 2010 with a gift from the Rudi Inselmann estate
Dr. Karen Black, chair of the music department, professor of music, and college organist, was named to the Rudi Inselmann Endowed Professorship in Organ in 2010.
Black has coached with organist Heinrich Walther in Freiburg, Germany, and has performed with the Wartburg Choir on European tours. She has performed organ recitals in the Castle Church at Wittenberg and St. George’s Church in Eisenach, Germany, and has appeared on Minnesota Public Radio’s nationally broadcast “Pipedreams” program. Her essay, “Musical Gifts for the Worshipping Body,” appears in Translucence: Religion, the Arts, and Imagination.
Black served as dean of the Waterloo, Iowa, chapter of the American Guild of Organists and as Region III president of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians.
A faculty member since 1993, Black received her bachelor’s degree in church music from St. Olaf College. She earned a Master of Music degree in organ and church music and a Doctor of Music degree in organ performance and literature from Indiana University.
Dr. Rudolf Inselmann ’56 graduated from Wartburg as a piano major. He earned a master’s degree in music and studied pipe organ at Indiana University, then attended Capital Bible Seminary and became an ordained Lutheran pastor. Later, he earned a doctorate in organ and sacred music at the University of Southern California. He was a longtime adjunct professor of piano and organ at Concordia University in Irvine, had a private organ studio, and was organist at two Orange County Catholic churches.