Video: Kola Owolabi on studying lesser-known composers | News | Notre Dame News | University of Notre Dame Skip To Content Skip To Navigation Skip To Search University of Notre Dame Notre Dame News Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Home Contact Search Menu Home › News › Video: Kola Owolabi on studying lesser-known composers Video: Kola Owolabi on studying lesser-known composers Published: February 25, 2021 Author: Todd Boruff “Music just really speaks to me. I feel like I'm at my happiest when I'm making music or thinking about music,” said Kola Owolabi, professor of organ at the University of Notre Dame. Owolabi is interested in a broad range of musical repertoire and enjoys finding works by less-well-known composers. Recent recording projects include pieces by 20th-century African-English composer Samuel Coleridge Taylor, as well as a composition by 17th-century French composer Georg Muffat, who was a contemporary of the renowned J. S. Bach, yet “most professional musicians have never played a piece by Muffat,” Owolabi said. When preparing these works for performance, Owolabi emphasizes the importance of studying the lives of the composers and how the music was used. “It can give you a much richer sense of what you can add to your performance,” he said. “How can I play this, and excite people about this, and make it feel as if it was composed today?” In his role as head of the Graduate Organ Studio for Sacred Music at Notre Dame, Owolabi encourages students to have a breadth of perspective and divergent skills. Graduates will need to not only play the organ, but also be able to fill many roles as part of a pastoral staff. “Notre Dame really sets them up well for that,” he said. You can also watch this video on YouTube. Originally published by Todd Boruff at al.nd.edu on Feb. 22. Posted In: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Faculty and Staff Home Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Related July 22, 2022 Roxanne Gregg named executive director of Notre Dame TRIO programs May 02, 2022 Anna Haskins testifies at National Academies session on intergenerational poverty April 20, 2022 American studies professor receives NEH fellowship for book on Turkey, Iran March 07, 2022 Women Lead 2022 January 31, 2022 Notre Dame experts reflect on Brown Jackson and Childs as frontrunners for Supreme Court nomination For the Media Contact Office of Public Affairs and Communications Notre Dame News 500 Grace Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Pinterest © 2022 University of Notre Dame Search Mobile App News Events Visit Accessibility Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn