Member bio
A native of Longview, Texas, Austin Ferguson studied carillon with Lynnette Geary, University Carillonneur at Baylor University. As a student at The University of Texas at Austin, he studied music theory and government. From 2011-2015, he led the UT carillon program, playing daily recitals on the Kniker Carillon and providing student carillon instruction.
In February of 2017, he was named the fourth Carillonneur of Mayo Clinic, where he plays eight weekly recitals on the 1928 Rochester Carillon, the only instrument of its kind in North America owned by a medical center. Under his tenure, Mayo Clinic has garnered a reputation for expanding carillon literature by commissioning multiple new compositions for the instrument, most notably works through the annual “Music for Mayo” Carillon Music Series.
Austin is an active member of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America, where he is Co-Editor of “Carillon News,” the Guild’s newsletter, and sits on the Legal, Public Relations/Website, and Heritage Music committees. In 2023, he will end his first term on the Guild’s Board of Directors.
In addition to his work at Mayo Clinic, he serves as Co-Director of Music at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Rochester and as a freelance piano and voice teacher.