When she began organ lessons at her home church in Lansing, Mich., Lynne Davis determined her career path.

Decades later, in 2012, the French Ministry of Culture and Communication would deem her a meritorious recipient of the “Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” title, which translates to “Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters.”

“It seems like I’vWe always played the organ,” she said. “I was much more an organist than I was a pianist, although I studied the piano for a long time. That’s what I was going to do, and there wasn’t any other question about it.”

Davis, an associate professor with Wichita State’s School of Music, declares great admiration for her preferred instrument.

 In the 35 years she spent in France studying the organ under the tutelage of renowned composers and musicians, she became an international.

“I’ve studied this for a long time,” she said. “I’ve got quite a repertoire, a list of pieces that I’ve worked on over the years, and since I have this affinity for France — which is my second country, really, because I do have dual nationality — I lean heavily toward French organ pieces.”

Aside from the organ, Davis also pursues singing, and continues to play the piano, though she does not perform anymore.

“My father was an amateur singer,” she said. “My mother was an amateur violinist, my two sisters and I, we all sang in the car, we were all members of the choir, my parents met in the church choir where I took my first organ lessons, so that’s a natural thing for me to do. That’s my other instrument, if you will — human voice.”

Davis said she decided to start the Wednesdays in Wiedemann concert series in order for the WSU community to marvel at the immense organ that sits within the hall.

“Now it’s three times a year, so that’s not a whole lot for everybody to hear this magnificent organ in this room, this wonderful hall,” she said. “Ever since 2007, I’ve had this idea to bring this magnificent organ to everybody on campus and everybody in the community, really.

“This is all recorded, there are CD archives of everything I’ve ever played here. I haven’t listened to everything, but it’s mainly to show off this gem of the university campus, and to bring it to students who live very close by and bring a half-hour free admission concert.”