About The Author
Kay Cook Cashin began playing the piano at the age of three. Born in rural Idaho during the depression the only music that was available to her were the hymns of the church. Self taught until the age of thirteen, when she began private lessons, Kay acquired a deep love of sacred music. At fourteen, having moved to California, she was called to be the Sunday School pianist. At sixteen her ward received its first electronic organ and she was made ward organist and has served in various church music positions for over fifty years. She has continued her studies throughout her life and has learned under the tutelage of Al Bollington, Frederick Dixon, and Melvin Dunn. Unable to complete her schooling at Brigham Young University when she was younger, Kay returned to BYU in 1982 to study organ pedagogy and continued private instruction with J. J. Keeler. She has been involved in the community through her music, playing in many different programs and recitals. She served as Dean of the Southern Utah Chapter of the American Guild of Organists in 1994-95
Kay taught organ and piano for over 25 years and retired from teaching in 1988 after being diagnosed with breast cancer. During the 25 years that she taught, many of her students were senior adults who had missed the opportunity to learn music as a child. Many of them found it difficult to learn using traditional methods. To help those students, she adapted a simple to learn method of playing the organ and piano. She has brought this method to you in the Selected Hymns Series.
Kay passed away in 2004 from Leukemia. Her legacy lives on in these books.
