Longtime Duke Chapel organist Dr. David Arcus is coming back to Washington to perform a free concert at First Presbyterian Church.

“He is an outstanding, fabulous organist,” said Mike Morgan, First Presbyterian’s music director. “There are no other words to say it.”

Morgan should know: in 2008 and 2009, Arcus would drive to Rocky Mount from Durham to teach Morgan hour-long lessons on the organ, before Morgan’s return to Campbell University to get his degree in church music. Sunday’s concert is Arcus’ second visit to the church, at Morgan’s behest.

Arcus’ program will include both familiar and lesser known pieces, including his own arrangements of favorites like “Morning Has Broken” and his version of “For All The Saints” that flows seamlessly into “When The Saints Go Marching In.”

Morgan described the concert as “listener friendly.”

“It’s going to be a cross between a hymn festival and an organ concert,” he said, adding that the audience will be invited to sing a few stanzas of certain hymns.

Arcus holds degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the School of Music at Yale University, where he earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree. He has received awards in composition and improvisation competitions, and is also in demand as a solo recitalist, performing throughout the United States, Europe, and Great Britain.  He toured extensively with the Duke Chapel Choir in Great Britain, Poland, The Czech Republic, Spain, Greece, Turkey, and China and has appeared with the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, according to his biography.

Morgan said Arcus drew a large crowd for his last concert and he expects the same this time around. Arcus’ performance is one of several First Presbyterian hosts through the year, as fulfillment of a promise to share the church’s Goulding and Wood organ when it was purchased. An endowment and other music-directed funds allow Morgan to bring in outside artists for free concerts. In October,

Gail Archer, an international concert organist, recording artist and the director of music program at Barnard College, Columbia University, gave what Morgan referred to as a “flawless” performance. The point, according to Morgan, is exposure to diversity of style, personality and repertoire — exposure that all are invited to share.

“It’s really just to open the doors to the church — everyone is welcome,” Morgan said.

Dr. David Arcus’ performance is at 4 p.m. Sunday at First Presbyterian Church, located on Gladden Street between West Main and West Second streets in Washington. For more information about the concert, call 252-946-4616.