Famed classical organist Anthony Newman has released more than 150 CDs, played with renowned musicians such as Leonard Bernstein and Itzhak Perlman, and performed at locations around the world.

This week he will add Lawrence to his list. Newman is scheduled to perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Bales Organ Recital Hall.

Bales’ director James Higdon says Newman’s performance will be an opportunity for local classical musical lovers to see one of the country’s most important musicians.

Newman is excited about the opportunity.

“This kind of organ is a very specialized instrument,” he says of the Bales organ. “It’s a copy of a style of organ that I would say is a combination of somewhere between French baroque style of 1770 and French romantic style of 1850, and so it’s like two instruments in one.”

In addition to playing with a large repertoire of talented musicians, Newman has been as guest conductor for several of the world’s top chamber orchestras, including those in Los Angeles and New York. Today he is among the most-respected baroque and classical specialist conductors.

Throughout his career, Newman has been labeled the “high priest” of the harpsichord by Time magazine and the “high priest of Bach” by award-winning trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. He is also a well-respected composer whose pieces have been played in virtually all regions of the world.

Newman has degrees from Mannes College of Music in New York, Harvard University and Boston University. He also studied in Paris with Alfred Cortot and famed Notre Dame organist Pierre Cochereau.

In his Lawrence debut, Newman will perform works by Bach and Mozart, in addition to his own transcriptions. Doors open at 7 p.m. Newman also will be teaching a master class for organists at the recital hall on Saturday morning. The session is free and open to the public; start time for the class will be announced at Friday’s performance.

“He (Higdon) has a tremendously large organ class, one of the largest in the country that I’ve heard of,” Newman says. “He has about 30 organ majors, so a lot of the kids will play for me on the organ.

“I just finished doing a master class in Budapest on piano and organ. It’s something I just really enjoy doing.”

The concert is presented by the Lawrence Journal-World and Sunflower Broadband.