Playing an electronic keyboard for two hours each morning in the basement of his Wayzata home was part of what made Edward Berryman an exceptional musician.
The organist and pianist, who died Friday at 88, made a national name for himself by teaching, directing church music, playing concerts and recording.
He was best known for his improvisations, and his repertoire included "hundreds, if not thousands" of pieces he committed to memory, said Tom Rowland of Minneapolis, who took lessons from Berryman for more than 35 years.
Berryman's credentials included performances for the syndicated public radio program "Pipedreams," which highlights organ music.
"He was a patient teacher who tried to find artistry in each of his students," Rowland said.
"He was gregarious, very friendly, easy-going and warm-hearted," said Karen Sandness of Minneapolis, Berryman's stepdaughter. "Many of his students just adored him."
Besides continuous work as a private tutor, Berryman, who moved to the Twin Cities from Omaha in the 1940s, taught organ and piano at Macalester College in St. Paul, Northwestern College in Roseville and the University of Minnesota, where he was the university's organist in the mid-1950s.
Rowland said Berryman's father, Cecil, and mother, Alice, were concert pianists who studied in Paris. Berryman's two brothers also were professional musicians, Rowland said.
