Description
The Progressive Organ concert returns, with your chance to hear four historic church organs.
The concert will begin Saturday, November 7, at 12:30 p.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church, then move to First Baptist, the Abbey Church, and the Presbyterian Church.
The performers will offer about 25 minutes of music at each church, then allow concertgoers sufficient time to walk to the next.
The Presbyterian Church will offer a light reception following the final performance.
Tickets cost $25 each.
Two organists trained at the Juilliard School in New York will play these historic organs in downtown Huntingdon churches in a progressive concert on Saturday, November 7, after the Veterans Day parade. The performers, Aaron Patterson and Cecily DeMarco, will present a varied program of sacred, secular, and patriotic music selected to show off each instrument’s capabilities. The churches are St. John’s Episcopal, First Baptist, the Abbey Church, and the Presbyterian Church.
Patterson, who has offered concerts here before, has family ties to Saxton. He recently earned a master’s degree in organ performance from Juilliard and has since become the organist and music associate at the First Presbyterian Church of Jackson, Miss. He has also been a regular performer on Philadelphia’s famous Wanamaker organ.
DeMarco is still a Juilliard student in the Artist Diploma program, and like Patterson, has an active performing career. She is currently the organ scholar at Hitchcock Presbyterian Church in Scarsdale, N.Y.
“When I performed here a few years back,” Patterson says, “I was so impressed with how engaged the audience was throughout the whole event. Even with more challenging music to listen to, they followed me wholeheartedly through every musical journey. Such experiences are an organist’s dream.”
Says DeMarco: “I am so looking forward to taking part in this performance. Aaron has said nothing but wonderful things about his last performance here, and I cannot wait to share some of my favourite works with you all!”
Introducing the performers and the instruments will be Fr. Gene Tucker, former pastor of St. John Episcopal Church and former dean of a chapter of the American Guild of Organists.
Of the four venues, St. John’s and the First Baptist Church have organs from the same manufacturer, A.B. Felgemaker of Erie, Pa. The instruments are from 1911 and 1903, respectively.
The Presbyterian Church has a 1922 organ by Hook & Hastings, of Boston, while the Abbey Church has a 1929 M.P. Moller organ built in Hagerstown.
The two Felgemakers are tracker instruments, meaning their keys are physically connected to their ranks of pipes. The two later organs have electro-pneumatic actions that allow their consoles to be physically separate from the pipes. All four instruments are largely original.
“It’s rare that a community will have this many wonderful and historic organs in its midst,” Father Tucker says. “Huntingdon is blessed in that way. This concert offers an opportunity to hear all four instruments in one event.” The concert is sponsored by the four churches as well as Huntingdon Landmarks and the Huntingdon County Arts Council. It will begin at 12:30 p.m. at St. John’s and proceed to First Baptist, the Abbey Church, and the Presbyterian Church. The performers will offer about 25 minutes of music at each church, then allow concertgoers sufficient time to walk to the next. The Presbyterian Church will offer a light reception following the final performance. Tickets cost $25 each. Seating is limited, so tickets may not be available at the door on the day of the concert.