The final musical program celebrating the 150th anniversary of the granite church and E&GG Hook organ of South Parish Congregational Church, UCC, is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, in Augusta. It will feature Maine native Katelyn Emerson, an exceptional young organist.
In 2015, Emerson graduated from Oberlin Conservatory and College with double bachelor’s degrees in organ and French, as well as minors in music history and historical performance, according to a news release from the church. Since that time, she has won prizes too numerous to list, including a Jean Boyer Award in the 2014 Fifth International Organ Competition in France and a Fulbright Scholarship Grant, which allowed her to study at the Conservatoire in Toulouse, France.
According to the release, she will play the E & GG Hook organ, which was designed and built especially for the new granite church and was brought by boat from Boston and installed. J.H. Wilcox regulated and tuned the organ and played the Dedication recital on June 22, 1866. The organ was altered in the early 1900s, but restored to its original voicing and pitch in 1980 by the Andover Organ Co. The case, in Gothic style to match the building, is solid black walnut and is 18 feet wide, 35 feet tall, and 11 feet deep. The organ has two manuals.
Emerson will play a variety of pieces ranging from the sixteenth to the twentieth century. The music will explore the tonal colors of the organ and reflect All Souls’ Day, which occurs on Nov. 1. The program will include works by: Johannes Brahms, Jean Langlais, Alexandre-Pierre-François Boëly, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, among others.
For more information, contact Jane Coryell at 622-9344 or JaneCoryell@aol.com.
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