Just because the organ is one of the world’s oldest instruments doesn’t mean it’s out of style.
“People sometimes come to organ recitals and think they need to put their holy hat on; they think it’s something that needs to be quiet,” said Donald Sutherland, coordinator of the organ department at Peabody Conservatory. “It’s not like that at all; some of the music is quite funny, and all of it is entertaining.”
The American Guild of Organists has designated 2008-09 the International Year of the Organ, to celebrate the world’s oldest keyboard instrument. The organ has been a mainstay of international musicians since the 12th century. Sunday will be the world’s largest organ concert, with recitals and concerts being performed around the globe.
In Baltimore, two events will celebrate the Year of the Organ. At 2 p.m., Peabody Conservatory faculty artist John Walker will perform at Brown Memorial Park Avenue Presbyterian Church in Bolton Hill. He will open the celebration with William Walton’s “Crown Imperial” and Louis Vierne’s “Carillon de Westminster.” Peabody student Janet Yieh will perform a popular organ piece, Bach’s “Toccata in D minor.”
The Brown concert will also feature a setting of Mother Goose rhymes to organ music, teen performers Yieh and Andrew Koch, and video projection. One video was created by teens of the inside of the church’s classic organ, a 1931 E.M. Skinner.
“The organ has almost 3,000 parts, and the film is of the organ being taken apart, so that people can see the interior mechanism,” said Shirley Parry, an organizer of the event.
The Brown concert will be followed by a 4 p.m. performance by Peabody students, featuring two works chosen specifically for worldwide performance: “Blithely Breezing Along” from Baronian Suite, commissioned by David and Cindy Vogels, and Bernard Sanders’ “Ornament of Grace.” Other performances include works by Max Reger, Frank Bridge, Leo Sowerby and more.
“The program basically covers about 400 years worth of music, from Nicolas de Grigny of the 17th century to Stephen Paulus of the 21st century,” Sutherland said. “There’s music from America, France, Germany, England. This program has a lot of international flavor.”
Parry said the concert will welcome the entire family. “Part of the purpose of this concert is to introduce the organ as an instrument, because it’s not just about sitting there listening, it’s much more than that,” she said. “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
IF YOU GO
The Organ Spectacular
Where: Brown Memorial Park Avenue Presbyterian Church, 1316 Park Ave., Baltimore; Peabody’s Leith Symington Griswold Hall, 1 E. Mount Vernon Place, Baltimore
When: 2 p.m. Sunday
Tickets: $10/adults; free/children
Info: 410-523-1542 or www.peabody.jhu.edu/events
