BANGOR — The 29th Summer Recital Series on Maine’s largest 19th-Century mechanical-action pipe organ, E. & G. G. Hook’s magnificent Opus 288, at St. John Church on 207 York Street in Bangor continues later this week. The series features internationally known organists as well as local performers. The recitals are an hour long and are held on Thursday evenings at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free, but donations to maintain the organ are appreciated. The concerts are sponsored by St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Bangor and the St. John’s Organ Society. The organ society is committed to the preservation and appreciation of the Opus 288, which was built in 1860 and remains one of the most beautiful, surviving organs of its time. Here is the upcoming schedule:
August 4
Dr. Juan Mesa
Dr. Juan A. Mesa will perform the music of J.S. Bach, Marcel Dupré, and Josef Rheinberger. A native of Chile, Dr. Mesahas performed solo recitals across the U.S., Canada, Chile, and Argentina, and has collaborated with the Indiana-based Exordium Baroque Ensemble, the Choirs of Trinity Episcopal Church in Indianapolis, MYRIAM ensemble of Boston, and the University of Notre Dame’s Children’s Choir, among others. He is co-founder of Le Note Diverse, a Boston-based early music ensemble which specializes in under-represented music for plucked instruments and early keyboards. He is currently college organist and assistant professor of music performance at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts.
August 11
Sarah Johnson
Sarah Johnson will perform the music of John Knowles Paine, Jacques van Oortmerssen, and J. S. Bach. Johnson is a candidate for the doctor of musical arts degree at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. A native of Garland, Maine, Johnson has performed in New York City at Central Synagogue and in Boston at Old West, Trinity Copley, and Holy Name Parish. She was named an E. Power Biggs Fellow of the Organ Historical Society in 2013. Johnson was featured as a rising star and guest recitalist at the 2017 Musforum Conference in Omaha, Nebraska, and took part in a master class at Aspen Music Festival in Colorado. She recently performed at Methuen Memorial Music Hall in Methuen, MA on their 74th annual series.
August 18
Katherine Johnson
Katherine Johnson will perform the music of Felix Mendelssohn, Florence Price, and Ethel Smyth. Johnson is a senior in the organ department at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio. Johnson was awarded the first prize in the high school division of the Albert Schweitzer Organ Competition, and subsequently performed in the Winner’s Recital at the 2017 Schweitzer Festival. She has participated in a number of other competitions in U.S., including the Quimby Regional Competition for Young Organists, the Greater Columbia AGO Competition, and the ECMAEF competition in Greenville, North Carolina.
August 25
Daniel Pyle and Catherine Bull
The concert features Daniel Pyle (organ) and Catherine Bull (flute) performing the music of Gabriel Fauré, Jehan Alain, César Franck, and J. S. Bach. Daniel Pyle is artistic-director of the Acadia Choral Society and harpsichordist and leader of the Baroque ensemble Harmonie Universelle. Catherine Bull maintains an active career in both modern and historical flutes. She is the flutist in the ensemble Harmonie Universelle, and for 20 years was the principal flutist of the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, as well as principal for the Southern Crescent Symphony Orchestra in Atlanta. For the National Flute Association she has presented workshops and recitals, and chaired and adjuicated national competitions.
September 1
Kevin Birch
Kevin Birch will perform the music of Dudley Buck, Arthur Foote, and Robert Schumann. Since 1992, he has served as director of music at St. John Church in Bangor and executive director of the St. John’s Organ Society. Birch is a member of the music faculty at the University of Maine’s School of the Performing Arts in Orono and has performed solo recitals in the U.S., Canada, Europe, South America, and for several national conventions of the Organ Historical Society.
For more information on the series, contact St. Paul the Apostle Parish at (207) 217-6740 or visit www.hookopus288.net.
