The Sanctuary Choir at Spencerville, and the Columbia Collegiate Chorale of Washington Adventist University, conducted by Dr. James Bingham lead this service, with accompaniment on the organ by Mark Willey and the piano by Mark Di Pinto. This year, in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the organ, Mark Willey played a 30 minute prelude of seasonal organ music.
October 15, 2011
Julie Vidrick Evans, November 19
On Saturday, November 19, as part of our continuing celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the organ, Julie Vidrick Evans performed a program of music by Handel, Bach, Mendelssohn, Thalben-Ball, Duruflé and more, An active recitalist and prize-winning organist, Ms. Evans has been a featured soloist with The Washington Bach Consort, Bach Sinfonia, Masterworks Chorus, and Thomas Circle Singers and has performed in cathedrals and concert halls across the U.S. and Eastern Europe. Ms. Evans earned a Master of Music from The Catholic University of America as a student of Wojciech Wojtasiewicz and a Bachelor of Music from James Madison University as a student of Richard McPherson. In addition to holding church positions in the Washington, D.C. area, she has served as Choral Conductor-in-Residence at American University, Washington, D.C. and Associate Conductor of Masterworks Chorus (now The National Philharmonic Chorale). Evans has served the American Guild of Organists as clinician and recitalist and has served as Dean, Trichapter Chair, and Co-Chair of the Committee for New Music and Executive Assistant for the 2010 National AGO Convention. She is currently Director of Music at Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C..
Prior to the concert we sat down with Julie to talk with her about some of her experiences playing the organ and about some of the pieces she would be playing on November 19. From this conversation, we made a micro-documentary that you can view here.
September 16, 2011
Thomas Murray, September 17
The legendary American organist Thomas Murray played the first recital of the 2011/2012 Evensong Concert Series on Saturday, September 17 at 4 p.m. in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the DeHaan family organ at the Spencerville Church. Murray played the closing recital of the inaugural season, in 1992, and he appeared again on the series in 1994. Saturday's program was a varied and interesting exploration, both of Mr. Murray's skills as a performer, and of the strengths of the organ at Spencerville.
The organ at Spencerville was given by the DeHaan family in memory of their daughter Jane Kay. Their only stipulation was that the instrument be shared with the community and so the Evensong Concert Series was born. Through the 20 years since its inaugural concert was given by Simon Preston, the organ has been played in almost a hundred solo recitals and countless services. Thanks to the talented efforts of our organ technician, Bard Wickkiser, the organ is sounding better than ever. Because the organ never received a refined tonal finishing, much of its potential has remained unrealized. Over the past couple of months, in preparation for this 20th anniversary, our organ tech's have begun to explore the tonal possibilities and the results are very exciting. We're proud of our instrument and look forward to sharing it with our community for the next 20 years and beyond.
