Patrick Scott

Patrick A. Scott is Music Associate and Organist at Myers Park United Methodist Church, a 5,000-member church located in the heart of Charlotte, North Carolina.  A native of Picayune, Mississippi, he holds the Bachelor of Music degree in Organ Performance from Birmingham-Southern College where he studied with Dr. James Cook.  As a student of Drs. Judith and Gerre Hancock, Patrick earned the Master of Music in Organ Performance and Sacred Music and the Doctor of Musical Arts in Organ Performance, both from The University of Texas at Austin.  His other major teachers have included Betty Polk and Kathy Vail.

Dr. Scott was awarded the audience prize as well as the second prize in the American Guild of Organists 2012 National Competition in Organ Improvisation.  He has also been the winner of many first prizes in regional and national competitions throughout the region.  An active recitalist and accompanist, Dr. Scott has appeared in concert throughout the United States, as well as in France, Prague, Austria, Scotland, England and Ireland.  Dr. Scott will also be teaching improvisation for the 2015 American Guild of Organists Region IV Convention.

Matthey Koraus

Matthew Koraus (FAGO) is a composer of vocal and instrumental music active in the greater New York area.  He has written an extensive amount of sacred music, and a number of his liturgical works are published by CanticaNOVA Publications.  Matthew presently serves as the Director of Music Ministries for the Church of St. Patrick in Huntington, NY, where he is overseeing the installation of two new pipe organs by the Glück Organ Company.  He is also an adjunct professor of music at Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY.  Matthew holds the Master of Music degree in Composition from Manhattan School of Music, where he studied composition with Mark Stambaugh, and organ with Walter Hilse.  Additionally, he holds the Bachelor of Science degree in Music Theory and Composition from Hofstra University, where he studied composition with Chandler Carter and David Lalama.  His initial organ studies were with Michael Bower, of St. Agnes Cathedral, Rockville Centre, NY.  Matthew holds the Fellowship Certification from the American Guild of Organists, and was the 2013 winner of both the Fellowship Prize and the S. Lewis Elmer Award offered by the Guild. More information on Matthew and samples of his compositions may be found at www.matthewkoraus.com.

Christopher Ganza

Christopher Ganza began studying the organ at the age of nine with Ray Cornils, Municipal
Organist of Portland, ME. He was soon appointed organist at Corpus Christi Parish, and at the Universalist-­?Unitarian Church of Waterville, ME. He received the degree of Bachelor of Music in Church Music from St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, studying organ performance and improvisation with John Ferguson and Catherine Rodland. He was the first organ scholar at the Church of St. Louis, King of France, under the supervision of Brian Carson. Christopher received the Master of Music degree from the University of Oklahoma, studying with John Schwandt. He is currently working towards a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree at the University of Oklahoma, studying organ performance and improvisation with John Schwandt, and choral conducting with Richard Zielinski.

Christopher has been awarded first prize in the Paul and Ruth Manz Scholarship Competition, the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival National Competition, and the John R. Rodland Memorial Scholarship Competition.

Currently, Christopher is the Director of Music at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Oklahoma City, OK, where he directs the adult choir and cantors, serves as the parish organist, and the organist for St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School.

The American Guild of Organists’ National Competition in Organ Improvisation (NCOI) seeks to further the art of improvisation by recognizing and rewarding superior performance in the field. A flourishing tradition of improvisation is fundamental to a truly vital musical culture. The five semi-finalists below will play on Monday, June 23, 2014. Up to three finalists will advance from the Semi-final Round and compete in the Final Round, to be held Thursday, June 26, 2014.

Prizes – First Place: $3,000, funded by McNeil Robinson; Second Place: $2,000, funded by Dobson Pipe Organ Builders; Third Place: $1,500, funded by Pamela and Steven Ruiter-Feenstra; Audience prize: $1,500, funded by David and Robin Arcus.

Organist Maury Castro and organ restorer Sean O’Donnell will present a program on each of two 19^th century Hook organs: The conserved, all original 1861 E & GG at Sear’s Chapel, Brookline Mass and the H&H recently rebuilt and relocated to Church of Our Savior, Brookline, Mass.

The program will be free and open to the public.  The capacity of the churches is in excess of 200.

While the program will present ‘period appropriate’ music on each of these instruments, the strong focus will be on the vibrant role these instruments play in the current and future lives of these congregations.

The program will feature music by 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st century composes including Felix Mendelssohn, John Stanley, and Rachel Laurin.

The program will begin at 1:00 PM at Sears’ Chapel.

E. & G.G. Hook, Opus 307, 1861

E. & G.G. Hook, Opus 307, 1861

Sean O’Donnell & Associates, restoration, 2007

At 1:45 the group will move to Church of Our Savior, a few hundred yards away.

Hook & Hastings, Opus 1366, 1887

Hook & Hastings, Opus 1366, 1887

At 2:00, Mr. Castro will present the 2^ndhalf of his concert.

At the conclusion of Mr. Castro’s concert (approx. 2:45) both consoles will be open for interested musicians to explore.

Click here for more information.

Both churches are easily accessible from the T’s Greenline, with easy access to the hotel, Symphony Hall, and The First Church of Christ, Scientist.

Directions

The a Greenline “D-Riverside” train to the Longwood stop (the 2nd above-ground stop). Sears’ Chapel will be directly in front of you when you step off the train.  Walk to your right, around the stone wall, to find the entrance to the churchyard.

Join Us for Lunch!

The Sears family and the Congregation of Christ Church, Longwood, invite you to join us for a complimentary light snack and a cold drink in the beautiful and spacious churchyard at Sears Chapel on Monday afternoon before the program, starting at 11:30.

Gourmet food trucks from some of Boston’s leading restaurants will be on hand for those desiring lunch.

St Thomas Jamaica Plain

Recital programs by organists  Lois Regestein, Boston MA, and Dr. Jens Korndoerfer, Atlanta GA

First Church Unitarian houses Opus 171 (3-32), the organ made famous by Thomas Murray’s recording of Mendelssohn sonatas some years ago.  First Church was the home church of one of the Hook brothers.

St Thomas Aquinas houses Opus 160 (3-37), built originally for St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (now Cathedral) downtown and moved to Jamaica Plain in the 1890s.  This instrument is the largest extant pre-Civil War American organ in the United States.

Both programs are free and open to the public.  The programs will show the capabilities and versatility of the instruments.  Each organ has seven reed stops, outstanding flutes and remarkable choruses that  ‘skillfully balance cohesion with energy’ (Scot Huntington, Organ Historical Society convention handbook for Boston 2000).

9:30 – First Church, Jamaica Plain.  Brief introduction to both instruments followed by a recital by Lois Regestein.

10:15 – Walk three blocks to St Thomas Aquinas Church.

10:30 – Recital by Dr. Jens Korndoerfer

11:15 – Open console time at St Thomas and First Church.

Directions

Jamaica Plain is a section of Boston that is easily accessible from Copley Square via City Bus #39 from Back Bay Station, near the hotel.   At conclusion of the JP tour, visitors may return to the hotel on Bus 39 or transfer near a stop on the bus line to the Green Line T at Brookline Village, to join the afternoon Hook tour in Brookline.

First Church Unitarian Jamaica Plain

E. & G.G. Hook, Opus 171, 1854/60

St Thomas Aquinas Church Jamaica Plain

E. & G.G. Hook, Opus 160, 1854

George S. Hutchings, Opus 551, c. 1898

Old North Church

Program Announcement

Join us at 4:00 PM for late afternoon demonstrations of the organ at St. Stephen’s Church, followed by a Glass Harmonica demonstration.  At 4:45, venture to nearby Paul Revere park to listen to Change Ringing by the Old North Ringers.  Small groups are welcome at the Edes and Gill Colonial print shop.  At 5:15, we’ll proceed to Old North Church for an organ demonstration and short concert.

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Mark Miller

Mark Miller believes passionately that music can change the world. He also believes in Cornell West’s statement, “Justice is what love looks like in public.” Mr. Miller’s dream is that the music he composes, performs, teaches, and leads will inspire and empower people to create the beloved community. He is assistant professor of church music at Drew Theological School and lecturer in the practice of sacred music at Yale University. He also is minister of music at Christ Church in Summit, New Jersey. Since 1999, he has led music for United Methodists and others around the country, including that for the 2008 General Conference. His choral anthems are best-sellers for Abingdon Press and Choristers Guild, and his hymns are widely published. He received his Bachelor of Arts in music from Yale University and his Master of Music in organ performance from The Juilliard School.