This fall local music lovers will be treated to another series of organ concerts on the historic Taylor & Boody Organ at the Parish Church of St. Helena, 505 Church St. in downtown Beaufort. Concerts are at noon on five Fridays in October and November. They are free and open to the public.
Matthew Brown of Salisbury, N.C., will present the first in the free fall series of Friday organ concerts at noon on Friday, Oct. 3.
Brown is Director of Music and organist at First United Methodist Church of Salisbury, N.C., where he oversees a sacred music program affiliated with the Royal School of Church Music in America. He holds degrees from the North Carolina School of the Arts and the Eastman School of Music, with studies at the GOArt Organ Center in Göteborg, Sweden, and the International Summer Organ Conservatoire in Paris.
The fall concert series includes:
• October 10: John Stender, Indiana University (Featured Young Organist)
• October 17: Luca Pollastri, Italy
• October 31: Emanuele Cardi, Italy
• November 7: Johan Hermans, Hasselt, Belgium.
The Taylor & Boody organ at St. Helena’s is modern (installed in the church in 1985), yet reminiscent of the “golden age” of organ building and organ music in Europe between 1600 and 1750. The two-manual organ has 19 stops and more than 1,150 pipes housed in a beautifully crafted oak case.
The concert series is funded by private donations from parishioners and music lovers all over the Lowcountry. To become a Friend of Music at St. Helena’s, send your tax-deductible gift to: Music at St. Helena’s The Parish Church of St. Helena, P.O. Box 1043, Beaufort, SC, 29901. Membership categories include: Benefactor (gift of $750 or more), Patron (gift of $500-$749), Sponsor ($250-$499), Donor ($100-$249) and Supporter ($50-$99). Gifts may be in memory or in honor of someone. All who are remembered or honored will be listed in concert programs for a year.
For more information, contact Patricia Gould at 843-522-1712, ext. 214 or pgould@sthelenas1712.org; or Kelly Newnham, 843-522-1712 or lnewnham@sthelenas1712; or visit www.sthelenas1712.org.
