PHILADELPHIA
ORGAN FESTIVAL
March 15 – 23, 2024
Celebrate the beauty of Philadelphia’s historic pipe organs in spectacular concerts that light up some of the city’s most beautiful spaces.
There is no instrument with the same majesty and depth of the organ—capable of imitating a thousand earthly and celestial sounds yet bound to the building it calls home, and giving those special places breath through myriad pipes which can shake the foundations and rustle the rafters.
In a city known for its many firsts, Partners for Sacred Places is excited to invite you to Philadelphia’s first major organ festival! The festival will highlight the organ’s ability to inspire composers, artists, and audiences—a unique opportunity to explore the city and its sounds. Experience some of the city’s finest historic organs and landmark sacred places, as these inspired performances bring together music across centuries and genres. You’ll hear the organ as a partner in chamber music, in vocal works old and new, with period instruments, and in unlikely pairings with percussion and contemporary music ensembles. And in two special events, you will hear the organ provide a thrilling soundtrack for history-making silent films.
Discover the unique power of the pipe organ to create music that moves and awes listeners, in settings that represent some of the finest Philadelphia architecture. From longtime organ fans to curious neighbors and families who live and work near these beautiful spaces, all are invited to experience the organ in ways that will transcend expectations and open doors to new intersections of community and culture.
PHILADELPHIA
ORGAN FESTIVAL
March 15 – 22, 2024
Celebrate the beauty of Philadelphia’s historic pipe organs in spectacular concerts that light up some of the city’s most beautiful spaces.
There is no instrument with the same majesty and depth of the organ—capable of imitating a thousand earthly and celestial sounds yet bound to the building it calls home, and giving those special places breath through myriad pipes which can shake the foundations and rustle the rafters.
In a city known for its many firsts, Partners for Sacred Places is excited to invite you to Philadelphia’s first major organ festival! The festival will highlight the organ’s ability to inspire composers, artists, and audiences—a unique opportunity to explore the city and its sounds. Experience some of the city’s finest historic organs and landmark sacred places, as these inspired performances bring together music across centuries and genres. You’ll hear the organ as a partner in chamber music, in vocal works old and new, with period instruments, and in unlikely pairings with percussion and contemporary music ensembles. And in two special events, you will hear the organ provide a thrilling soundtrack for history-making silent films.
Discover the unique power of the pipe organ to create music that moves and awes listeners, in settings that represent some of the finest Philadelphia architecture. From longtime organ fans to curious neighbors and families who live and work near these beautiful spaces, all are invited to experience the organ in ways that will transcend expectations and open doors to new intersections of community and culture.
John Walthausen, Artistic Director
Jay Fluellen, Festival Director
IN COLLABORATION WITH:
• The Philadelphia Orchestra • The Marian Anderson Historical Society • Artcinia
• The Crossing • Opera Philadelphia • cinéSPEAK
Questions about the Philadelphia Organ Festival?
Contact organfestival@sacredplaces.org.
Major support for the Philadelphia Organ Festival and Playing and Preserving has been generously provided by:
The 25th Century Foundation
Connelly Foundation
Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation
Tickets and Information
The concert at Longwood Gardens is Sold Out. Attend all other concerts with this Festival pass!
Friday
March 15
7 PM
Ravel’s Boléro reimagined for Organ and Brass
Chelsea Chen, organist
ORGAN: 1931 E.M. Skinner
Girard College Chapel, 2101 South College Avenue, Philadelphia
The Festival’s opening concert showcases Girard University’s famed 1931 E.M. Skinner organ, with heralded soloist Chelsea Chen. Hailed by the Los Angeles Times for her “rare musicality” and “lovely, lyrical grandeur,” Chen has won international acclaim. The irresistible pulse of Ravel’s classic Boléro is spectacularly reimagined in Chen’s arrangement for organ, brass, and snare drum, on the program with works by Liszt, Bach, and more.
Saturday
March 16
3 PM
Gothic Drama from Screen and Keyboard: The Passion of Joan of Arc
Matthew Glandorf, organist
ORGAN: Originally Carlton C. Mitchell 1894; revised Casavant Frères Ltée. (1955) et al.
St. Luke’s Germantown, 5421 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia
Was there ever a better pairing of art and venue? Experience Carl Theodor Dreyer’s classic 1928 silent film under the mysterious arches of the landmark Gothic Revival church of St. Luke’s, Germantown—the perfect setting for the dramatic medieval sets that Dreyer constructed for his masterpiece. Matthew Glandorf improvises a brilliant score for the classic film. Now based in Germany, Glandorf has served as a Curtis Institute faculty member, as well Artistic Director of Choral Arts Philadelphia and the Bach Festival of Philadelphia.
Saturday
March 16
7 PM
The Organ’s Modern Touch: Minimalism and Contemporary Works
Amanda Mole, organist
Vocalists from The Crossing Percussion Ensemble
ORGAN: 1919 Austin
The First Presbyterian Church in Germantown, 35 West Chelten Avenue, Philadelphia
Praised for her “elegant, lucid” performances (The American Organist), Amanda Mole is joined by percussionists and singers from GRAMMY® Award-winning The Crossing in Steve Reich’s rarely performed minimalist masterpiece Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices, and Organ, alongside solo works for organ by influential contemporary composers Arvo Pärt and Nico Muhly. Experience the organ’s ability to inspire modern composers and performers in a historic church that includes renowned 1949 murals of women from scripture by legendary artist Violet Oakley.
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Sunday
March 17
7 PM
Celebrating the Memory and Art of Marian Anderson
Alan Morrison, organist
Marian Anderson Society Scholars, vocalists
ORGAN: 1927 Möller
Tindley Temple, 750 South Broad Street, Philadelphia
Revered singer Marian Anderson and great American composer Florence Price are honored in this unforgettable performance featuring some of Philadelphia’s finest musicians. Marian Anderson performed one of composer Florence Price’s most moving songs in her historic 1939 performance at the Lincoln Memorial. Now hear Price’s works performed by Curtis Institute of Music Organ Department Chair Alan Morrison and guest vocalists from the Marian Anderson Historical Society—a moving experience on the hallowed ground of historic Tindley Temple, long a monument of the legacy of African American faith and music in Philadelphia.
Free Community Event: View Selections from the Marian Anderson Collection
Tuesday March 19
7 PM
U.S. Premiere of Garras de Oro
Parker Kitterman, organist
Vocalists from Opera Philadelphia
Chamber ensemble with live electronics
ORGAN: 1928 Austin
Rodeph Shalom, 615 North Broad Street, Philadelphia
Politically censored and lost until the early 21st century, the 1926 Colombian silent film Garras de Oro is ripe for rediscovery with Juan Pablo Carreño’s thrilling new score. Featuring an amplified chamber orchestra with organist Parker Kitterman, under the baton of Philadelphia Orchestra Assistant Conductor Austin Chanu, this performance provides an operatic setting for the film’s provocative statement on Colombian and Central American history. Kitterman, who serves as Director of Music and Organist at Christ Church, is renowned for his contemporary music explorations, and is the perfect match for this adventurous, collaborative premiere.
Wednesday
March 20
7 PM
J. S. Bach Cantata BWV 146: Wir müssen durch viel Trübsal
John Walthausen, organist; Rebecca Myers, soprano; Meg Bragle, mezzo soprano; Gregório Taniguchi, tenor; Christopher Talbot, bass
Baroque ensemble
ORGAN: 1964 Rieger
Unitarian Society of Germantown, 6511 Lincoln Drive, Philadelphia
Philadelphia Organ Festival Artistic Director John Walthausen, vocal soloists, and a baroque orchestra join in one of Bach’s most beautiful church cantatas. From the mighty sound of the organ in the loft to the soaring voices of the soloists and the beautiful ensemble of period instruments, this performance will leave the listener, as Bach intended, in awe. The 1928 Unitarian Society of Germantown’s elegant home on Lincoln Drive makes for a unique setting that highlights the congregation’s freethinking and spirited role in Philadelphia’s religious life.
SOLD OUT – no tickets will be sold at the door for this concert.
Thursday
March 21
7 PM
Holst’s The Planets and World Premiere
Daryl Robinson, organist; Percussion Ensemble
ORGAN: Emery Brothers (2021), originally Austin Organ Co. (1936)
Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, 19 South 38th Street, Philadelphia
The many beauties of the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral add awe and splendor to this evening of music! Gustav Holst’s beloved work The Planets has inspired generations of listeners, including some of Hollywood’s most acclaimed film composers. Hear excerpts from this classic transcribed for organ, performed by the winner of the 2012 American Guild of Organists National Competition, Daryl Robinson and an ensemble of percussionists. This program will also reveal a new work from the Philadelphia Organ Festival’s Composition Competition.
Friday
March 22
7 PM
Romance in the Garden: Franck and Rachmaninoff at Longwood
Alcée Chriss, organist; String Ensemble
ORGAN: 1930 Aeolian
Longwood Gardens, 1001 Longwood Rd, Kennett Square
Winner of both the Canadian International Competition and the Miami International Competition, as well as the 2016 Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition Firmin Swinnen Prize, Alcée Chriss delights in this concert featuring original transcriptions for organ and chamber ensemble. Hear music from César Franck’s great masterwork, the Symphony in D Minor—alternately haunting and triumphant, always beautiful— and excerpts from Rachmaninoff’s vivid Symphonic Dances, first premiered by the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1941. A chamber ensemble joins Chriss in this stunning performance.
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FREE FESTIVAL PREVIEW CONCERT!
Stephen Tharp, organist
Friday, March 1, 12:30pm
Girard College Chapel
2101 South College Avenue, Philadelphia
Program: Works by Handel, J. S. Bach, Pierre Cochereau, and Marcel Dupré,
Plus Improvisations in response to themes suggested by Girard College students!
Tickets are free but limited for this special event.
Please reserve your spot here!
Stephen Tharp is a Grammy-nominated concert organist and recording artist based in New York City. His more than 70 world tours earned him the 2011 International Performer of the Year Award from the American Guild of Organists, considered the highest honor given to organists by a professional American musicians’ guild. Noteworthy performances include The Royal Albert Hall, London; Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris; the Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg; Dvorak Hall, Prague; the Duomo, Milan; The Hong Kong Cultural Centre; The Opera House, Sydney; Symphony Center, Chicago; Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles; The Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas; and Alice Tully Hall, New York City.
Enjoy this event with Festival partner Opera Philadelphia!
To Sit and Dream
March 17, 3pm
Tindley Temple, 750 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19146
To sit and dream, to sit and read / To sit and learn about the world…
All you who are dreamers, too / Help me to make our world anew
– from “To Sit and Dream,” by Langston Hughes
Come and dream with us as the Opera Philadelphia Chorus, in partnership with Wharton-Wesley Faith Ensemble and Philadelphia soprano Karen Slack, presents a concert of music by Black composers centered on four choral settings of the poetry of Harlem Renaissance icon Langston Hughes.
The 90-minute concert is conducted by Opera Philadelphia’s Elizabeth Braden and Theodore Thomas, Jr., Director of the Wharton-Wesley Faith Ensemble and Minister of Music at Tindley Temple, and includes compositions by Roland Carter, Christopher H. Harris, Undine Smith Moore, Rosephanye Powell, Florence Price, Michael Reid, André J. Thomas, and Nolan J. Williams, Jr.
Tickets are free or pay-what-you-decide.
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Hear great performances every week on the famed Wanamaker Organ at Macy’s!
You can find details on upcoming performances, history of this magnificent organ and more at
https://wanamakerorgan.com/
Continue the experience with The Philadelphia Orchestra!
March 21–23, hear Guillaume Connesson’s magnificent Concerto da Requiem,
the perfect showcase for the endlessly versatile 6,000-plus pipes of Verizon Hall’s mighty
Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ.
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Continue the experience with Artcinia!
Artcinia brings the performing arts to people where they live.
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