Lunchtime Organ Meditations
WHEN: every Friday throughout Lent, beginning February 28, and running through April 3. The recitals begin at 12:15, following brief (5 minute) noonday prayer, and end at 12:45 PM.
WHERE: Grace Church is located at 4 Main St. (Rt. 124) in at the corner of Kings Rd. and Route 124.
ADMISSION: free and open to the public
Grace Community Music presents lunchtime organ meditations. Drinks and dessert are provided after each performance. Local gourmet sandwich shop, Madison’s Slamwich Scratch Kitchen, will provide a selection of sliders and salads for suggested $8 purchase after each concert. The organ console and pedals will be projected onto the wall for better audience viewing.
Dr. Anne Matlack (above) is organist/choir director at Grace, where Friday Lenten Organ Recitals have been a Madison tradition since the 1950s, founded by her predecessor, Helen E.J. Thomas. There are several exciting guests this year. For the first recital February 28, Dr. Anne Matlack plays hymn-tune settings by various composers based on folksongs. March 6 The Pingry Middle School String Orchestra are our guest artists, directed by Vera Izano and accompanied by Andrew Moore.
On March 13 Christopher Jennings explores the nusic of Marcel Dupré in a program called A French Fifth. The annual concert in honor of the founder of the series, Helen Thomas, will be presented on March 20 by Patricia Ruggles Anne Matlack, organ, and guest violinist, featuring the music of Baroque composers Buxtehude and Telemann, and the 20th century Darius Milhaud. Organist at St. Mary’s Abbey, Mendham, Christopher Hatcher, presents Bach and Beyond on March 27, and Dr. Anne concludes the series with and all-woman composer program on April 3.
The Grace choir also sings a candlelit Chanted Compline after choir practice Thursdays in Lent, 8:45-9 p.m. to which the community is welcome. Come by sometime and experience it! Fifteen minutes of candlelight calm to end your day.
As well as her celebrating her 29th year as music director at Grace Church, Dr. Matlack is Artistic Director of the acclaimed Harmonium Choral Society. She studied organ with Charles Krigbaum at Yale and David Mulbury at The Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
For more information call the church at 973-377-0106 extension 17 or visit www.gracemadison.org.
