On Sunday, April 27 at 4:00 p.m., St. Stephen’s Pro-Cathedral will celebrate the Eleventh Anniversary of the dedication of the Berghaus pipe organ with a recital by renowned organist Canon Mark Laubach.

Since January 1985, Canon Laubach has served as Organist and Choirmaster of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Wilkes-Barre, where he administers an active liturgical and choral music program, concert series, and Music from St. Stephen’s, a radio broadcast heard weekly on WVIA 89.9 FM Public Radio. A graduate of Westminster Choir College and the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester, and formerly a Fellow in Church Music at Washington National Cathedral, Canon Laubach has performed in many of the most prominent churches and concert halls in the USA, Great Britain, and Germany. He has recorded three critically acclaimed compact discs on the Pro Organo label … Teutonc Titanics, French Fest, and Mosaics in Sound.

To celebrate the anniversary of his 2003 dedicatory recital, Canon Laubach has chosen a program of music which will entertain those listening and will also exploit the vast colors and range of the magnificent Berghaus Organ. The recital will open with an organ transcription of William Walton’s Crown Imperial March, which was originally composed in 1937 for the coronation of King Edward VIII of Great Britain. As Edward VIII abdicated before he was crowned, Walton’s new, stirring march was instead used for the coronation of his brother, King George VI, the subject of the recent, highly acclaimed film, The King’s Speech, and father of the current British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.

After the Walton march, Canon Laubach will play Johann Sebastian Bach’s exciting Prelude and Fugue in A Minor, BWV 543, followed by four hymn preludes by Bach, Paul Manz, Gerre Hancock, and the recently departed Norwegian composer Egil Hovland. Before the playing of each hymn prelude, all assembled will have the chance to stretch their legs and their vocal cords by singing verses of the hymns upon which the organ pieces are based. Since the primary job of the wonderful instrument is to accompany the singing of congregations and choirs, this will be a most appropriate and inspiring addition to the program.

Following a brief intermission, Canon Laubach will perform Charles-Marie Widor’s beloved Toccata from his Symphony No. 5 for Organ. Interestingly, he has chosen to play three of the previous four movements of this grand symphony, which are performed not nearly as frequently as the famous Toccata. This is to give all in attendance the unique opportunity to hear the Toccata in its proper context.

After the Widor symphony, the audience will have a chance to hear some of the more lush sounds of the Berghaus Organ, including the beautiful harp and chimes in Leo Sowerby’s Carillon.

To close the program, Canon Laubach has chosen a regal, joyous blockbuster that will summon up all the forces of the instrument … the grand Finale from Alexandre Guilmant’s Sonata No. 1 for Organ in D Minor.

Finally, for those who may want something more after the Guilmant, he will present a very special, entertaining encore, which will remain a secret until it is performed. Canon Laubach assures us the encore is sure to bring a smile to the faces of all music lovers present.

Admission is free; however, a free-will offering will be accepted to help maintain the health of the Berghaus Organ. Immediately after the recital, the audience is invited to attend a lovely reception hosted by St. Stephen’s Music and Parish Life Committees.

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Pro-Cathedral is located at 35 South Franklin Street in the heart of downtown Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Free parking is available next to the church. For more information, go to its website.

This coming Sunday’s (February 16th’s) Music from St. Stephen’s on WVIA 89.9 FM will be a program Mark Laubach has recorded in memory of Father Al Wagaman. Father Wagaman, who served as our chaplain, passed away on December 13, 2013.

The program will air twice on Sunday, at 7:00 am and 4:00 pm. People who can’t get good reception of WVIA where they live have the option of listening to the program live online at WVIA’s website.

On November 3, members of the Pennsylvania Northeast Chapter conducted their third annual “Pedals, Pipes, and Pizza” program at Church of Christ Uniting in Kingston. The Rev. Dr. Carol Fleming, pastor, and Carl D. Ruck, minister of music and AGO chapter member, hosted the event. The program opened with the presentation of Daniel Burton’s Rex: The King of Instruments with Raphael Micca, sub-dean, narrating and Mike Sowa, dean, playing the organ. Participants were given a chance to get an up-close look at the organ console and the pipe chambers and to observe a collection of pipes taken from an area organ which is no longer in existence. Several of the attendees of varying ages and levels of experience sat down to play the church’s pipe organ. At the end of the program, pizza and refreshments were served free of charge in the church’s fellowship hall, where chapter member Mark Pall demonstrated a hand-cranked busker organ he built from scratch and chapter sub-dean Raphael Micca led a series of games with the children who attended the program.

The Blessing and Rededication of the pipe organ at St. Mary’s Church of the Immaculate Conception, 134 South Washington Street, Wilkes-Barre will take place on Friday, November 1 (The Solemnity of All Saints) at 7:00 p.m. The program will include the performance of organ works by J.S. Bach, Francois Couperin, and Gaston Dethier along with hymn singing by all in attendance and by the parish choirs. All are invited to attend the rededication.

St. Mary’s pipe organ was built by Müller and Abel, New York City in 1902 (Opus 60). It was rebuilt in 1927 by the Möller organ company of Hagerstown, Maryland. This year’s rebuild was completed by Patrick Murphy of Stowe, Pennsylvania.

The pipe organ has been called the “King of Instruments.” The sounds of the pipe organ have inspired worshippers for centuries. Great composers have written countless works for the instrument. Pipe organs have been installed in some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls and theaters. The American Guild of Organists is passionate about the pipe organ and we want to share our love with a new generation.

Join us on Sunday, November 3 at Church of Christ Uniting in Kingston from 2:00 – 4:00 PM for Pedals, Pipes, and Pizza. Participants will receive a behind the scenes tour of the instrument in addition to a chance to play it themselves (and eat some pizza!). All are welcome to attend. Students currently studying the piano are encouraged to bring a piece to play on the organ.

Presenters for the event are Michael Sowa and Raphael Micca, local organists with backgrounds in music education and church music. Carl Ruck, Minister of Music at Church of Christ Uniting, is the host.

TO REGISTER FOR PEDALS, PIPES, AND PIZZA, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

Have you ever met with a “Bridezilla” who wanted things exactly HER way, or no other way?

Were you ever unsure as to whether a certain piece of music was appropriate to be played at a church wedding?

Have you ever had trouble finding a soloist or an instrumentalist for a wedding?

Are you interested in hearing some stories your fellow chapter members have to share about weddings they have played?

Would you like to share a piece you use at weddings with your chapter members or listen to pieces your other colleagues find useful for weddings?

Please mark your calendar for our chapter’s next event, a Wedding Music Workshop led by chapter member David Tighe, on Monday, May 20 at 6:30 p.m. at Holy Rosary Church, 127 Stephenson Street in Duryea.

We will begin with Evening Prayer at 6:30 p.m. in the church. The meeting will follow. We will discuss some of the issues a church organist may face when playing for a wedding, regardless of the church’s denomination. Additional details will follow as the event approaches.

Whether you’ve played many weddings or only a few, or are dreading the thought of being called for your first wedding as a church organist, this is an event you won’t want to miss. Refreshments will be served after the meeting/discussion. Our evening should conclude no later than 8:30 p.m.

If you plan on attending, please call Mike Sowa, Co-Dean, at (570) 881-2301 or email dean@agopane.org.

The pipe organ has been called the “King of Instruments.” The sounds of the pipe organ have inspired worshippers for centuries. Great composers have written countless works for the instrument. Pipe organs have been installed in some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls and theaters. The American Guild of Organists is passionate about the pipe organ and we want to share our love with a new generation.

Join us on Sunday, April 21, 2013 at St. Matthew’s United Evangelical Lutheran Church, corner of Jefferson Avenue and Vine Street, Scranton, from 2:00 – 4:00 PM for our second Pedals, Pipes, and Pizza. Participants will receive a behind the scenes tour of the instrument in addition to a chance to play it themselves (and eat some pizza!). All are welcome to attend. Students currently studying the piano are encouraged to bring a piece to play on the organ.

Presenters for the event are Michael Sowa and Raphael Micca, local organists with backgrounds in music education and church music.

TO REGISTER FOR PEDALS, PIPES, AND PIZZA, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

Since the 1920s, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Pro-Cathedral, South Franklin Street, Wilkes-Barre, has been host to an annual ecumenical Lenten series of services and organ recitals for downtown Wilkes-Barre and its surrounding communities. The 2013 Series continues this coming Wednesday, February 20th, with an organ recital at 11:30 AM, followed by an ecumenical Lenten Service at 12:00 PM.

As in past years, the 2013 Lenten series will involve clergy, musicians, and laity from Catholic and Protestant churches throughout Wilkes-Barre and the Wyoming Valley. A soup and sandwich lunch is served each week following the Lenten Service, with a suggested donation of $4.00 per person. Members of the participating congregations are the hosts for these lunches. Offerings received at this year’s services and lunches will support the Men’s Homeless Shelter in Wilkes-Barre.

This Wednesday’s Organ Recital at 11:30 AM will be presented by Peter Stoltzfus Berton, a native of Wilkes-Barre who grew up in Lancaster PA. Mr. Berton studied at The University of Michigan School of Music and the Yale University School of Music. Integral to his training as a church musician was serving as Assistant Organist at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Detroit, Trinity Church on the Green in New Haven CT, and Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York City. His principal teachers have been David Bartlett, Robert Glasgow, Gerre Hancock, Charles Krigbaum, Walden Moore, Thomas Murray and Carl E. Schroeder. Prior to becoming Music Director of St. John’s Episcopal Church, West Hartford CT in 2010, he held music director positions at All Saints’ Church, Worcester MA, Christ Episcopal Church, Los Altos CA, and Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims, Brooklyn Heights NY. He is active as a composer, choral clinician, organ recitalist and recording artist (JAV Recordings), and is a singing member of and organist for Mastersingers USA, a men’s touring ensemble.

The Service at 12 noon will be led by The Reverend Daniel C. Gunn, Rector of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Pro-Cathedral in Wilkes-Barre. The preacher will be The Reverend Dr. Robert Zanicky, Pastor of The First Presbyterian Church of Wilkes-Barre. Special music will be presented by Ellen Rutkowski, mezzo-soprano, and led by St. Stephen’s Organist and Choirmaster, Canon Mark Laubach.

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Pro-Cathedral, 35 South Franklin Street, Wilkes-Barre, will celebrate the Tenth Anniversary of the dedication of its Berghaus pipe organ with a concert by renowned organist Ken Cowan on Sunday, March 10 at 4:00 p.m. Tickets are $15.00 and $10.00 for students, senior citizens (65+), and WVIA members. Tickets may be purchased at the door or from the St. Stephen’s office Monday through Thursday between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Ken Cowan is one of North America’s finest concert organists and is praised by audiences and critics alike for his dazzling artistry, impeccable technique and imaginative programming. His recent performances include appearances at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California, Philadelphia’s Verizon Hall, Spivey Hall, and Walt Disney Concert Hall. He is also featured regularly in concerts and at organ conventions throughout the world, most notably at the conventions of the Organ Historical Society and the Royal Canadian College of Organists.

It was Cowan’s musicality, technical mastery, expertise in transcriptions of orchestral works and creative programming that led Canon Mark Laubach to select him as the perfect organist to highlight the anniversary the Berghaus pipe organ. In a recent concert review, Scott Cantrell of The Dallas Morning News wrote, “Cowan was at his most dazzling in transcriptions of Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture and Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz No. 1. Sounds shifted, swelled and diminished in apparently limitless variety, all while Cowan dispatched dizzying arrays of notes.”

In 2000, the “Polish the Gem” Organ Campaign was officially heralded with a gala concert by the Choir of Westminster Abbey from London, England. The dedicated efforts of the many involved in the “Polish the Gem” Organ Campaign was completed in 2003 and resulted in the acquisition of a glorious new retrofitted Berghaus pipe organ, which has become the cornerstone of the music at St. Stephen’s.

A truly stunning instrument, the Berghaus pipe organ enhances the Anglican liturgical tradition as well as secular transcriptions. Purchasing a new or newly refurbished Berghaus pipe organ is a “once-in-a-lifetime” project and few churches have the opportunity to do so. Berghaus organs are designed as aural and visual masterpieces. They must be exciting to the ear as well as the eye and are built specific to the space they will occupy. Berghaus Pipe Organs were the founded in 1967 by Leonard G. Berghaus, a gifted educator and organist whose early passion for the pipe organ prompted him to seek out extensive training in the art of organ building with a special emphasis on tonal design, voicing and the various forms of key and stop actions.

St. Stephen’s Pro Cathedral was built in 1897 and consecrated in 1899. It is the fifth Church edifice built in the same location and was designed by Philadelphia architect Charles Marquedant Burns, Jr. (1838-1922). St. Stephen’s has a rich history and Anglican tradition. Current services are held on Sundays at 8 AM and 10:30 AM under the leadership of Father Daniel Gunn. This concert is presented by the Music at St. Stephen’s Committee.

After watching the weather forecast and seeing that the height of the snowstorm will be tonight into tomorrow morning, we are canceling the chapter meeting which was originally scheduled for Saturday morning at 11:30 at Terry’s Diner in Moosic.