Whitesel Church Organs Provides Viscount UNICO Organ to The Bach Choir of Bethlehem

Performance Held at The Music Center of Strathmore

​Monday, March 13th, 2013 8:00p.m.

​

America’s oldest Bach Choir, accompanied by their orchestra, performed Mendelssohn’s choral masterpiece Elijah.  Elijah is a fiery oratorio that recounts the story of the biblical prophet with vast and intense drama.  After its premiere in London in 1846, The Times of London reported “Never was there a more complete triumph – never a more thorough and speedy recognition of a great work of art.” Distinguished soloists include Washington favorite Rosa Lamoreaux, soprano, and in the title role of Elijah, bass-baritone Dashon Burton, praised in the New York Times for his “enormous, thrilling voice seemingly capable…of raising the dead.”

The organ used was a physically modeled Viscount UNICO 300 with Physis Technology, which was provided and installed by Whitesel Church Organs.  This is the first organ to use no sampled sounds whatsoever in the replication of pipe organ sound.  With its internal library of over 500 historical pipe organ ranks, the Viscount Organ was able to be voiced to the organist’s exacting specifications.    This flexibility gave the listeners in the audience the opportunity to be transferred back in time to London, 1846.  As they sat in their seats in 2013, the organ faithfully, realistically, and physically reproduced the experience in the way it happened 167 years ago.

Located in the heart of Downtown Washington D.C., (1317 G St., NW Washington D.C. 20005) Historic Church of the Epiphany is the perfect setting for such an event.  It's certainly fitting that at one time, members of both the Union and Confederacy attended services here, and lived to talk about it!



The Organists

Jeremy Filsell

A Limpus prize winner and Silver Medallist of the Worshipful Company of Musicians for FRCO as a teenager, Jeremy graduated from Oxford University as Organ Scholar at Keble College, having pursued organ studies with Nicolas Kynaston and Daniel Roth in Paris. As a post-graduate he studied Piano with David Parkhouse and Hilary McNamara at the Royal College of Music and privately at the University of Surrey with Martin Hughes. He completed a PhD at Birmingham Conservatoire/Birmingham City University PhD abstract) examining aesthetic and interpretative issues in the music of Marcel Dupré.

During the course of his career he has held posts at Cranleigh School, Ely Cathedral, St Luke's Chelsea, St Peter's Eaton Square, the London Oratory School, Royal Holloway College University of London and Eton College. Until 2008, he combined teaching posts at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester with a lay clerkship in the choir of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. In 2007 he served for the second time as a jury member at the Concours International pour l'orgue in Saint-Maurice d'Agaune. He lives and works now principally in the USA and combines international performing and teaching activities with being Artist-in-Residence at Washington National Cathedral.

​Neil Weston

Neil Weston is a past prizewinner of the American Guild of Organists National Competition in Organ Improvisation and was presented by the AGO in concert as an improviser at the National Cathedral on three occasions.  His solo and ensemble appearances on recording number over a dozen commercial CD recordings on both sides of the Atlantic.  He is Director of Music at St. Stephen Martyr Catholic Church and Keyboard Artist at Temple Sinai.

Viscount Organ Dedication Service

January 13th, 2013

3:00p.m.

Please be our guest for the dedication of the new 57 Stop Drawknob Viscount Organ at Sangerville Church of the Brethren.  We have now extended our relationship with this church by replacing a now obsolete first generation Allen Digital Computer Organ originally installed by my Grandfather, Carroll Motsinger.  It is a blessing to have ensured that the congregation of Sangerville COTB will have beautiful sounding organ for traditional and blended music for many years to come.  In addition to organ sounds, this new instrument has an entire library of orchestral voices for contemporary worship.  We would be honored to have you celebrate this magnificent occasion with us.  This event is open to anyone who would enjoy beautiful organ music.  Light refreshments will follow.



God Bless,



Joshua Dove, Owner

Norman Whitesel Church Organs



Event Info

Sangerville Church of the Brethren
Sunday, January 13, 2013
3:00p.m.
26 Vance Rd.
Bridgewater, VA 22812

Light Refreshments will Follow
Free Will Offering During Recital
Call 540-434-1376 for Directions or More Info



Recital Program

​
Praeludium in C Major                                                           Georg Böhm

"The Great" Fugue in G Minor                                               Johann Sebastian Bach

Concerto in A Minor for Piccolo and Orchestra             Antonio Vivaldi
Transcribed by Zart Dombourian-Eby
N. Kyle Symons, piccolo

Largo from Symphony Number Nine                                Antonin Dvorak
adapted by H. Clough-Leighter
 
It Is Well with My Soul                                                            duet by David Schwoebel
Barbara Gardener, piano

Hymn, When Morning Gilds the Skies
Featuring Sangerville COB Choir

Hymn, Move in Our Midst 
Bound for the Promised Land                                                 arr. Diane Bish​