Last Sunday afternoon Michael Gartz, my teacher, played a delightful recital at Trinity Episcopal Church. I attended along with my husband and many other listeners eager to hear the organ. The pipe organ is located in the balcony which is in the back of the church. Instead of typical pews found in many churches this church uses chairs. One advantage of this is that the chairs can be arranged into many configurations. For this concert, the chairs were positioned so that they faced the back of the church and we could see Michael at the console.
Michael performed 4 pieces in the first half of the program including Chorale Prelude – “Bangor” by Margaret A. Weber. Margaret was born in 1917 and was in the audience! At the end of the intermission Michael addressed the audience from the balcony (I had a picture of this but it was too fuzzy to share). The second half was filled with 3 pieces, but the last was a Suite which contained 5 movements. After a standing ovation, Michael played an encore piece. All pieces were very well played. Michael takes great care in the registration (the stops used which determine how the organ will sound when played). And as always, it was a joy to hear Michael at the console! He continues to inspire me.
Pictured below is the view of Michael at the console. The detail and coloring of the windows cannot be seen due to the sun shinning brightly through them. And I find the pipes to be quite impressive!
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| Michael Gartz at the organ console at Trinity Episcopal Church, Toledo, OH. |
Heidi Bender writes about her experiences of learning to play the organ. She started on the adventure in 2009.
She also writes on her website Tons of Thanks, which helps people write thank-you notes. Heidi is also a cat lady who writes at The Joy of Cats.
Must have been a great treat to play a piece by someone in your audience and for her as well I am sure!!
Hi Mark,
I’m sure it was exciting for both Michael and Margaret!
Heidi