RIPLEY PRESENTS: AN ORGAN EXTRAVAGANZA

LIVE and LIVE STREAMED: FRIDAY, March 21, 2025, 7:30 p.m.

All proceeds to benefit the Immigrant Support Alliance (ISA).

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, WINCHESTER, MA,February 11, 2025: Live in-person and live streamed from the historic Sanctuary at First Congregational Church, Winchester. To celebrate two important historical events, please join us on Friday evening, March 21 for an organ extravaganza, featuring four of Winchester’s best organists: Jeffrey Mead, First Congregational Church; Jeremy Bruns, Parish of the Epiphany; John Kramer, Winchester Unitarian Society; Jane O’Keefe, Retired, St. Mary’s Parish. The town of Winchester celebrates 175 years of incorporation as Johann Sebastian Bach turns 340 years old!

We gather for a special organ recital, exploring the colors, sounds and registrations of FCC’s C. B. Fisk, Opus 50, known as “Winchester Old,” a kaleidoscope at the organists’ fingertips. As we honor Winchester’s 175th, join us for Bach’s Birthday Bash; it promises to delve into the profound beauty and influence of Bach’s music, featuring not only the music of the composer himself – but also music influenced by and inspired by the old master.

Some Representative Pieces on the Program: Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582 and Bach’s Organ Sonata No.5 in C major, BWV 529, along with other Bach-influenced works, including Mendelssohn and Buxtehude.

The Performers: Jeffrey Mead, organist, FCC, since 2005, has collaborated with ensembles in New England and abroad, most notably while serving as accompanist for the acclaimed Boston Cecilia chorus, as well as the New Hampshire Symphony and the Bad Reichenhall Philharmonic Orchestra (Germany); Jeremy S. Bruns, Parish of the Epiphany, has been named “a coolly aristocratic player” by The Dallas Morning News, and has been heard on the nationally syndicated radio show Pipedreams, BBC Radio, and the Pro Organo label; John Kramer, Winchester Unitarian Society, is a pianist, composer, and arranger and has performed widely throughout the U.S., as a soloist, in small jazz and chamber music groups, and in orchestras. He has written music for piano, organ, and choir and has received numerous commissions; Jane O’Keefe, Retired, St. Mary’s Parish, has served at various parishes in the Boston area, and previously, was the organist at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Burlington, VT.

Tickets; $20, general admission; Students, $5. – both live and live-streamed.

All proceeds will benefit the Immigrant Support Alliance (ISA), a network of volunteers that welcomes and assists newly arrived individuals and families as they gain footholds in our communities. Specifically, ISA helps navigate healthcare, transportation, education, cultural norms, life skills, daily needs, employment opportunities, and English as a second language classes. For more information: www.immigrantsupportalliance.org

For more information, www.fcc-winchester.org or contact Jane Ring Frank, Minister of Worship and the Arts at 857-919-0983 or jane@fcc-winchester.org.