Special offer

Covington CityScape: "A Festival for Three Organs"

By
Real Estate Agent with Coldwell Banker Realty

A sleepy Sunday afternoon in Covington, Georgia was roused awake by a magnificent concert today, "A Festival for Three Organs.

Presented by the Newton County Arts Association and the First Presbyterian Church of Covington, "A Festival for First Presbyterian ChurchThree Organs," featuring concert artists Dan Miller and our own Becky Ramsey and Alice Walker, offered over an hour of beautiful and stirring music performed on the Presbyterians Church's magnificent pipe organ and two Rodgers Trillium Masterpiece organs supplied and installed in the church's sanctuary by Chapel Music of Lithonia.

Mr. Miller not only performed, but arranged and scored all the selections for the three organs.

Jeremiah Clarke's stirring "Trumpet Voluntary" opened the program. Selections then progressed through classical pieces, such as Bach's familiar Toccata and Fugue in d minor, religious selections, show tunes, including a medley from Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Phantom of the Opera," and concluded with patriotic pieces.

The finale, Sousa's "The Stars and Stripes Forever" and the trio's encore "God Bless America" had the entire audience standing, clapping, singing and exiting the auditorium with smiles on their faces.

One of the most moving selections of the concert was "The Rejoicing for Danae," a wedding processional written by Dan Miller on the occasion of his daughter's marriage.  The piece was written for organ and orchestra based upon musical notes associated with the spelling of his daughter's name.   For this performance, since there was no orchestra available, Miller simulated percussion and other orchestral voices through a Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) attached to his Rodgers Trillium Masterpiece instrument.  The resulting elegance and fanfare of the piece painted a perfect mental picture of a beautiful bride walking down the aisle on the arm of her father.

First Presbyterian ChurchDan Miller is an internationally renowned pianist, organist, harpsichordist and keyboardist, and has a fascination with computer music technology.  A church organist since the age of fifteen, Miller has served at several notable churches.  At Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, he presided over the world's thirteenth largest pipe organ.

Miller has recorded fifteen compact discs of organ music, several of which have been broadcast on National Public Radio's "Pipedreams."  His first CD, The Calvary Organ Dedication, was chosen as "The Organ CD to Die For" by Stereophile magazine in its February 1994 issue.

Mr. Miller is currently Product Manager for Rodgers Instruments LLC, one of the world's leading organ builders, in Hillsboro, Oregon, and Organist for St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Beaverton.

Becky Ramsey and Alice Walker are well known to Covington audiences and the community.  Residents of Covington, the identical twins have had a prolific career, beginning as child performers at the age of five.  They have appeared throughout the U.S. and in England, Mexico and Canada.

Following their graduation from Agnes Scott College, Becky and Alice earned the certifications of Colleague and Associate from the American Guild of Organists.  They were the first set of identical twins to receive this prestigious recognition of pipe organ proficiency in the history of the AGO in the United States.

Yes, this concert was truly a "Festival for Three Organs."  My brain was amazed at the artistry of the three performers.  My breath was taken away by the grandeur of the music.  And my heart was made proud that performances such as this are a regular part of the arts and culture of a small southern town like Covington, Georgia.

Posted by

Be sure to visit my website at www.BlairOnTheSquare.com

To keep up to date on community news, events and real estate in Covington, Georgia and the surrounding area, subscribe to my blog, CovingtonLivingToday.com

Subscribe Button

And, feel free to connect with me on these great Social Networks:


Delicious ButtonDigg ButtonFlickr ButtonRSS ButtonStumbleUpon ButtonTechnorati ButtonTwitter Button


Your comments and questions are always welcome

My Signature

Comments (0)