Past Concerts & Recitals
For All the Saints
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[/frame_left]For All the Saints: Celebrating 90 Years of
E.M. Skinner’s Opus #524
90th Birthday Concert for Treasured Pipe Organ
Featuring Organists George Davey, Jason Asbury and M. Chad Levitt
Sunday, November 15, 2015, 3:00 pm
A rousing concert, “For All the Saints,“ to celebrate the 90th birthday of the treasured Peabody Memorial Organ in St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church will take place on Sunday, November 15, at 3:00 pm.
The event will raise funds to support the continued restoration and maintenance of the organ. Suggested donation is $25.00 at the door, or contact office@stannholytrinity.org for reservations.
The concert features three accomplished organists: George Davey, organist at St. George’s Episcopal/Anglican Church in Bedford-Stuyvesant;Jason Asbury, Assistant Head of Saint Ann’s School, choral director, and longtime church musician; and M. Chad Levitt, Interim Director of Music at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity.
Their musical selections will make full use of the versatility and instrumental sounds of the instrument. The program includes works by composers including Alexandre Guilmant, Jean Langlais, Dieterich Buxtehude, Johann Sebastian Bach, and David Cherwien. Noted soprano Korin Kormick will perform an aria from Richard Wagner’s Tannhauser accompanied by Mr. Levitt.
The E.M. Skinner organ was a gift to the church, made in 1925 by George Foster Peabody in memory of his brother Charles. It has a rich history, having been played by some of the most highly regarded musicians of the Episcopal Church and numerous other organists of note. With 4,718 pipes ranging from 2 inches to 32 feet in length, it is the largest, essentially unchanged Skinner organ in New York City. In 1999, the Organ Historical Society deemed it “An Historic Instrument of Special Merit,” the musical equivalent of landmark status.
In the 1990s, after the organ had fallen into disrepair, a successful restoration effort was undertaken. Fundraising to date has made it possible to address many longstanding problems. However, much still remains to be done to restore the organ to full playable and original condition.
George Davey holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Atlantic Union College and a Master of Sacred Music degree from Boston University. In addition to his position at St. George’s church, he is Organist and Choral Director at Ephesus Seventh Day Adventist Church in Harlem. He has accompanied many choral ensembles locally and internationally, including appearances in Australia and New Zealand, and at The Washington National Cathedral, Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and Carnegie Hall in New York City.
Jason Asbury is active as a concert organist, conductor and choral accompanist in the New York City metropolitan area. He has taught at Saint Ann’s School for seventeen years and recently completed seventeen years as Director of Music at Prospect Presbyterian Church in Maplewood, New Jersey. He has performed as a solo recitalist in many venues including St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, Augustinerkirche in Vienna, Austria, and the Princeton University Chapel.
M. Chad Levitt has a Master’s degree in Organ Performance from the Manhattan School of Music. His undergraduate studies were at Stetson University and Rollins College, Florida. He has served as organist, choir director and coordinator of other music programs at churches in Florida, Westchester County and the Bronx. Mr. Levitt has played recitals at the National Cathedral in Washington, Church of the Advent in Boston, and Saint-Croix de Bordeaux in Bordeaux, France.
Music of the Masters
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[/frame_left]Music of the Masters:
Wagner, Strauss, Berlioz & Menotti
Featuring Dramatic Soprano Korin Kormick
Saturday, April 25 – 7:00 pm
Korin Kormick, dramatic soprano (and St. Ann’s parish administrator) will offer a fundraising recital to benefit The Forum @ St. Ann’s, presenter of the concert. Accompanied by pianist Ling Leng, Ms. Kormick will sing the complete Wesendonck Lieder song cycle—inspired by the forbidden love between composer Richard Wagner and his patron’s wife—followed by compelling opera arias.
A suggested donation of $20.00 is requested to support The Forum @ St. Ann’s arts and cultural programs.
Korin Kormick has been acclaimed for her luscious voice, commanding stage presence, and theatrical conviction. Since her transition to the soprano fach, she made her Off-Broadway debut as the Mother in Hansel and Gretel (Humperdinck), and collaborated with One World Symphony as the heroine of Gluck’s Alceste. She recently made her role debut as Adalgisa in Bellini’s Norma with the Hudson Opera Theatre, and has sung Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder in several recent recitals throughout the New York City area.
Ms. Kormick completed post-graduate studies with Kathryn Cowdrick at the Eastman School of Music. A graduate of Centre College with a dual degree in Music and French, she earned her Master of Music degree at the University of Louisville School of Music, where she studied with Daniel Weeks.
Please join us for an evening of fine music that also benefits The Forum’s future presentations.
Farewell Concert
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[/frame_left] Gregory Eaton’s Final Organ Concert at St. Ann & the Holy TrinitySunday, June 15, 2014 – 7:00 pm
Free and Open to the Public
Gregory Eaton, Organist and Director of Music at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church for 21 years, will present a Farewell Concert to honor and thank the many people who have supported his Wednesday lunchtime recitals, numerous fundraising concerts and music ministry over the years. Through his efforts, Mr. Eaton has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in support of the maintenance and restoration of the historic church and landmark E.M Skinner organ he plays. The concert is open and free to the public. A reception will follow the concert.
Mr. Eaton is well known for his mastery of the organ and his superb musicianship. He has composed both sacred and secular works for organ and choir and has arranged and transcribed orchestral and chamber works. His popular transcriptions of music by Scott Joplin have been published. Mr. Eaton is an accomplished choir conductor and has led church choirs, including St. Ann’s, each Sunday in performing a rich and varied musical liturgy.
The program will include favorites that have delighted Mr. Eaton’s audiences and reflect his wide-ranging musical repertoire of over 600 musical works from the 15th century to the present.
Program:
Sombere Muziek over Psalm 103 – Jan Zwart
Clair de Lune – Louis Vierne
The Entertainer – Scott Joplin
Resurrection – Larry King
Military March #4 in G – Edward Elgar
– Interval –
Flourish for Easter – David Hurd
Three settings of Nun komm der Heiden Heiland – David Hurd
Adagio for Strings – Samuel Barber
Two Chorale Preludes – Johannes Matthias Michel
Go Tell It On the Mountain and Joy to the World
Suite for Organ, Brass Quintet and Percussion – Craig Phillips
The concert will conclude with a dramatic finale as the Arcadia Brass Ensemble and percussionist Ed Gonzalez join Mr. Eaton in performing the Craig Phillips suite.
Gregory Eaton came to St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church in 1993 as Director of Music and Organist. From 2009 to 2012 he served as Dean of the Brooklyn Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. He is a graduate of the University of Redlands, California, and came to New York in 1984 to join the music staff of Trinity Church, Wall Street. After two years at Trinity, he served as Director of Music at the Church of the Epiphany in Manhattan before coming to St. Ann’s. Mr. Eaton was also Lecturer in Church Music of the General Theological Seminary from 1984-2006. In addition to his church music activities, he is, with David Hurd, one of the co-founders of Chelsea Winds recorder ensemble.
Celebrating 20 Years at the Skinner Organ
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[/frame_left] Organist Gregory Eaton Plays Audience FavoritesSunday, November 17, 2013—7:00 pm
Concert to Benefit Tower and Organ Restoration Fund
Suggested donation: $25; seniors and students $20.
Gregory Eaton, Organist and Director of Music at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church for 20 years, will present Celebrating 20 Years at the Skinner Organ, a fund-raising concert, on Sunday, November 17, 2013, at 7:00 pm. The concert is a benefit for the restoration of the church’s tower and the famous organ housed inside it.
Mr. Eaton will play the Peabody Memorial Organ, built by the Skinner Organ Company and installed in the church in 1925. With five keyboards, a pedal board and 4,718 pipes, it is the largest and most complete Skinner organ in New York City and has been recognized as a landmark instrument.
Celebrating 20 Years at the Skinner Organ will feature audience requested selections from Mr. Eaton’s wide-ranging repertoire of more than 580 secular and classical musical works from the 15th century to the present. Over two decades, Eaton has provided major support for the maintenance and restoration of the historic church and organ through his fundraising and music programs, including a popular lunchtime concert series now in its fifteenth year. The program will include:
Toccata on ‘Hyfrydol’ – Craig Phillips
Rubrics – Dan Locklair
The peace may be exchanged. . .
. . .silence may be kept. . .
Pine Apple Rag – Scott Joplin
Prelude & Fugue in E♭ (St. Anne) BWV 552 – J.S. Bach
Interval
Now Thank We All Our God – J.S. Bach, arr. Fox
Sheep May Safely Graze – J.S. Bach, arr. Biggs
Choral #3 in a minor – César Franck
Crown Imperial – William Walton
Tower and Organ Fund. The organ is housed inside the church’s 275-foot tower on Clinton Street. For decades, scaffolding erected to protect against the effects of brownstone deterioration has obscured the church entrance and tower. Work on the tower roof and exterior, which are in serious need of repair, will require removal of all the organ pipes, facilitating ongoing efforts to address non-functioning parts and notes. Support for the church’s Tower and Organ Fund will facilitate an assessment and planning of the project.
Contributions may be made online. Checks payable to St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church, noting “Tower and Organ Fund,” may be sent to the church at 157 Montague St., Brooklyn, NY 11201. Contact 718-875-6960 or office@stannholytrinity.org.
A reception will follow the concert. Come and enjoy an evening of wonderful music and help St. Ann’s at the same time!
Halloween Concert and Costume Contest
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[/frame_left]Thursday, October 31, 2013, 7:00 pmHalloween Concert & Costume Contest
St. Ann’s invites the community to its annual fun Halloween Concert and Costume Contest. Spooky sounds by the undead organist Gregory Eaton will be followed by a parade down the Costume Walk. Prizes will be awarded. Admission is free; good-will offerings are welcome. Join us for an eerily good time, in costume or not! [clear]
Haunted Halloween Concert
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[/frame_left]Wednesday, October 31, 2012, at 7:00 pmHaunted Halloween Concert
Undead Organist Gregory Eaton on the Landmark E.M. Skinner organ
Join us on Halloween night for St. Ann & the Holy Trinity’s annual concert by the Undead Organist Gregory Eaton. Ghostly music will include works of Bach, Duruflé, Elfman and Rowley. Wear a costume and join the fun. Prizes will be awarded for the best Halloween attire.
There is no charge for admission. Free-will offerings will be accepted. There will be light refreshments in the Parish Hall after the concert.
All ages welcome.
Heroic Flourishes 2: Music for Organ & Brass
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[/frame_left]Sunday, May 13, 2012, at 7:00 p.mHeroic Flourishes 2: Music for Organ & Brass
Gregory Eaton on the Landmark E.M. Skinner organ, with
Seven Brass Players & Percussion
Suggested donation: $25.00. Students/Seniors $20.00.
All proceeds will benefit the restoration of the church tower and organ.
A reception will follow the concert.
St. Ann’s Organist Gregory Eaton, seven brass players and a percussionist will join forces to present a benefit concert featuring a varied and heroically resounding program of music by Bonelli, Dupré, Gigout, Hurd, Phillips, Strauss, and others.
Concert proceeds will help the parish move to the next phase in the preservation of the historic landmark building — the restoration of the church’s tower and organ, which is housed in the tower. Since 1848, the National Historic Landmark church building has stood as an important example of American Gothic Revival architecture and is world famous for its set of figural stained glass windows, the first ever made in America. In recent years, St. Ann’s has restored many of the windows and the side roofs after decades of neglect in the last century and has brought non-functioning parts of the organ back to life. The present challenge is to assess the consequences of deferred maintenance of the 112-foot tower. Any restoration work on the structure will require removal of the 4,718 organ pipes, which in turn will facilitate continued restoration of the 1925 instrument.
The goal of the parish’s restoration efforts is to preserve this Brooklyn treasure and community resource for years to come. St. Ann’s is the performance space for a number of musical organizations and other artists and welcomes visitors from around the world who have heard about the church or simply wish to enjoy its beauty and peace.
In addition to Mr. Eaton at the landmark E.M. Skinner organ, there will be musicians playing three trumpets, a French horn, two trombones, a tuba and timpani. The program will include:
Toccata ‘Atalantha’ – Aurelio Bonelli
Poème Héroique – Marcel Dupré
Grand Choeur Dialogué – Eugène Gigout
Three Fanfares – David Hurd
‘I Will Love Thee’ – Dan Locklair
Suite for Organ, Brass Quintet & Percussion – Craig Phillips
Feierlicher Einzug – Richard Strauss
Mr. Eaton has been a major supporter of the church’s restoration efforts through his benefit concerts and music programs since 1993, when he came to St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church as Director of Music and Organist. He is well known to the general public who attend his concerts and the free Wednesday recitals held weekly from September to June at 1:10 p.m.
Listen to a few excerpts from the first Heroic Flourishes concert:
Carillon Sortie by Henri Mulet
Poeme Heroique by Marcel Dupre
Spooky, Eerie, Scary Pipes, a Halloween Concert
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[/frame_left]Spooky, Eerie, Scary Pipes, a Halloween ConcertPlus Black Cat Walk Costume Competition
Sunday, October 30, 2011, at 7:00 pm
Spooky, Eerie, Scary Pipes, a Halloween Concert, is this year’s haunting Halloween event at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church. The program will feature scary, Halloween-themed music played by St. Ann’s Undead Organist, Gregory Eaton, as well as a chance for costumed guests to parade their ghoulish get-ups on a “black cat walk” before a panel of frighteningly fashion-forward judges. Prizes will be awarded at the end of the evening.
Among the scary musical works will be the ubiquitous Toccata & Fugue in d minor of Bach and Gounod’s amusingly spooky Funeral March of a Marionette.
Everyone—in costume or not—is welcome. A reception will follow. The suggested donation is $20, or $10 for those in costume. Children 12 and under will be admitted free of charge.
For further information, contact church office at 718-875-6960 or saht157@gmail.com
March, Dance & Symphony: Music for Organ
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[/frame_left]Sunday, September 25, 2011 at 7:00 p.mMarch, Dance & Symphony: Music for Organ
Gregory Eaton on the Landmark E.M. Skinner Organ
Suggested donation: $25.00 Students/Seniors $20.00
Proceeds will benefit the Organ Restoration Project.
A reception will follow the concert.
The concert’s varied program of music will make full use of the instrument’s 4,718 pipes, five keyboards, instrumental sounds, and versatility. The program will include:
Crown Imperial March – William Walton
Prelude on an Old Air – Amy Beach
Retrospection – Helen Searles Westbrook
Organ, Timbrel & Dance – Johannes Matthias Michel
Psalm Prelude – John Huston
Symphonie VI in G Minor – Charles-Marie Widor
St. Ann’s is the largest and most complete of the Skinner organs in New York City that have not been significantly altered or transformed over the years. Mr. Eaton has spearheaded restoration of the instrument since coming to St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church as Director of Music and Organist in 1993. Recent stages of restoration have recaptured the originally intended character of three reed stops which strongly affect the overall sound of the instrument. It is now possible to make available musically authentic recordings of the organ. Previous restorations have given voice to many formerly silent pipes, but much work still needs to be done.
Mr. Eaton’s artistry and the organ itself are well known to the members of the public who attend his concerts and the free lunchtime recitals held every Wednesday at 1:10 p.m., as well as to worshipers at Sunday services. Prior to his appointment to St. Ann & the Holy Trinity, Mr. Eaton served at Trinity, Wall Street, and the Church of the Epiphany (Manhattan). He was also Lecturer in Church Music at the General Theological Seminary for 22 years. Mr. Eaton is a graduate of the University of Redlands, California. He is Dean of the Brooklyn Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.
The Organ As Orchestra Concert
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[/frame_left]“The Organ as Orchestra,” a concert by organist Gregory Eaton, marked the completion of a major stage of restoration of the landmark organ at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn Heights. The concert, celebrating the organ’s renewed quality and range of sound, took place on Sunday, April 18, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. Music will featured a number of works written for the orchestra that have been transcribed for the organ. As rendered by the 4,718 pipes, five keyboards, and the many specific instrumental sounds of the 1925 E.M. Skinner organ, the music recalls the long tradition of performance of such works on orchestrally designed organs.The program included music of Edward Elgar; Scott Joplin; Samuel Barber; William Walton; Charles Gounod; Gioachino Rossini; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; and David Hurd. (Mr. Hurd, American Guild of Organists Distinguished Composer of the Year for 2010, was present.)
The Skinner Peabody Memorial Organ is a famous example of the work of Ernest Skinner. Mr. Eaton has spearheaded restoration of the instrument since coming to St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church as Director of Music and Organist in 1993. Recent restoration has recaptured the originally intended character of three reed stops which strongly affect the overall sound of the instrument. For the first time, it will now be possible to make musically authentic recordings of the organ available. Previous restorations have given voice to many formerly silent pipes. Needed additional restoration is planned.
Mr. Eaton’s musical artistry and the organ itself are well known to those who attend his concerts and the free lunchtime recitals held every Wednesday at 1:10 p.m., as well as to worshipers at Sunday services. Prior to his appointment to St. Ann & the Holy Trinity, Mr. Eaton served both Trinity, Wall Street, and the Church of the Epiphany (Manhattan), and was also Lecturer in Church Music at the General Theological Seminary for 22 years. Mr. Eaton is a graduate of the University of Redlands, California. He is Dean of the Brooklyn Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.
Listen to The Organ as Orchestra Concert
April 10, 2010 – St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church
