Organ concert

Friday

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera and phone when we went out to a concert and dinner this evening, so you're stuck with a blip of the programme instead! The first half of the concert was fairly standard, Charles Ives Variations on "America" followed by Bach's wonderful Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor. However, the second half was quite different. The organist, Tom Trenney, is a master at improvisation, and so he had chosen two silent films, one Laurel and Hardy and one Buster Keaton, which were shown on screens, and he accompanied them, cleverly choosing music appropriate to what was happening in the film at that moment - very entertaining and extremely well done! He is a very busy guy. Besides being Minister of Music at a Church of Christ in Nebraska, where he oversees four choirs, plays the organ and guides a Music series, he is also Music director of a chamber choir he founded in southeastern Michigan. He also performs and teaches at various organ and choral conventions, and also composes! I''m not sure when he finds time to sleep! What we love about the organ concerts at Hyde Park is that the organ console is right in front of the congregation/audience, and the organist has his back to the audience, so you can see all the footwork as well as his work on the keyboards - quite amazing! After the concert we went out to eat at Wild Ginger, which describes itself as an Asian bistro - Roger had a Thai curry and I had sushi - very good, and nice decor.