Six pieces for organ will appear on the first program of the Martha Claire Kennedy Fitzner Concert Series at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Oct. 18.
Played by church organist Jeremy Adcock, the 4 p.m. program will be in memory of Fitzner, who died Sept. 9, and celebrate the 2015 digital additions to the St. Paul’s Aeolian-Skinner instrument built in 1953. The church is at 318 College St. The concert is free to the public.
Works by J.S. Bach and Louis Vierne will join pieces by 20th-century composers David German, Max Drischner and Fred Swann. Those attending will be invited to join the organ in a festive setting of the hymn “Christ is Made the Sure Foundation.”
“Earlier this year, a gift in memory of Helen and Jim Evans let us finish the digital additions begun in 2010,” Adcock said. “Two of the most significant improvements are a 32-foot pedal stop and an 8-foot tromba stop — giving us what we call a chorus reed in the Great division. Then we added chimes to the zimbelstern we’ve had since 2007.” St Paul’s also has a trompette en chamade over the rear of the center aisle.
“We are delighted to offer an even better sound now,” Adcock said.
“Mrs. Fitzner supported all the ministries at St. Paul’s — from the children’s choir to Daughters of the King. Her mother, Nancy Kennedy, is one of the city’s foremost keyboard artists,” he added.
“Christ was certainly the sure foundation for Martha Claire,” said the Rev. Anne Harris, rector of St. Paul’s. “You saw this in her dedicated service to so much in the parish. This musical series will be a joyful way of remembering her life and ministries. We welcome all to this first concert.”
Organist and choirmaster at St. Paul’s since 2013, Adcock is a 1997 graduate of William Carey College. He served earlier as organist at Starkville’s First United Methodist Church and First Presbyterian Church in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
“Variations on ‘O Run, Ye Shepherds'” by Max Drischner “is a set of nine variations, each in a different registration,” Adcock said. “This work will really show the new strengths of the St. Paul’s organ.”
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