Medley of Guest Artists to Perform at Gala Celebration

Posted September 11, 2009.

“We are pleased that several top professional organists will showcase the variety of the Möller Opus 5819 municipal organ, which can perform a myriad of solo and ensemble musical styles,” says Steve Curtis, director of the School of Music. “We have guests who will accompany classical selections, sacred and secular choral masterworks, orchestral transcriptions, popular tunes and a classic silent film.”

The University of Oklahoma School of Music presents Old Wine, New Bottles: A Gala Weekend Celebration on Friday, Oct 2, though Sunday, October 4, in the Catlett Music Center. Guest artists include OU Alumnus Donald Dumler, R. Jelani Eddington, Peter Richard Conte and Clark Wilson who will perform live organ accompaniment to the silent film Metropolis on Saturday evening.

“A performance by one of our very own, Donald Dumler, an OU Alumnus and New York’s St. Patrick Cathedral organist, will present an evening performance to honor his professor and the 10th Anniversary of the installation of the Mildred Andrews Boggess Memorial Organ on Saturday, Oct. 3,” says Curtis. “Boggess was a professor of organ at the University of Oklahoma from 1938 to 1976 and taught generations of organists the highest standards of their art.”

Gala events for the weekend include a dedication reception on the stage of Sharp Concert Hall followed by a performance by guest artist Peter Richard Conte, Philadelphia Wanamaker Grand Court organist on Friday. Saturday events feature a free morning concert of Peter and the Wolf for young children by R. Jelani Eddington, an afternoon concert of sacred and secular choral masterworks accompanied by current OU student organists, followed by an evening performance by Dumler and finishing with live organ accompaniment by Clark Wilson to the 1927 silent film Metropolis. Sunday morning the American Organ Institute opens its restoration shop for tours to see the AOI students at work. Sunday closes the gala weekend with a blockbuster concert of organ with piano and jazz ensemble.

The Kaleidoscope Concert is the opening concert and will feature Peter Richard Conte displaying the many colors available on Möller Municipal Organ as an appetizer for the feast of music to come. The concert is at 8 p.m., Friday, Oct. 2, in Sharp Concert Hall.

Parents are encouraged to attend with children of all ages as organist R. Jelani Eddington and narrator John Bishop perform the story of Peter and the Wolf at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3, in Sharp Concert Hall. This concert is free and open to the public.

Grand Salute to a Grand Lady marks the 10th Anniversary concert commemorating the Mildred Andrews Boggess Memorial Organ by organist and OU Alumnus Donald Dumler at 6 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 3, in Gothic Hall. Seating is limited.

The science fiction and classic silent film, Metropolis, will screen along with live theatre organ accompaniment by Clark Wilson at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3, in Sharp Concert Hall.

The gala celebration will finish with an All Star Blockbuster concert featuring Eddington, Wilson and OU professors John Schwandt, organ, and Jeongwon Ham, piano, as well as a performance by the OU Jazz Ensemble at 3 p.m., on Sunday, Oct. 4, in Sharp Concert Hall.

The organ gala will take place within the concert halls of OU’s Catlett Music Center, 500 W. Boyd, in your OU Arts District! Tickets and ticket packages for all concerts are available, for more information please call the Box Office at (405) 325-4101.

For more information on the gala weekend, visit the web site of the American Organ Institute, at aoi.ou.edu/gala or call (405) 325-7829. This schedule is subject to change, please visit the above web site for more information.

Many School of Music concerts are scheduled for live stream via Internet, to see a schedule visit http://music.ou.edu/calendar. Please visit http://music.ou.edu/ for a full calendar of events and performances at the School of Music. The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please call the Box Office at (405) 325-4101.

Sponsors for the event include the University of Oklahoma School of Music, American Organ Institute and the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts.