October 2016
Dear friend,
The Board of the Old West Organ Society greets you with warm and appreciative thanks for your ongoing interest and support of the Society. Together, we curate the legacy of Fisk Opus 55, to ensure its vibrant future within the Boston musical arts community!
Nine wonderful programs recently bolstered the continuing success of our summer Tuesday concerts, —including programs by student organists who debuted at the Old West Summer Series. These brilliant artists reminded us of Opus 55’s incredible beauty and remarkable flexibility.
We also launched our new, sleek, responsive website, from which you can now add events to your online calendars directly, stay up-to-date with the latest news, listen to recordings of the organ, see this season’s offerings in the Events section and make donations with any major credit card. Kudos to board member Christian Lane for spearheading this overhaul of our web presence.
The first event—in less than two weeks—is a benefit concert graciously offered by Peter Sykes on Tuesday, October 25th at 7:30 pm. Please log-on to purchase advance tickets using any major credit card or send a check for your tickets. Don’t miss the benefit dessert reception, and, while you’re at it, please consider donating a student ticket or two to support attendance by local students. Proceeds from this event support the ongoing initiative to install flexible church and concert seating in Old West’s sanctuary.
The following evening, Wednesday, October 26th at 7:30 pm, Peter will offer a masterclass on French Baroque repertoire, reminding us of Old West’s incredible pedagogical value. This event is free and open to the public.
Diane Meredith Belcher will offer the second benefit concert of the season 7:30 pm on Bach’s birthday, March 21, 2017. This event will be part of Boston’s larger, annual celebration of Bach’s birthday presented by the AGO, First Lutheran Church, and Emmanuel Music.
This year for the first time we will a series of holiday concerts between Thanksgiving and Christmas, each Wednesday from 12:15 -12:45 pm. The series will feature four members of the Old West Organ Society Board: Heinrich Christensen, Lois Regestein, Mark Nelson, and Christian Lane. We hope this new series will attract our working neighbors during their lunch hour!
We are thrilled to support four Tuesday-evening Boston Organ Studio recitals in November, December, April, and May. Christian Lane, director of Boston Organ Studio, is a member of the Old West Organ Society Board and we are thrilled to promote and support ongoing organ study at Old West with this collaboration.
Our warm collaborative partnership with Old West Church continues to progress. Last year’s annual letter teased you about an exciting new project, which ultimately took shape in the support of purchasing new chairs to replace the existing, dilapidated pews. We were able to provide well designed, flexible chairs that do not negatively impact Old West's stunning acoustic—thanks to the enthusiastic expertise of Steven Dieck of Fisk and Dana Kirkegaard of Kirkegaard Acoustic Design, LLC. We cherish this tremendous success.
The above came from the Board’s careful thinking about how to build an audience, collaborate with other institutions and organization, to cultivate mutually beneficial relationships with Old West Church. We support these goals, which are the Board’s guiding principles as we navigate towards our Society’s great future.
Your generous, loyal support makes the Old West Organ Society vibrant and healthy; indeed, our viability depends on your ongoing generosity. Please give through your membership dues, by purchasing benefit concert tickets, and through any other help you may wish to give us. You may make your financial gift by sending a check for the Old West Organ Society to our Treasurer, Jeffrey Mead, 72 Trenton Street, Melrose MA 02176. You may also contribute online through our website at: http://oldwestorgansociety.org.
Heartfelt thanks for your support of the Old West Organ Society. We look forward to seeing you at the upcoming Benefit Concert and Masterclass given by Peter Sykes October 25 and 26 both at 7:30 pm!
With great appreciation,
The Old West Organ Society Board