Lenten Recital Series 2022
Friends,
This year, we have planned a Lenten Recital Series for you. Tune in here each Friday at noon (EST, GMT-4). Each week your donations will help a specific charity. Please enjoy the music and please consider a donation to support this week's charity.
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Lenten Organ Recital Series 2021
February 19
Paul J. Carroll
St. Pius X Church
Montville, New Jersey
Musician Paul J. Carroll works as an organist, pianist, and conductor, and maintains an active career of worldwide projects. As Director of Music at St. Pius X Church in Montville, New Jersey, Mr. Carroll works with the St. Pius X Choir, Children's Choir, and High School Ensemble, to create a comprehensive parish Music Ministry program. In addition, he teaches at Mother Seton Regional High School in Clark, NJ and he is the pianist at Temple Shalom in Succasunna, NJ.
Mr. Carroll has worked in Italy since 2001 with Assisi Performing Arts and has performed over 100 concerts throughout the country. In 2013, Mr. Carroll created Organ Tour, a program for organists and pianists to study and play organs — historic and modern — throughout the world. Organ Tour Italia 2013, in collaboration with Assisi Performing Arts, featured a variety of instruments from the Lake Como region to Umbria and Rome. Organ Tour Italia 2014 concentrated solely on the organs of the north – in the region surrounding Lake Como. Organ Tour Italia 2015 took participants to Florence, Pisa, and Rome. Additional musical tours have included the Well-Tempered Clavier Seminar near Lake Como, Italy as well as Organ Tour Argentina and non-musical tours including the Pilgrimage to Poland 2018 and upcoming tours.
From 2007-2013, Mr. Carroll was the Director of Music at St. Louis – a parish of nearly 5000 families in the Archdiocese of Baltimore – during which time he was able to work with an abundance of singers and instrumentalists. The primary focus was to create and expand a united parish-wide music program through which Mr. Carroll facilitated the forming of the Children’s Choir, the growth and development of the high school Youth Band, and the frequent presence of instrumentalists from the parish at Mass. After his time as Director of Music at St. Louis, Mr. Carroll became the Artistic Director of the St. Louis Church Concert Series in Clarksville, Maryland where he had the opportunity to oversee and develop the growing series. During his time at St. Louis, Mr. Carroll has had the opportunity to direct the long-established St. Louis Choir in choral masterworks including the Christmas portion of Handel’s Messiah, Ottorino Respighi’s Lauda per la Natività del Signore, John Rutter’s Gloria, Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Credo Mass, and Requiem. In addition he has had the opportunity to conduct the St. Louis Concert Orchestra in pieces including Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto with clarinetist Noelle Lipa, William Walton’s Crown Imperial March, and the Organ Symphony by Camille Saint-Saens with organist Tandy Edward Dix.
Mr. Carroll holds Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees in Organ from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. Further study includes coursework in liturgy and sacred music at the Catholic University of America and biblical studies at Trinity College. His primary teachers have been Donald Sutherland, organ and Kathleen Pryor, piano. While a student at Peabody, Mr. Carroll was a piano accompanist for countless vocal and instrumental recitals as well as repertoire classes especially for the vocal studios of John Shirley-Quirk and Phyllis Bryn-Julson and the horn studio of Peter Landgren.
As an educator, he created the music program at the then newly created Shoshana S. Cardin School in Pikesville, Maryland, a relationship that continued until the school’s closure in June 2013. While at Cardin he developed cross-curricular projects between music and history as well as music and Judaism. In addition, Mr. Carroll developed an interactive, distance learning Music Theory and Technology course at the Cardin School that has led him to other projects utilizing new technology and distance learning.
Mr. Carroll has been the director and music director for Sister Act and All Shook Up and music director for productions including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, 1776, Willy Wonka Jr., The Fantasticks, The Wizard of Oz, and My Fair Lady; conductor for Guys and Dolls; and orchestral musician for Beauty and the Beast, Cats, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Damn Yankees, and Two Gentleman of Verona.
Mr. Carroll is the President of the New Jersey Chapter of the World Piano Teachers Association. He is a member of the American Guild of Organists and is Past Dean of the Baltimore Chapter. He is also a member of the Music Teachers' National Association and the National Association of Pastoral Musicians.
February 26
Paul A. Binko
St. Mary's Seminary and University
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore native Paul Binko is presently Director of Music and Organist/Pianist at Saint Isaac Jogues in Carney, Maryland; Director of Liturgical Music and Organist of Saint Mary's Seminary and University (2009); and Organist of Temple Oheb Shalom (2003). From 1987 to 1994, Paul was the Assistant Organist to Robert Twynham at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen. From 1994-1999, he was the Director of Music and Organist at Saint Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church in Govans. From 1999-2018, the Director of Music/Organist at Saint Jude Shrine.
As Director of Music at Saint Isaac Jogues, Paul plays for the 10:30 Sunday morning liturgy and conducts the Adult and Junior Choirs. As Director of Liturgical Music and Organist of Saint Mary's Seminary and University (http://www.stmarys.edu/), Paul plays the organ for 9 of the 12 weekly services, oversees the choral & instrumental music program, and teaches music history. At Temple Oheb Shalom (http://www.templeohebshalom.org/), Paul plays for the weekend Shabbat services, plus special events, choir rehearsals, and concerts.
Paul studied piano with Charles Brock from 1973-1983. He studied the organ with Mary Hamlin Spencer between 1979-1983, and then at Towson State University with Brent Hylton and Thomas Spacht. He received his Bachelor's degree in organ performance in 1990. In 1993, he earned the Colleague Certificate from the National Headquarters of the American Guild of Organists. During his collegiate years, he was the finalist in the Peggy and Yale Gordon Competition. He recorded the "Festival Fantasia" of Theldon Myers on Compact Disc in 1988 at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen. Between 1990 and 1997, he gave private instruction in piano to thirty-five students. In 1991, Paul was the Organist for the Installation Service of George Paul Mocko, elected Bishop of the Maryland Synod for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Besides his various professional positions through the years, Paul was organist for the Archdiocesan Choir of Baltimore (1989-1998, 2000-2004, 2007-2010). With this choir he played for the Installation Mass of the Fourteenth Catholic Archbishop of Baltimore, William H. Keeler in 1989; the Two Hundredth Anniversary Celebration Mass for the Archdiocese of Baltimore at the Basilica of the Assumption in Baltimore City, televised in its entirety on Cable News Network; the Papal Mass for Pope John Paul II in 1995 at the Oriole Park at Camden Yards, televised throughout the world on numerous news and documentary television programs; the Bicentennial Celebration and re-dedication of the Basilica of the Assumption on November 12, 2006, for the entire North American Bishops Conference, televised live on EWTN; and for the Installation Service for Auxiliary Bishop Francis Malooly at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen. Paul toured as the accompanist for this 60-voice choir in Spain, France, Portugal, and Italy. His last major Archdiocesan Event was the Installation Mass of the Fifteenth Archbishop of Baltimore, Edwin O'Brien, in October 2007.
As Director of Music of Saint Jude Shrine (http://www.stjudeshrine.org/sj/), and previously as organist starting in 1993, Paul played 6-8 liturgies a week for this Nationwide Center of Saint Jude Devotions to pilgrims who travel from all over the world seeking hope and healing at this historic place of worship.
Paul performs for various Baltimore events, including the Organ Marathons held at Saint David's Episcopal Church in Roland Park and Grace United Methodist Church. He also accompanies annually for the Service of Lessons and Carols and the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen. He is past Sub-dean of the American Guild of Organist, Baltimore Chapter, and has served on their executive board.
March 5
Tandy Edward Dix
Christ Episcopal Church
Winchester, Virginia
March 12
Matías Sagreras
Basílica del Santísimo Sacramento
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Matías Sagreras began his musical studies with Carlota Faedo and María Laura del Pozzo. Later, he studied piano with Alicia Romanelli, at the Conservatory of the City of Buenos Aires "Astor Piazzolla". At the National University of the Arts he obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Musical Arts, specializing in organ, summa cum laude, under the tutelage of Luis Caparra. He did postgraduate studies at Musikene - Centro Superior de Música del País Vasco, in San Sebastián, with Esteban Landart. At the same time he studied improvisation with Loïc Maillé (France) and Juan de la Rubia (Spain), as well as repertoire of French music with Daniel Roth (France). He has taken advanced courses and master classes with professors Luis Caparra (Argentina); Axel Flierl (Germany); Cristina García Banegas (Uruguay); Ben van Oosten (Holland); Christophe Mantoux (France); Guy Bovet (Switzerland); Leo van Doeselaar (Holland); Ludger Lohmann (Germany); Matteo Imbruno (Holland); Vincent Thévenaz (Switzerland) and Wolfgang Zerer (Germany).
He has held the positions of organist of the Mutin Cavaillé-Coll organ in the Basilica of San Nicolás de Bari (2005 to 2007) and the Vegezzi-Bossi organ of the Basilica of María Auxiliadora y San Carlos (2006 to 2010). Since 2009 he has been the titular organist and director of sacred music at the Basilica of the Blessed Sacrament (Mutin Cavaillé-Coll organ).
Since 2020 he is Professor of Organ at the National University of San Juan.
He is the host of the radio program "Organística", on the National Classic Radio of Argentina, dedicated to the diffusion of the repertoire for organ, as well as current news about this instrument.
As an organ soloist in his country, he has presented the main concert halls and temples, including the Colón Theater, the Néstor Kirchner Cultural Center, the Juan Victoria de San Juan Auditorium, the Assembly Hall of the Faculty of Law, Cathedral of Buenos Aires, Cathedral of Paraná, Basilica of the Blessed Sacrament and its crypt, Basilica of María Auxiliadora and San Carlos, Basilica of the Holy Rosary of the Santo Domingo Convent, among others places.
Abroad, he has given recitals in Uruguay, Brazil, Switzerland, Spain, Mexico and the United States.
He has performed together with prestigious national and international orchestras and choirs, as soloist and accompanist, in the following works: Concerto pour orgue, cordes et timbales by Francis Poulenc; Troisième Symphonie by Camille Saint-Saëns; Sea Pictures and Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar; Eine Alpensinfonie by Richard Strauss; Requiem by Gabriel Fauré; Belshazzar's Feast by William Walton; Messe Solennelle by Louis Vierne; Taras Bulba by Leoš Janáček; Morten Lauridsen's Lux Æterna; Vetrate di Chiesa by Ottorino Respighi; William Walton's Crown Imperial; Rutter's Glory.
He has made recordings with unpublished works by the composer José Zaninetti, together with the Orfeo Chamber Choir, under the direction of Mtro. Pablo Banchi. In 2015 he made his first recording as a soloist, at the Mutin Cavaillé-Coll Grand Organ of the Basílica del Santísimo Sacramento. In 2012, in conjunction with the Lagun Onak Coral Association, he performed the premiere in Argentina of the Messe Solennelle en Ut # mineur by Louis Vierne, for two organs and mixed choir. In 2017 he was invited to inaugurate the 51st Morelia International Organ Festival "Alfonso Vega Núñez", where he participated as an organist with the Korean director Paul Ghun Kim. He has also held first auditions in Argentina with works by: Daniel Roth (France), Olivier Latry (France), Denis Bédard (Canada), Daniel Pinkham (United States), Leif Martinussen (Denmark), Norberto Guinaldo (Argentina), Nicolás Sorín (Argentina) and Fernando Borrás (Argentina). In 2018 he participated as organist in the recital of the international artist Patti Smith, within the framework of the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain exhibition, at the Kirchner Cultural Center in Buenos Aires.
March 19
Cristina Ayala de Zudaire
Basilica di Sant'Apollinare
Rome, Italy
Cristina Ayala de Zudaire was born in La Plata, Argentina. She was the titular organist of the Catholic church in Rauch, Argentina until 2018.
Since 2015 has been developing international concert tours in several European countries including Finland, Russia, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Spain and Italy.
Simultaneously with her musical activity she was a professor of Theology and Philosophy at the University of FASTA and in the Seminary of Azul Diocese, Argentina. Her degree is in Philosophy and Education Sciences.
In 2018 moved to Europe to pursue new musical projects. For most of 2019 she worked in London as music teacher in WKMT Piano Lesson (London). Since 2020 resides in Pisoniano, province of Rome, to dedicate to musical education and the development of projects for church music.
March 26
Sara Gerber
French Church of Bienne
Bienne, Switzerland
Sara Gerber began to take piano lessons at the age of 4. She went on to study at the Bienne Conservatoire, before heading to the Bern University of Music, where she obtained diplomas in Teaching and Concert Performance with distinction for the piano. She later obtained the same diplomas for the organ.
She has won numerous prizes and distinctions, which include: first prize on two occasions in the Swiss Youth Music Competition, Jecklin-Zurich first prize, Swiss representative at the 6th Steinway Festival in Hamburg, first prize in the Steinway-Paris competition, holder of scholarships from Friedl Wald-Stiftung in Basel, Migros, and the Ernst Göhner Foundation in Zug, higher interregional first prize for piano in Strasbourg, Zurich Orpheus Soloist first prize, and Winterthur “Piano 80” first prize.
She has performed several times for television channels Télévision Suisse Romande (TSR1) and Télévision Suisse Alémanique (SF1) on the Eurovision network, as well as for radio stations Radio Suisse Romande-Espace 2 and DRS2, notably for the 2006 and 2011 televised church services and for Radio Romania.
She has given recitals in Switzerland, France, Germany, Italy, Israel, Holland and Romania for events such as the Besançon Festival, the Swiss Organ Festival on several occasions, as part of the series of organ recitals organised by the Lausanne and Geneva cathedrals, the organ festival in Laufen, the Orgelsommer at Berlin Cathedral, the series of grand recitals at Dresden’s Frauenkirche, and a number of other prestigious commitments, as well as being a soloist for her two instruments with different orchestras.
She has been a tenured musician at Bienne’s Pasquart church since 2006. She is also an organ teacher at the Bienne Conservatoire.
As part of her role as tenured organist for Pasquart church, she is the artistic director of the “Concerts du Pasquart”, a season with 20 to 30 concerts held annually.
In 2011, she was elected as the chairwoman of the Society of Jura Protestant Organists. She is also the founder and chairwoman of the “Grandes Orgues du Jura” festival, as well as the “Jeunes Etoiles de l’Orgue” festival. In late 2009, she recorded a CD dedicated to 17th and 18th-century French Christmas carols on the new organ at Bellelay Abbey.