The Westminster Organ Concert Series begins its 40th season of concerts on Friday, August 30, at 7:30 pm, with a recital by Catalina Vicens, a specialist in performance on historic keyboard instruments. The program, entitled “A Musical Pilgrimage from the Middle Ages to the Baroque,” includes some of the earliest known written keyboard music, as well as works by Conrad Paumann, William Byrd, and Juan Cabanilles. Ms. Vicens, originally from Chile, has performed throughout Europe, the USA, and South America, is a guest professor of harpsichord at Oberlin Conservatory and a Ph.D. candidate at Leiden University.
The Westminster Organ Concert Series was begun in 1980 to share the newly installed all-mechanical baroque-style pipe organ with the community. The organ, built by Taylor & Boody Organbuilders of Staunton, Virginia, has 18 stops and over 1100 pipes. For more information, call 434-963-4690 or visit www.
Recently, Westminster hosted an Environmental Forum with Teri Kent from the Charlottesville Climate Collaborative (or C3). Teri spoke about C3’s initiatives such as the “Better Business Challenge” and the “Home Energy Challenge,” initiatives designed to empower the community to take more decisive steps to address climate change. Indeed, C3 has been instrumental in getting the Charlottesville City Council and the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors to strengthen their climate action programs/standards. I will be working with Claire to help host house “power parties” in the future with members of the congregation as a way to introduce them to the goals and principles of the “Home Energy Challenge.”