NYC’s classical calendar is always crowded, but this upcoming organ recital stands apart, centered around its crown jewel — the historic Miller-Scott organ. Held at one of the most beautiful churches in the city, organist Katelyn Emerson joins the Grand Organ Series with a varied program of classical music written in response to war, alongside works that showcase the many facets of peace and serenity.
Program and tickets
The program follows the theme of ‘War and Peace’, which couldn’t come at a more fitting time, with works by Edward Elgar, Ad Wammes, Ethel Smyth, Jehan Alain, Leo Sowerby, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Maurice Duruflé. With a mix of grandiose pieces like Triumphal March from “Caractacus” Op. 35, more minimalist and mystical compositions, such as Wammes’ Fiducie and Alain’s Trois danses pour orgue, the recital will take audiences on a journey through legacy, mortality, spiritual peace and the human spirit.
📍Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, 1 W 53rd St
📆 April 25, 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
🦼Venue is ADA accessible
🎟️ Tickets cost $30 and you can also livestream it from home for $17.
Katelyn Emerson: The American virtuoso taking on the 7,069 pipe-organ
Managing four manuals, a pedalboard, and hundreds of stops simultaneously is no easy feat, but if there’s anyone who can do it, it’s Katelyn Emerson. The virtuoso artist is hailed as “one of her generation’s most prominent organists” by Portland Press Herald and “the perfect interpreter” by Glasgow Times.
Renowned for her thoughtful interpretations, she is a prize-winner of major international competitions, including AGO National Young Artists’ Competition in Organ Performance (First Prize), VIII Musashino International Organ Competition in Tokyo (Third Prize & “Laureate”), and the 5th International Organ Competition “Pierre de Manchicourt” in France (Second Jean Boyer Award). Her next endeavor is taking on the striking Miller-Scott Organ inside St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue.
Considered one of North America’s most significant new pipe organs, the organ boasts an impressive 7,069 pipes. Much of the form is derived from precedents throughout the rest of the Gothic style structure. Its case has “Soli Deo Gloria” (to God alone the Glory) engraved, a popular term used by many classical artists like Bach and Handel to signify that the music was produced for the sake of praising God.
The organ is housed in St. Thomas Fifth Avenue, a historic Episcopal church located at 53rd Street and Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. Its structure was designed by architects Ralph Adams Cram and Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue in French High Gothic Revival style, and it features beautiful stained glass by Nicola D’Ascenzo. The church actually has two more organs: the Loening-Hancock Gallery Organ and the Martha J. Dodge Positiv Organ, both of which are smaller than the impressive and newly restored Miller-Scott.
More classical concerts in NYC
Lang Lang and Boston Symphony Orchestra are taking to the stage of Carnegie Hall on April 10 for a beautiful rendition of Grieg’s sole piano concerto. Candlelight is celebrating classical composers in the likes of Mozart, Bach and Beethoven this April. What’s more, Yuja Wang is performing with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra on May 1, and lastly, the annual NY Phil’s Concerts in the Parks is also set to enchant audiences on June 4-7.