Music in Pelham: Organists Galore

A concert by three musicians is hardly out of the ordinary, but usually the performers play different instruments. Sunday’s concert at , however, features three accomplished musicians playing the same instrument.

Not the same type of instrument, such as three violins or three pianos. The same instrument—the church’s pipe organ.

The concert, “Three Organists Spectacular,” will feature Kathryn Jones, Huguenot’s organist; Joseph Nigro, organist at St. Augustine Catholic Church in New City and Thomas Zachacz, organist at Union Church in Pocantico Hills, near Tarrytown.

In what should prove to be one of the highlights of Pelham's church-music series this season, the wide-ranging program will include music from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, starting with one of the giants of organ music, Johann Sebastian Bach.

Max Reger, another German composer known for his organ compositions, will also be featured.

But the French tradition will be well represented, too, with pieces by Maurice Duruflé and Cesar Franck.

The program even includes a piece by a composer who is still very much alive— Alfred Fedak, the organist at the Westminster Presbyterian Church on Capitol Hill in Albany.

“It’s a mixture of styles,” said Jones, who has been the organist at Huguenot for 12 years. “It represents a lot of periods on the organ.”

The church’s “Music for Mission” series of concerts usually includes one organ recital, she said. The concert gives an organist—or, in this case, three organists—a chance to play music that isn’t usually heard during a Sunday service, such as secular or longer works.

The three musicians have known each other for several years and play recitals at each other’s churches, as well as other venues.

“We all have slightly different ways of playing, and we have different composers that we enjoy working on,” Jones said.

In selecting the pieces that they will play, the organists aimed for a variety of not only periods and styles, but also sounds.

“We try to make a program that uses different stops on the organ to make it interesting for the listeners,” Jones said.

That is, provided the organ cooperates. Jones said Huguenot’s Gress-Miles organ dates from 1953 and is in need of restoration.

“We’re going to hope that it behaves and does well for the recital,” she said.

“Three Organists Spectacular” will begin at 4 p.m. Sunday at Huguenot Memorial Church, 901 Pelhamdale Ave. The suggested offering is $10. Proceeds will help support the church’s mission trips this summer to build housing in needy communities in North Carolina and Nicaragua.

For more information, call 914-738-3488 or go to www.huguenotchurch.org