Church Plans Dedication Concert For New Pipe Organ
By Space Coast Daily // January 19, 2013
Public Invited To Event
BREVARD COUNTY • SUNTREE, FLORIDA – The enormous new pipe organ at Advent Lutheran Church in Suntree will be dedicated with a free concert befitting the dramatic instrument.
The concert will be at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 20 at the church, 7550 N. Wickham Road in Suntree.
The American-made pipe organ constructed by the A.E. Schlueter Company will be played by virtuoso Peter Beardsley, the 36-year veteran organist of Christ Church Cathedral in Springfield, Mass.
A Fellow of the American Guild of Organists, Beardsley will demonstrate the full potential of the instrument in a grand concert of classic performance pieces for organ, including works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Max Reger, Marcel Dupré, Maurice Duruflé and American composer Aaron Copland.
The free concert will conclude with variations on Martin Luther’s Ein’ feste Burg, better known to English speakers as A Mighty Fortress is Our God, arguably the best loved hymn of the Lutheran and Protestant tradition.
With 2,196 pipes and 36 ranks, the $350,000 pipe organ took nearly eight weeks to install. A series of mini-performances by local artists in December helped “break in” the pipe organ in preparation for the dedication ceremony and grand concert.
A cherished dream of the congregation for more than a decade, the pipe organ was considered in the design and construction of the new church sanctuary in 2003. Member pledges sufficient to cover the cost of the instrument were collected over a short two-month period in 2011.
The newly installed pipe organ is graceful in appearance and occupies nearly all of the sanctuary’s south wall.
Pastor David Jahn is confident the pipe organ music will intensify the traditional worship service and attract music enthusiasts from throughout the region.
“We couldn’t be happier with this magnificent pipe organ,” said Jahn. “It is a true work of art glorifying God. We are hopeful that, through the beauty of its rich voice, visitors and congregants alike will reconnect with the gospel in a new and powerful way.”
For more information about the concert, call 321-259-8515.
