It was French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac who stated, “The organ is the grandest, the most daring, the most magnificent of all instruments invented by human genius.”
Come to the Organ Fest XI concert to experience why Balzac felt this way about the organ. On Friday, September 14, at 7:30 p.m. the public is invited to Organ Fest XI at the Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City to enjoy the overwhelming beauty and sound of this amazing musical instrument when it is played by six talented organists from our community.
Each year since 2008, the organists of the Tabernacle on Temple Square have joined with the organist of the Cathedral of the Madeleine to celebrate organ music and to showcase support for organ music programming on Classical 89, Utah’s classical radio station. The annual concert alternates between the Tabernacle and the Cathedral of the Madeleine to showcase both famous organs. This year’s program is given as a gift to the community from Classical 89, Temple Square Performances, and the individual organists.
The program will include Gabriele Terrone, organist and assistant director of music for the Cathedral of the Madeleine, as well as all five Tabernacle organists: Richard Elliott, Andrew Unsworth, Brian Mathias, Bonnie Goodliffe, and Linda Margetts. It will be Brian Mathias’s first time performing in Organ Fest since his appointment as a Tabernacle organist earlier this year.
Admission is free and is open to everyone eight years and older. No tickets will be required. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and patrons should plan to be in their seats by 7:15 p.m.
The concert will be recorded and rebroadcast on Classical 89 on Sunday, October 28, at 9:00 p.m. mountain time, when you can listen or stream it over the internet.