Chattanooga Times Free Press - ChattanoogaNow
British organist featured at free patriotic concert
Chattanooga Music Club’s summer concert Tuesday
A free concert full of patriotism, American music and military salute is set for Tuesday, June 26, at 7 p.m. in Memorial Auditorium, 399 McCallie Ave.
This annual summer concert presented by the Chattanooga Music Club always features a guest organist to perform on the historic Austin pipe organ, which CMC members restored, as well as a silent movie. The featured organist accompanies the film and provides sound effects from the organ.
This year’s movie is “One Week,” a 1920 movie in which Buster Keaton and Sybil Seeley star as newlyweds who receive a portable house as a wedding gift. The house is designed to be built in a week, but when Keaton tries to construct it, things quickly go awry.
David Carroll will emcee t he program. Soprano Sara Snider Schone will sing t he national anthem and lead the audience in “God Bless America.”
During the military salute, with color guard, all branches of the Armed Forces will be recognized before Dr. Terry Pope, trumpeter, concludes the segment with taps.
The guest organist is Richard Hills from Great Britain, who is performing in Atlanta prior to his concert on Tuesday. The musician combines a solo career with a position as organist of St. Mary’s, Bourne Street, in London.
He has won numerous prizes and awards in England and America, including 2010 Organist of the Year by the American Theatre Organ Society. Hills is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists and an avid supporter of the work of the UK’s Cinema Organ Society, for which he serves as musical adviser.
New t his year, t he Chattanooga Music Club has streamlined the program to shorten its length in order to make it more family friendly, says CMC member Buddy Shirk. The movie is just 19 minutes and there will be no intermission so the program is expected to conclude within 90 minutes.
For more information: www.chattanoogamusicclub.org.