The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
LET WORSHIP BEGIN
First Lutheran Church dedicates handcrafted pipe organ with concert by Katelyn Emerson
Music of joy and praise again fills the sanctuary at First Lutheran Church at 1019 W. Fifth St. in Lorain.
The church’s historic pipe organ was destroyed in the Aug. 28, 2014, fire that gutted the church at 603 Washington Ave. in Lorain.
Almost five years to the day later, First Lutheran Church opened its doors for its Organ Dedication Recital. It was the first concert of the season for the upcoming FIRST-music series, free performances offered as part of the church’s music ministry.
The event drew a capacity crowd of hundreds - so many that church members were carrying in extra chairs up to the concert’s 3 p.m. start.
“But it also illustrates a little bit of the fun we can have playing organ.”
— Katelyn Emerson, on her debut of a work by an American composer
“Well, I guess we should have built a bigger church,” said Music Director Brian Wentzel, prompting chuckles from the crowd.
The main player was Katelyn Emerson, an Oberlin College and Conservatory alumna now studying in Germany. She is considered a rising star in organ performance across North America, Europe and Asia.
Emerson introduced the pieces that she selected to demonstrate the aural tones created by air flowing through more than 2,500 pipes in the new organ.
The program included works by Vincent Lubeck, Johann Sebastian Bach, Frank Bridge, Bernardo Pasquini, Georg Muffat and Cesar Franck.
Emerson selected three chorale preludes of Johannes Brahms. They were
the same three that former First Lutheran Church organist David Boe played in 1970 to dedicate the organ that became known as John Brombaugh’s Opus 4.
The program included the world premiere of “Chorale Fantasy on Lord, Revive Us,” by organist Aaron David Miller of Minnesota.
It is a privilege to debut a work, especially by an American composer, Emerson said.
“But it also illustrates a little bit of the fun we can have playing organ,” she said.
Each piece was met with applause from the audience, along with some cheers.
The audience included Donald Boettger, whose father, the Rev. Robert Boettger, was pastor at First Lutheran Church in the late 1950s and 1960s. When a donor wanted to honor her parents through a gift to the church, it was the elder Boettger who told her about the organ fund.
The family left Lorain before the new Brombaugh instrument was complete, Donald Boettger said.
As for the new one, he said he was impressed.
“It’s fabulous, fabulous,” Donald Boettger said. “It’s a worthy successor to the Brombaugh organ in the old church.”
Organ builder Paul Fritts and his crew also attended.
Like the church’s 1970 organ, the new instrument is unique.
“As I think most of you know, there is no recipe for an organ,” Wentzel said. “Every instrument is one of a kind. And so this beautiful, magnificent instrument largely comes from inside Paul’s head and through the hands of his skilled craftsmen on his team.”
When Wentzel asked Fritts to stand and be recognized, the crowd offered another round of applause enthusiastic enough to rival their appreciation for Emerson’s work.
The Rev. Rosalina Rivera led the audience in a prayer of dedication. She asked for sanctification of arts that awaken harmonies to worship God.
“Almighty and everlasting God, you dwell among angels who praise you continually,” Rivera said.
“We praise you for giving us this pipe organ, which we dedicate to your glory,” she said. “Be with your servants who will use this instrument to make music for people, as you prepare us on earth to sing your praises in heaven.”
When she concluded, the group answered not with applause, but with their assent: “Amen.”