Thirty-fourth season of Brown Bag concerts
St. James Episcopal Church recently announced that the 34th season of Brown Bag concerts will begin Oct. 6 and offer seven very entertaining programs. Begun in 1978 to celebrate the renovation of St. James and installation of the new Schantz organ, these concerts have presented artists in a variety of media who have shared their music and drama with the community. The concerts are presented free of charge, but for more than a decade donations from attendees have been accepted for the Viola Startzman Free Clinic. These offerings have provided more than $15,000 in support for this invaluable community resource. St. James extends its gratitude to the artists who donate their time and talents to this endeavor.
The series opens Oct. 6 when Karen Bricker will again entertain from the piano. Bricker is excited to share a concert with her friends in Wooster before she returns to her new home in Florida. She is currently playing for Harvest Field Church in Florida, along with being the pianist for the River Wilderness singers, and for Rasher Tierneys’ Irish Pub. She will present a concert in November and will entertain for a local business at Christmastime. Bricker said, “I’m so happy to be staying in Ohio just for the Brown Bag concert. It is the highlight of my year (I really mean that) as I get to see a lot of my musician friends that day that I don’t see on a regular basis while I’m here in Ohio just for the summer.” She is celebrating her birthday on the 6th and “can’t think of a nicer place to be than at St. James playing a Brown Bag concert.” Joining Bricker for this concert will be Janie Terwilliger, who is well-known for her work with Amerinac productions and the Wayne County Choral Union, for which she was one of the founding members and serves as president.
Oct. 13 Jordan Key, a junior music theory/composition major with minors in German and mathematics at The College of Wooster, will present his second Brown Bag concert on the Schantz organ. From Roanoke, Va., Key began studying piano at age 8, organ at 17, and bagpipes at 12. At the college he studies both organ and bagpipes and is the leader of the pipe band. He is also a member of the vocal ensemble Mary Kween of Scots.
Oct. 20 Noah Dresser, a senior viola performance major at The College of Wooster, will present a preview of his senior recital. Joining him will be violinist Nicholas Biniker. They are both students of Dr. Thomas Wood, and are actively involved with the Wooster Symphony Orchestra, and small chamber groups. This past summer Dresser was a member of the Ohio Light Opera Orchestra. He is from Jefferson Hills, Pa.
Oct. 27 Musica Felicé, Wooster’s own early music ensemble, will return. The featured work on their program this fall will be Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2. Featured soloists Sarah Sommers, violin, Emily DeVincent, oboe and Elliot Gerber, trumpet, join regular members Ken Shafer, harpsichord, Marna Mateer, cello, and William Mateer, recorder. Other instrumentalists include Joanna Sommers, violin, Kaitlyn Sommers, viola, Kristen Sommers, cello, Evan Gerber, bass, and Chris Kovach, recorder. Formed in 2003, this ensemble has a wide following in the area and they can be heard in such diverse venues as the Shenandoah Shakespeare performances at Wayne College and the annual Medical Benefit Concert each February.
On Nov. 3, organist Scott Berry will play his second Brown Bag recital. Berry graduated from Ashland University in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music performance, where he studied organ under Dr. Timothy E. Guenther. He is the organist and senior choir director at First English Lutheran Church in Mansfield, where he presides over the 50 rank Muller Pipe Organ, restored and enlarged in 2002 from the original Möller Pipe Organ. It is currently the largest organ in the north central Ohio area. He previously served as organist and senior choir director at St. John’s United Church of Christ in Mansfield, where he had served since fall of 2004. Previous to that tenure, he held the position of chapel organist at First English Lutheran Church in Mansfield, covering the Saturday evening chapel service, and organist at Shreve Christian Church (Disciples of Christ,) in Shreve. He is also the dean of the North Central Ohio Chapter of The American Guild of Organists.
On Nov. 10, Sonnenberg Station will return for its third Brown Bag concert. Founded in 2006, this men’s ensemble has a simple goal: a few men gathering to sing songs of faith and everyday life. Now in their fifth season, the men’s ensemble is enjoying injecting new enthusiasm into an ageless art. Originally consisting of eight men, it now has 16 members. Director Tim Shue and accompanist Kevin Himes contribute their own compositions to this season’s repertoire, which already includes songs to be appreciated by both the cerebral and the silly.
On Nov. 17, The College of Wooster Brass will make their annual visit. Membership in this 20-member brass ensemble is open to any student at the college and represents a wide cross-section of majors. They specialize in music for large brass choir from the 17th through 21st centuries, and are under the direction of C. David Lueschen, professor of brass instruments.
Brown Bag concerts begin at 12:05 p.m. on Thursdays at St. James Episcopal Church on the corner of Market and North streets in downtown Wooster. There is no admission charge and audience members are invited to bring their lunch. Complimentary coffee and tea are provided. Freewill donations benefit the Viola Startzman Free Clinic. For more information, visit http://www.stjameswooster.org.
The series opens Oct. 6 when Karen Bricker will again entertain from the piano. Bricker is excited to share a concert with her friends in Wooster before she returns to her new home in Florida. She is currently playing for Harvest Field Church in Florida, along with being the pianist for the River Wilderness singers, and for Rasher Tierneys’ Irish Pub. She will present a concert in November and will entertain for a local business at Christmastime. Bricker said, “I’m so happy to be staying in Ohio just for the Brown Bag concert. It is the highlight of my year (I really mean that) as I get to see a lot of my musician friends that day that I don’t see on a regular basis while I’m here in Ohio just for the summer.” She is celebrating her birthday on the 6th and “can’t think of a nicer place to be than at St. James playing a Brown Bag concert.” Joining Bricker for this concert will be Janie Terwilliger, who is well-known for her work with Amerinac productions and the Wayne County Choral Union, for which she was one of the founding members and serves as president.
Oct. 13 Jordan Key, a junior music theory/composition major with minors in German and mathematics at The College of Wooster, will present his second Brown Bag concert on the Schantz organ. From Roanoke, Va., Key began studying piano at age 8, organ at 17, and bagpipes at 12. At the college he studies both organ and bagpipes and is the leader of the pipe band. He is also a member of the vocal ensemble Mary Kween of Scots.
Oct. 20 Noah Dresser, a senior viola performance major at The College of Wooster, will present a preview of his senior recital. Joining him will be violinist Nicholas Biniker. They are both students of Dr. Thomas Wood, and are actively involved with the Wooster Symphony Orchestra, and small chamber groups. This past summer Dresser was a member of the Ohio Light Opera Orchestra. He is from Jefferson Hills, Pa.
Oct. 27 Musica Felicé, Wooster’s own early music ensemble, will return. The featured work on their program this fall will be Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2. Featured soloists Sarah Sommers, violin, Emily DeVincent, oboe and Elliot Gerber, trumpet, join regular members Ken Shafer, harpsichord, Marna Mateer, cello, and William Mateer, recorder. Other instrumentalists include Joanna Sommers, violin, Kaitlyn Sommers, viola, Kristen Sommers, cello, Evan Gerber, bass, and Chris Kovach, recorder. Formed in 2003, this ensemble has a wide following in the area and they can be heard in such diverse venues as the Shenandoah Shakespeare performances at Wayne College and the annual Medical Benefit Concert each February.
On Nov. 3, organist Scott Berry will play his second Brown Bag recital. Berry graduated from Ashland University in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music performance, where he studied organ under Dr. Timothy E. Guenther. He is the organist and senior choir director at First English Lutheran Church in Mansfield, where he presides over the 50 rank Muller Pipe Organ, restored and enlarged in 2002 from the original Möller Pipe Organ. It is currently the largest organ in the north central Ohio area. He previously served as organist and senior choir director at St. John’s United Church of Christ in Mansfield, where he had served since fall of 2004. Previous to that tenure, he held the position of chapel organist at First English Lutheran Church in Mansfield, covering the Saturday evening chapel service, and organist at Shreve Christian Church (Disciples of Christ,) in Shreve. He is also the dean of the North Central Ohio Chapter of The American Guild of Organists.
On Nov. 10, Sonnenberg Station will return for its third Brown Bag concert. Founded in 2006, this men’s ensemble has a simple goal: a few men gathering to sing songs of faith and everyday life. Now in their fifth season, the men’s ensemble is enjoying injecting new enthusiasm into an ageless art. Originally consisting of eight men, it now has 16 members. Director Tim Shue and accompanist Kevin Himes contribute their own compositions to this season’s repertoire, which already includes songs to be appreciated by both the cerebral and the silly.
On Nov. 17, The College of Wooster Brass will make their annual visit. Membership in this 20-member brass ensemble is open to any student at the college and represents a wide cross-section of majors. They specialize in music for large brass choir from the 17th through 21st centuries, and are under the direction of C. David Lueschen, professor of brass instruments.
Brown Bag concerts begin at 12:05 p.m. on Thursdays at St. James Episcopal Church on the corner of Market and North streets in downtown Wooster. There is no admission charge and audience members are invited to bring their lunch. Complimentary coffee and tea are provided. Freewill donations benefit the Viola Startzman Free Clinic. For more information, visit http://www.stjameswooster.org.
Published: September 21, 2011
