Grant Helps Support Capelle Meisters Concerts at Westminster

Westminster College recently received a $1,851 grant from the Pennsylvania Rural Arts Alliance for partial support of Capelle Meisters, a classical organ concert series being offered by the Department of Music through the new Western Pennsylvania Cultural Arts Center.

 The first in the series of three concerts, Organ Versus Brass, is scheduled Tuesday, Oct. 12, at 7:30 p.m. in Wallace Memorial Chapel.

"Complementary yet opposing instrumentation creates an attractive and interesting concert," said Dr. Elizabeth Harrison, college organist and assistant professor of music.  "This event will feature joint repertoire for organ and brass, as well as individual pieces from some of Westminster's own top-flight classical musicians."

In addition to Harrison, this concert features the Westminster Faculty Brass Quintet, which includes Andrew Erb, Paul Gerlach, Robert Cole, Dr. Tad Greig, and Robert Antonucci.

Harrison, who designed this series of concerts, shared her enthusiasm and knowledge about the events.

"The title of our series, Capelle Meisters, is taken from music history. The word "Capelle" means chapel and the word "Meisters" means masters. Historically Capellemeisters were the musicians who composed and performed for weekly and sometimes daily worship services and during the Renaissance and Baroque eras, they were considered the most outstanding musicians," Harrison said.

"Following that tradition, our Capelle Meisters brings some of our country's best musicians to our campus to perform a wide variety of church music using the organ in our chapel. We feel incredibly privileged to have received this grant and to offer this series to Westminster and to the surrounding community!"

 The series of concerts continue in 2005 with "Masterworks for the Organ" featuring Dr. Dana Robinson from the University of Illinois School of Music Feb. 4, and "Capelle Improvisations" by Dr. William Porter, professor of organ and harpsichord at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., April 1.
 The grant also includes funding for outreach activities, such as demonstrations and master classes, for area kindergarten through high schools, Westminster College students, and community organists.

This project is supported in part by the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts, the regional arts funding partnership of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency. State government funding comes through an annual appropriation by Pennsylvania's General Assembly and from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency. PPA is administered in this region by the Pennsylvania Rural Arts Alliance.

 The concert series is open to the public.  Voluntary donations will be accepted.

 For more information, contact Harrison at (724) 946-7024 or e-mail harrisea@westminster.edu.

More Stories