Godfrey, Ill. – Rich, vibrant organ music from folk songs to hymn settings will fill the Benjamin Godfrey Memorial Chapel at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 13 during the L&C Music Department’s “Organ Spectacular” event.
Area organists will perform a variety of pieces, including material from classic organ literature, on a Rodgers Trillium Masterpiece Series organ that arrived at Lewis and Clark Community College in September 2007 as a replacement for the pipe organ the college inherited when it was founded in 1970. The new organ’s dedication was held on Jan. 11, 2008 featuring guest organist Rodney L. Barbour of Huntington, WV, and has been used for education, recitals and weddings ever since.
Performers will include:
- Barbara Kramer – Kramer was an organ performance minor at Lindenwood College. She has held church organist positions in Nashville, Tenn., Quincy, Ill., Hillsboro, Ill. and currently is the organist for the First Congregational Church in Bunker Hill. Kramer is also a former member of the music faculty at Blackburn College and a current member of the music faculty at Lewis and Clark.
- Nancy Sewell – Sewell is the organist at the Evangelical United Church of Christ in Godfrey. She received her bachelor’s degree and her master’s degree in music from SIUE, where she was a piano student of Ruth Slenczynska. Sewell has performed as an organist in the United States, Germany, France, Switzerland and Australia.
- Ken Rueter – Rueter attended Concordia College in River Forest, Ill., and later graduated from Washington University in St. Louis and SIUE. He served as organist and director of music at John Knox Presbyterian Church in Florissant, Mo. for 26 years, and at Atonement Lutheran Church, also in Florissant, Mo., for 10 years. Since 1998, he has been the organist and director of music at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Alton.
- Roy Stillwell – Stillwell is an experienced instructor and performer. He has taught music at the college level in North Dakota and Mississippi and holds degrees in music from MacMurray College and the Eastman School of Music. After retiring from full-time work, he moved back to the Alton/Godfrey area where he was raised. Stillwell teaches organ and music appreciation as an adjunct instructor at Lewis and Clark.
- Ray Bentley – Bentley retired after teaching 38 years in the Alton School District. He is a registered piano technician and serves homes, churches and schools including Lewis and Clark. He is the organist at Main Street United Methodist Church in Alton.
- Susan Parton Stanard – Parton Stanard combines 22 years experience as an operatic and concert artist with more than 15 years experience in college-level music education. She plays eleven instruments and has conducted master classes and lectures at colleges and universities in the United States and Europe. As a mezzo-soprano she has appeared in concerts throughout the United States, Germany, Austria and Scandinavia. As an operatic artist, she has appeared as Carmen in “Carmen,” and as Santuzza in “Cavalleria Rusticana,” to name a few. Parton Stanard is currently associate professor of choral ensembles and vocal studies at Lewis and Clark and is director of music and an organist at Godfrey First United Methodist Church.
- Robert Raymond – Raymond earned his bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Webster University, and his master’s degree in piano and organ performance and music education from SIUE. He has taught organ at SIUE for 13 years, and has served as dean of the American Guild of Organists in Illinois. He has held several church positions and has served as organist at the First Presbyterian Church USA in Edwardsville for the last 17 years.
The show is open to the public. Admission is free, donations priceless.
For more information regarding this event or other music department events, please call the music office at (618) 468-4731.