Thirty-Eighth Annual Organ Fest Celebrates Black History Month

First Presbyterian Church of Arlington Heights will welcome organists Michael Gagne, Marianne Kim, Christopher Urban and Gary Wendt on Sunday, February 19 at 4 p.m. for a dynamic program of music written for organ by Black composers or influenced by music of the Black community.

The concert is being held to honor Black History Month, which pays tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity in this country.

Featured works include a rousing toccata on We Shall Overcome and a toe-tapping arrangement of Every Time I Feel the Spirit. Covering a span from the from mid-20th century to the early 21st century, the concert will feature Black composers including Florence Price, Carleton Inniss, Adolphus Hailstork, Calvin Taylor, Carl Haywood and Eurydice Osterman.

The concert will be performed on First Presbyterian Church's Schantz Organ, the largest in the Northwest suburbs. The organ is 50 years old. It has 52 ranks, or sets of pipes, and four divisions spread across three manuals, or keyboards, and pedals. The largest pipe is the size of a telephone pole and the smallest pipe is the size of a soda straw.

The 38th Annual Organ Fest is free and open to the public. No tickets are required but a free will donation is welcomed.