Pageantry on the Prairie: From England to Prairie Village, KS

Event

Organ Dedication Concert

In March, 2015, the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection in Prairie Village, KS., acquired, through a generous donation, a state-of-the-art Rodgers 588 organ—a high tech instrument unique to the Kansas City area.  

On Sunday, May 17, 2015, the Church will officially introduce this remarkable Rodgers organ with an Organ Dedication Concert featuring eleven top area artists.

The free concert is open to the public and everyone is invited to hear this organ's superb sounds, rich in color and realism found nowhere else. ESU members and guests are invited to be part of the unveiling of this impressive musical instrument.

When: Sunday, May 17, 2015

Time: Doors open at 1:30 pm; concert at 2:00 pm

Meet the Artists Reception: 3:15-3:45 pm

Where: Lutheran Church of the Resurrection

            9100 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS

Admission: Free, no RSVP required.  Open to public.  Limited seating; early seating advised

About the Rodgers Organ

The Rodgers 588 organ was donated by two church congregants, John Braum and Wayne Alexander, who realized it was time to replace and upgrade the existing organ which could no longer perform to the needs of the Church.

The organ was installed by a group of six men headed by Neil Weston, a graduate of London's Royal Academy of Music. Prior to moving to the U.S., Weston served as a chorister at Chichester Cathedral, West Sussex, England, and as organist for Chelmsford Cathedral east of London. Craig Smith, the Rodgers representative for the Kansas City area, assisted the installation team.

The Rodgers organ has three manuals each arrayed with 61 keys, 32 pedal boards and 52 lighted stops each with four positions. According to the manufacturer's representatives, there is no other organ in the Kansas City area with high tech features such as this Rodgers model. Weston stated, "This organ is equipped with parallel digital imaging capabilities above and beyond most of the organs in the area."

Weston and his team from Rodgers Organs of Hillsboro, Oregon, spent many hours "voicing" the instrument for the ultimate in tonal flexibility. It was calibrated to give an "English cathedral sound" but with a touch of certain stops, it can also digitally replicate actual sounds of German baroque, French romantic and American classic organs as well.

To learn more about Rodgers organs and hear some examples of the instrument's distinctive voices, Click Here.

Kansas City Area Artists to Perform

To demonstrate the new organ's capabilities, the Church has assembled an all-star group of eleven area artists to perform at the Dedication Concert. The musical program covers Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Contemporary periods highlighting the organ's wide-ranging musical flexibility.

The eleven featured artists performing at the Organ Dedication Concert:

• Neil Weston - Rodgers Instruments Corporation, Organist, Royal Academy of Music, London, England
• Dr. Jan Kraybill - Organist, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Kansas City, MO
• Dr. Mario Pearson - Organist, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Kansas City, MO
• John Schaefer - Director of Music, Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, Kansas City, MO
• Dr. O. Wayne Smith - Organist, Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Overland Park, KS
• Thomas Zachacz - Director of Music, Redeemer Lutheran Church, Olathe, KS
• William T. Stewart - Organist, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Kansas City, MO
• Jessica Koebbe - MidAmerica Nazarene University, Olathe, KS
• Richard Jeric - Organist, Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, Prairie Village, KS
• Patricia Latshaw - Flutist, Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, Prairie Village, KS
• Rebecca Trites - Soprano soloist, Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, Prairie Village, KS

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