They say that all good things come to those who wait. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Chestnut Hill is about to celebrate the truth of that age-old piece of advice. 

The local parish will celebrate the culmination of the more than three year project to restore and renovate its historic Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ with a recital Fri., Sept. 27, at 7:30 p.m. The featured soloist will be Cherry Rhodes, one of the world’s most acclaimed concert organists.

Philadelphia has long been the site of many fabulous pipe organs. Historic instruments have graced many of its churches, including Old Christ Episcopal Church in Old City, First Presbyterian Church, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church (where Chestnut Hill resident Donald Meineke is the new music director), the Episcopal Church of the Holy Trinity (which recently acquired the pipe organ originally built for First Baptist Church), Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, and too many others to mention here. 

All the same, the organ at St. Paul’s has always held a special place in the hearts of organists and lovers of the instrument. Its commanding size and scope – more than 110 ranks and 7,000 pipes – give it the capabilities of a full symphony orchestra of colors, timbres, textures and dynamics.

Former organists at the church, Richard Alexander and Zachary Hemenway, both maintained and enhanced its character. But even the finest instrument eventually begins to show its age and therefore requires more than a minor touch-up here and there.

St. Paul’s current organist and director of music, Andrew Kotylo, along with the parish’s vestry, made the decision that a major restoration and renovation were seminal to maintaining the instrument’s integrity. The firm of Stephen Russell was called in to assess what was needed and to subsequently get on with it.

And so they did. The fruits of their three-year-plus project will be on display during the Sept. 27 concert. Cherry Rhodes will play a program that includes Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Preludium and Fugue in E-minor,” BWV 548; “Reverie” by William Grant Still; Jean Guillou’s “Ballade Ossianique No. 2,” Opus 23, dedicated to Cherry Rhodes; “Afternoon of a Toad” by Clarence Mader; Louis Vierne’s “Pieces de fantasie” from Suite No. 2, Opus 53; and “Fantasie und Fugue in D-minor,” Opus 135b, by Max Reger. 

The series of recitals celebrating the organ’s restoration continues with John Schwandt Sun., Nov. 17, at 4 p.m., Alan Morrison Sun., Feb. 23, 2025, at 4 p.m., and Andrew Kotylo Fri., May 2, at 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit .stpaulschestnuthill.org.

Tempesta Among Friends

Tempesta di Mare, Philadelphia Baroque Orchestra, launched its 2024-25 season of local concert performances Sat., Sept. 14, with an afternoon recital played before an enthusiastic audience in the Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting. The performance was part of Tempesta’s “Artists Recital Series.” Its moniker was “Recorder Duets” and featured Gwyn Roberts and Rainer Beckmann. 

Roberts and lutenist Richard Stone are the co-founders and co-directors of Tempesta. Roberts and Beckmann stitched together a program of music for recorders stretching all the way back to the 14th and into the 20th centuries. By viewing the recorder repertoire from its recorded inception through music composed in our own times, they touched upon the variety of styles of both the instrument, itself, and its repertoire. The program made the point that the recorder didn’t disappear immediately upon the assumption of dominance by the transverse flute in the 18th century.

Roberts and Beckmann started their recital with an anonymous score of the Middle Ages and brought it to a dazzling finale with a suite by Georg Phillip Telemann based on Oliver Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels.” Along the way, we heard recorders ranging from the highest sopranos to the deepest bass, most especially the latter in Laurie Alberts’ “Imitations,” composed in 2001. 

Both musicians played beautifully – offering a flawless balance between technical expertise and interpretive sophistication.

Tempesta’s full Baroque Orchestra will return to Chestnut Hill for “Stolen,” Sun., Oct. 6, at 4 p.m. in the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill. Call 215-755-8776 or visit tempestadimare.org.

‘Fabulous Philadelphians’

Music director Yannick Nezt-Seguin will open the Philadelphia Orchestra’s 2024-25 season with an “Opening Night Gala” Thursday, Sept. 26, at 7 p.m. The Maestro will conduct a program featuring Maria Duenas in Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 and Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-Overture.”

The season’s first series of subscription concerts showcase Nezet-Seguin and pianist Seong-Jin Cho in Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major plus Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7. The concerts are scheduled for Friday, Sept. 27, at 2 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 28, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Sept. 29, at 2 p.m. in the Kimmel Center’s Marian Anderson Hall.

For more information visit philorch.org.  You can contact NOTEWORTHY at Michael-caruso@comcast.net.