Opening with an organist: Brick Church Music Series returns this weekend

The Brick Church Music Series begins its 2024-25 season on Sunday, Sept. 22, as it presents award-winning organist Aaron Tan at the First Church of Deerfield, 71 Old Main St., at 3 p.m.

The Brick Church Music Series begins its 2024-25 season on Sunday, Sept. 22, as it presents award-winning organist Aaron Tan at the First Church of Deerfield, 71 Old Main St., at 3 p.m. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

By CHRIS LARABEE

Staff Writer

Published: 09-20-2024 10:25 AM

The Brick Church Music Series returns to Old Deerfield this weekend, as the annual concert series welcomes folks for an organ concert on Sunday.

The series begins its 2024-25 season on Sunday, Sept. 22, as it presents award-winning organist Aaron Tan at the First Church of Deerfield, 71 Old Main St., at 3 p.m. The Brick Church Music Series serves as a fundraiser for the First Church of Deerfield and a suggested donation of $20 is requested at the door.

Series Coordinator Jean Pitman Turner said Tan is a “multi-talented” organist and pianist — as well as a materials scientist — and is currently a piano instructor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

“He’s quite a young fellow in his 20s still, and I tend to try to find new upcoming artists that are beginning to climb the ladder,” Pitman Turner said, adding the management firm Karen McFarlane Artists Inc. has always been a good source for the Brick Church. “I have listened to him … and he seems to project well with an audience and he speaks well and that helps, I think, to make the audience feel more comfortable.”

Tan, who was awarded first prize at the 2021 Canadian International Organ Competition, will perform works from Rheinberger, Vierling, Scheidemann, J.S. Bach, Albrights, Weir and Bruhns.

A reception will be held following the concert in Deerfield Academy’s Caswell Library. Accessible parking is available at the rear of the church.

Sunday’s show marks the first show of the 2024-25 Brick Church Music Series, which continues on Oct. 27 with Decoda, a clarinet, bassoon and piano trio. Decoda’s concert will be followed by a masterclass hosted alongside Deerfield Academy. The final show of the season, the Pioneer Valley-based Wistaria String Quartet, is slated for Feb. 23, 2025.

“It was very successful,” Pitman Turner said of the previous Brick Church Music Series season. “We co-hosted one concert with Deerfield Academy’s music department and we’re doing that once again this year.”

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For more information about the Brick Church Music Series, visit it bit.ly/3TNUz8p.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.