Summer Organ Recital Series Kicks Off In Ocean Grove

Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association presents Free Organ Recitals on the Great Auditorium Pipe Organ, Wednesday July 6 - Saturday August 27, 2022.

The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association (OGCMA) will kick off its annual summer-long series of FREE ORGAN RECITALS at the historic Great Auditorium starting on Wednesday, July 6, 2022.

Free recitals take place on Wednesdays at 7:30 PM, and Saturdays at 12 Noon (Note: no recitals on Wednesday August 3rd or 17th). The Great Auditorium is located at Pilgrim and Ocean Pathways in Ocean Grove, NJ. For more information, visit https://www.oceangrove.org/organ or 732-775-0035.

Organ Recital Schedule

Gordon Turk, Ogcma Organist-in-residence

Wednesday July 6 and 20 at 7:30 PM; Saturday July 9, 16, 23, 30 and Aug 6, 13, 20 at 12 Noon.

Guest Organists

• EMILY AMOS - Wednesday July 13 at 7:30 PM
• MICHAEL HEY - Wednesday July 27 at 7:30 PM
• CAROL WILLIAMS - Wednesday August 10 at 7:30 PM
• Alexander Leonardi - Wednesday August 24 at 7:30 PM

About the Great Auditorium Pipe Organ

Ocean Grove's Great Auditorium Pipe Organ is among the largest working pipe organs in the world, and is the heart beat of this historic Christian/Victorian seaside community. The mammoth 13,000+ pipe instrument was built and installed in 1908 with original design innovations that became standard elements still extant in modern organ construction. It is made of over 40,000 feet of California No. 1 Sugar Pine and weighs 20 - 25 tons. In its illustrious 108-year-history, this remarkable instrument has been played by numerous distinguished organists, including Will C. MacFarlane, Clarence Kohlman, Josephine Eddowes, Harold Fix, Clarence Reynolds, Beverly Davis, Jon Quinn, and Robert Carwithin.

About the Organists

Gordon Turk (Wed July 6, 20 at 7:30 PM; Sat July 9, 16, 23, 30 and Aug 6, 13, 20 at 12 Noon)

Now celebrating his 48th season in Ocean Grove, Gordon Turk is a critically acclaimed concert organist whose "athletic performance brings lots of flair to the organ console" (Flint Journal). His playing is "a seamless integration of interpretation and virtuosity" (Newark Star Ledger), and "it is a moving experience to hear him" (New York Times).

Dr. Turk has performed throughout the United States, Europe, Russia, Ukraine, and Japan. His concert tours, both in the USA and abroad have included solo recitals in concert halls, universities, cathedrals and churches, performances in organ festivals, and concerts with orchestras. He has been awarded competition prizes for performances of the music of J.S. Bach and was also a winner in the national improvisation competition of the American Guild of Organists.

He has been selected to perform the dedicatory recitals of many new organs, and was one of five national organists selected to perform in the opening concerts of the new organ in Philadelphia's Verizon Hall-Kimmel Center. His collaborations with other musicians in chamber music concerts with organ, include principal instrumentalists of the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and other distinguished musicians, including American folk singers Peter, Paul & Mary.

A graduate of the famed Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, he studied organ with the legendary organist and teacher Alexander McCurdy, and piano with Vladimir Sokoloff. He continued his organ and composition studies with McNeil Robinson, and harpsichord with Eugenia Earle, receiving masters and doctorate degrees, with honors, from the Manhattan School of Music, in NYC.

Gordon has recorded several organ CDs, the latest release, "Summer Echoes" has already been critically acclaimed in the UK and the US. He has composed choral, vocal, and organ compositions, and 'Elegy' for string orchestra and oboe which was featured in a live TV broadcast in Japan.

Emily Amos (Wednesday July 13)

Emily Dawn Amos is a rising young musician in the organ world. At nine years old, she was the youngest ever admitted into a Pipe Organ Encounter. She is also an assistant at the Wanamaker Grand Court at Macy's and the incoming AGO Chair for Young Organists. Emily is currently attending the Curtis Institute of Music, where she holds the Stephanie Yen-Mun Liem Azar Fellowship.

Michael Hey (Wednesday July 27)

Described as "flashy" and "exciting" (The American Organist), concert organist Michael Hey has been increasingly visible on U.S. and international concert stages. Michael has performed solo organ recitals at Lincoln Center (New York), the Kimmel Center (Philadelphia), the Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.) and Davies Hall (San Francisco). He graduated in 2014 from The Juilliard School where he received both his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in organ performance under Paul Jacobs. Within one year of his graduation, he was appointed Associate Director of Music and Organist of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, where one of his first major tasks was to play organ for Vespers and Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral and Madison Square Garden for the first U.S. visit of Pope Francis. In September 2017, Michael received first prize in the First Shanghai Conservatory of Music International Organ Competition. In 2019, he performed solo recitals for the NYCAGO and two regional conventions for the American Guild of Organists. He also performs duo recitals with violinist Christiana Liberis.

Upcoming Guest Organists:

Carol Williams (Wednesday August 10)

Alexander Leonardi (Wednesday August 24)