Pipedreams Regional Organ Events Calendar
Upcoming organ events in and around Minnesota.
Last updated on March 29, 2023.
Related link: Twin Cities Chapter of the American Guild of Organists
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Our Sunday morning MPR broadcasts of PIPEDREAMS are made possible by Members and Friends of the Twin Cities Chapter of the American Guild of Organists with information online at TCAGO.org.
As we attempt to regain some of the cultural life that we enjoyed prior to the Coronavirus pandemic, a number of live organ concerts have been scheduled. They’ll be presented with appropriate social distancing and other pandemic-related protective controls in place. Some of these may be streamed, too, and others may be offered exclusively online.
Here’s what is on the calendar in coming days and weeks. Many events were tentatively ‘go’ at the time of posting, but specific information may change. Though we will attempt to keep the information on this page current, please consult the individual venues for any last-minute changes and to confirm accuracy.
March 31, Friday at 7PM –guest soloist Peter Krasinsky plays the 35-rank Möller pipe organ will be played in accompaniment to the 1917 Charlie Chaplin silent film “The Kid” at the Cappella Performing Arts Center (the former Methodist Church, at 721 King Street) in La Crosse, Wi. Free/donation.
March 31, Friday at 7:30PM – internationally-acclaimed soloist Wayne Marshall plays the 57-rank Brunzema-Casavant mechanical-action organ at Dordt University (498 Fourth Avenue NE) in Sioux Center, IA. Free.
April 1, Saturday at 1PM – student musician Nathan Elsbernd presents his Senior Recital on the 65-rank 1978 Robert Sipe mechanical-action organ in the Center for Faith and Life at Luther College in Decorah, IA. Free.
April 1, Saturday at 7PM – in a Holy Week meditation, resident organist Jacob Bendaaccompanies Franz Liszt’s Via Crucis with other music by Allegri, Durufle Poulenc and Schubert featuring by the Chapel Choir (led by Elena Bird Zolnick) in the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas (Cleveland at Ashland) on the campus of the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, MN. Free.
April 4 at 7:30PM – the ensemble Dreamland Faces provides live music accompaniment to vintage silent cinema shorts on the topic of Cinema’s First Nasty Women, featuring the Aeolian-Skinner concert organ at Northrop’s Carlson Family Stage on the University of Minnesota’s Main Campus (84 Church Street SE) in Minneapolis, MN. Admission.
April 7, Friday at 7:30PM – the Cathedral Choir presents Charles Wood’s St. Mark’s Passion at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral (519 Oak Grove) in Minneapolis, MN. Free/donation.
April 15, Saturday from 9AM-5PM – the Pipe Organ Heritage Committee of the Twin Cities Chapter of the American Guild of Organists hosts a free ‘organ crawl’ to seven interesting instruments in Minneapolis…beginning in Dinkytown and moving north to churches on or near University Avenue. Three morning and four afternoon venues will involve pipe organs of various styles dating from 1908 to 2021. The public is invited to join at any point along the way…enjoy the entire day’s adventure or cherry-pick to participate at any time throughout the morning or afternoon. A brief demonstration of each instrument will be provided, in some cases by resident musicians and in other cases by volunteers from the ‘crawl’ group. After demonstrations, a period of ‘open consoles’ will make the organs briefly available to qualified folks who have brought along music to play.
9AM - University Baptist Church (1219 University Avenue SE) – 1981 Dobson (II/30r)
10AM - University Lutheran Church of Hope (601 13th Avenue SE) – 1967 Holtkamp (III/41r)
11AM - St. Lawrence Parish – Newman Center (1203 Fifth Street SE) – 1924 Pilcher, expanded 2003 by Marrin (II/24s)
1PM - First Congregational Church (500 8th Avenue SE) – 1953 Hilgreen-Lane (III/35r)
2PM - Our Lady of Lourdes Church (1 Lourdes Place) - 2005-2021 Patterson (II/21r)
3PM - Holy Cross Catholic Church (1621 University Avenue NE) – 1908-28 Hinners, 1957-94 Wicks, 1997 Orvold (III/36r)
4PM -Sts. Cyril & Methodius Catholic Church (1301 Second Street NE) – 1890 Hinners (II/10s)
April 16, Sunday at 3PM – resident musician Ju Young Lee plays a concert of works by J. S. Bach, Jehan Alain, Brenda Portman, Herbert Howells, A-Young Kim and Pamela Decker featuring the 55-rank Wilhelm tracker-action organ at Christ Presbyterian Church (6901 Normandale Road) in Edina, MN. Free.
April 16, Sunday at 7PM – to honor the 50 years of Jon Kietzer’s service to the church, a Hymn Festival with Seven Organists (!) playing the 31-rank Schantz organ at House of Prayer Lutheran Church (7625 Chicago Avenue South)in Richfield, MN. Free/donation.
April 18, Tuesday at 12:35PM - guest soloist Samuel Libra (2nd Presbyterian, Louisville, KY) continues the 2022-2023 season of Tuesday Organ Recitals featuring the 57-rank 1998 Casavant pipe organ at the Church of St. Louis, King-of-France (506 Cedar Street) in downtown Saint Paul, MN. Free.
April 18, Tuesday at 7:30PM – the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphony presents the Organ Concerto by Francis Poulenc, with University of Minnesota organ professor Dean Billmeyer playing the 108-rank Aeolian-Skinner Concert Organ at Northrop on the University of Minnesota’s main campus (84 Church Street SE) in Minneapolis, MN. Admission.
April 19, Wednesday at 12:30 (following noon Mass) – guest soloist Thomas Ferry(Como Park Lutheran) plays the 7th concert in the 2022-2023 Noontime Series featuring the 49-rank 2001 Lively-Fulcher pipe organ at the Catholic Church of St. Olaf (215 South 8th Street) in downtown Minneapolis, MN. Free/donation.
April 20, Thursday at 7PM – local soloist Carolyn Diamond presents a program of organ music by Bach, Pasini, Guilmant, and Emma Lou Diemer under the auspices of Thursday Musical Artist Series, featuring the 44-rank Reuter pipe organ at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd (4801 France Avenue South) in Minneapolis, MN. Donation.
April 21, Friday at 12PM – a noontime Coffee Concert featuring faculty organist Laura Edman and guest organists Scott Hyslop and Aaron David Miller, including Millers “Shade in a Parched Land” for organ and percussion, the program promoting the restoration of the 1974 Hendrickson organ in Abbott Hall, Kleinpell Fine Arts Building (420 East Cascade Avenue) in River Falls, WI. Free/donation.
April 21, Friday at 7PM – Saint Olaf College student Katie Gunn plays here Senior Recital on the Holtkamp organ in Boe Chapel on campus in Northfield, MN. Free.
April 22, Saturday from 10AM-2PM – learn about the pipe organ through an interactive organ crawl geard to kids and youths, Pedals, Pipes and Pizza, featuring instruments at multiple venues, a pizza lunch, and an South Dakota AGO Organ Academy concert to conclude the day. Start off at 1st Lutheran Church (327 South Dakota Avenue) in Sioux Falls, SD. Pre-registration required. More information at sdago.org/pedals-pipes--pizza.html.
April 22, Saturday at 7:00PM – guest soloist Damin Spritzer (University of Oklahoma) presents a concert in the Organ Artist Series featuring the Gabriel Kney tracker-action pipe organ in the St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel of the University of St. Thomas (Cleveland Avenue at Ashland) in St. Paul, MN. Free/donation.
April 23, Sunday at 3:00PM – resident organist Andrew Jacob teams up with the St. Olaf College radio program Sing for Joy in presenting a hymn festival featuring the combined choirs of Augustana Lu8theran Church and Westminster Presbyterian Church (Minneapolis), with guest conductor Anton Armstrong and Rev. Alexandra Jacob, narrator, featuring the 50-rank 2005 Glatter-Götz/Rosales organ at Augustana Lutheran Church (1400 South Robert Street) in West Saint Paul, MN. Free/donation.
April 23, Sunday at 3PM – resident musicians Vicki Gornick and Amy Szymal present a concert ”The Pipes are Calling“ featuring the 19-rank Bennett pipe organ at Hope Community Presbyterian Church (212 Fifth Avenue South) in Virginia, MN. Free/donation for the local food shelf.
April 23, Sunday at 4PM – resident musician John Stender collaborates with guest soloist Patrick Pope in a Hymn Festival for Easter featuring the 48-rank 1998 Casavant organ at 1st Presbyterian Church (512 Third Street SW) in Rochester, MN. Free/donation.
April 23, Sunday at 4PM – guest soloist David Cherwien leads a hymn festival featuring the newly renovated 58-rank 1970 Robert Sipe/Aeolian-Skinner mechanical-action pipe organ at Zumbro Lutheran Church (624 Third Avenue SW) in Rochester, MN.
April 25, Tuesday at 12:35PM - guest soloist Patrick Pope (Holy Comforter Episcopal, Charlotte, NC) continues the 2022-2023 season of Tuesday Organ Recitals featuring the 57-rank 1998 Casavant pipe organ at the Church of St. Louis, King-of-France (506 Cedar Street) in downtown Saint Paul, MN. Free.
May 2, Tuesday at 12:35PM - guest soloist Christopher Ganza (Cathedral of St. Paul, MN) continues the 2022-2023 season of Tuesday Organ Recitals featuring the 57-rank 1998 Casavant pipe organ at the Church of St. Louis, King-of-France (506 Cedar Street) in downtown Saint Paul, MN. Free.
May 2, Tuesday at 7:30PM – University of Minnesota Masters Degree student Emily Roth plays the 108-rank Aeolian-Skinner Concert Organ at Northrop on the University of Minnesota’s main campus (84 Church Street SE) in Minneapolis, MN.
May 6, Saturday at 7:30PM – resident soloist Jacob Benda and the University of St. Thomas Orchestra, led by Matthew George, present Organ Concertos by Josef Rheinberger and Francis Poulenc for the season’s closing concert in the Chapel Arts Series featuring the Gabriel Kney tracker-action pipe organ in the St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel of the University of St. Thomas (Cleveland Avenue at Ashland) in St. Paul, MN. Free/donation.
May 7, Sunday at 3PM – guest soloist Samuel Backman plays a concert on the 50-rank 2008 Noack tracker-action organ in the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe (5250 Justin Road) just outside La Crosse, WI. Free/donation.
May 9, Tuesday at 12:35PM - guest soloist Simon Pick (Church of the Assumption St. Paul, MN) continues the 2022-2023 season of Tuesday Organ Recitals featuring the 57-rank 1998 Casavant pipe organ at the Church of St. Louis, King-of-France (506 Cedar Street) in downtown Saint Paul, MN. Free.
May 12, Friday at 7:30PM – a Members Recital sponsored by the Twin Cities American Guild of Organists Chapter, featuring the 81-rank 1970 Schlicker pipe organ at Normandale Lutheran Church (6100 Normandale Road) in Edina, MN. All welcome/free/donation.
May 13, Saturday at 7:30PM – the Cathedral Choir, Choral Society and Orchestra, led by resident musician Raymond Johnston, present a season final concert (TBA) at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral (519 Oak Grove) in Minneapolis, MN. Free/donation.
May 16, Tuesday at 12:35PM - guest soloist Kathrine Handford (Church of Saint Mark, St. Paul, MN) continues the 2022-2023 season of Tuesday Organ Recitals featuring the 57-rank 1998 Casavant pipe organ at the Church of St. Louis, King-of-France (506 Cedar Street) in downtown Saint Paul, MN. Free.
May 17, Wednesday at 12:30 (following noon Mass) – guest soloist Richard Gray (St. John the Evangelist Church, Saint Paul) plays the final concert in the 2022-2023 Noontime Series featuring the 49-rank 2001 Lively-Fulcher pipe organ at the Catholic Church of St. Olaf (215 South 8th Street) in downtown Minneapolis, MN. Free/donation.
May 23, Tuesday at 12:35PM - guest soloist Dean Billmeyer concludes the 2022-2023 season of Tuesday Organ Recitals featuring the 57-rank 1998 Casavant pipe organ at the Church of St. Louis, King-of-France (506 Cedar Street) in downtown Saint Paul, MN. Free.
May 26, Friday at 7PM –guest soloist Peter Krasinsky plays the 35-rank Möller pipe organ in accompaniment to the first Academy Awarded ‘Best Picture’, the 1927 silent classic “Wings”, at the Cappella Performing Arts Center (the former Methodist Church, at 721 King Street) in La Crosse, Wi. Free/donation.
June 4, Sunday at 3PM – guest soloist Raymond Johnston plays a concert on the 50-rank 2008 Noack tracker-action organ in the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe (5250 Justin Road) just outside La Crosse, WI. Free/donation.
June 10, Saturday at 4PM – guest soloist Joseph Trucano (Westminster Presbyterian, Minneapolis) opens a weekend Bach Tage celebration playing an all-Bach solo concert on the 55-rank 1966 Schlicker organ at Mount Olive Lutheran Church (3045 Chicago Avenue South) in Minneapolis, MN. Free/donation.
June 10, Saturday at 4PM – resident organist David Cherwien and guest conductor Kathy Romey conclude a weekend Bach Tage celebration with a Service of Evening Prayer including performance of Bach’s Cantata No. 105 at Mount Olive Lutheran Church (3045 Chicago Avenue South) in Minneapolis, MN. Free/donation.
July 7, Friday at 7:30PM - internationally acclaimed guest soloist Wayne Marshall plays the grand final concert for the North-Central American Guild of Organists Regional Convention featuring the Aeolian-Skinner concert organ at Northrop on the University of Minnesota’s main campus (84 Church Street SE) in Minneapolis, MN. Admission. More details at the Northrop Box Office online.
July 9, Sunday at 3PM – resident musician Scott Turkington plays a concert on the 50-rank 2008 Noack tracker-action organ in the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe (5250 Justin Road) just outside La Crosse, WI. Free/donation.
August 13, Sunday at 3PM – guest soloist Christopher Ganza plays a concert on the 50-rank 2008 Noack tracker-action organ in the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe (5250 Justin Road) just outside La Crosse, WI. Free/donation.
September 17, Sunday at 3:30 – guest soloist Jacob Benda plays a concert on the 91-rank 2010 Noack mechanical-action pipe organ in the Cathedral of St. Joseph the Workman (530 Main Street) in La Crosse, WI. Free/donation.
October 15, Sunday at 3PM – resident musician Scott Turkington plays a concert on the 50-rank 2008 Noack tracker-action organ in the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe (5250 Justin Road) just outside La Crosse, WI. Free/donation.
October 22, Sunday at 3:30 – guest soloist Alexander Meszler plays a concert on the 91-rank 2010 Noack mechanical-action pipe organ in the Cathedral of St. Joseph the Workman (530 Main Street) in La Crosse, WI. Free/donation.
October 24, Tuesday at 7:00PM – guest soloist and prize-winning organist Alcee Chriss III plays a solo concert on the 108-rank Aeolian-Skinner Concert Organ at Northrop on the University of Minnesota’s main campus (84 Church Street SE) in Minneapolis, MN.
November 12, Sunday at 3:30 – guest soloist James D. Hicks plays a concert of Scandinavian music on the 91-rank 2010 Noack mechanical-action pipe organ in the Cathedral of St. Joseph the Workman (530 Main Street) in La Crosse, WI. Free/donation.
November 14, Tuesday at 7:00PM – a presentation of silent films, including organ accompaniment, in collaboration with the Twin Cities Silent Film Project, featuring the 108-rank Aeolian-Skinner Concert Organ at Northrop on the University of Minnesota’s main campus (84 Church Street SE) in Minneapolis, MN.
November 19, Sunday at 4PM – internationally acclaimed American recitalist Nathan Laube (Eastman School of Music faculty) presents a concert on the 55-rank 1965 Phelps-Casavant organ at Bethlehem Lutheran Church (4100 Lyndale Avenue South) in Minneapolis, MN. Free/donation.
December 9/10, Saturday at 7:30PM and Sunday at 4PM – Philip Brunelle and the VocalEssence Choirs present the annual ‘Welcome Christmas’ Concerts featuring the Aeolian-Skinner concert organ at the University of Minnesota’s Northrop Carlson Family Stage (84 Church Street SE) in Minneapolis, MN. Admission charged.
