Pipedreams Regional Organ Events Calendar
Upcoming organ events in and around Minnesota.
Last updated on November 28, 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.
December 3, Sunday at 9:45AM – between services, Kalle Akkerman will performan Max Reger’s monumental Fantasy on the Advent chorale “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme” featuring the 49-rank Wicks pipe organ at St. Olaf Lutheran Church in Austin, MN.
December 3, Sunday at 10:30AM – Bach’s Advent Cantata No. 61 (Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland) will be presented by choir and orchestra led by Robert Ragoonanan, who also plays season works by Bach and Buxtehude featuring the Holtkamp pipe organ at University Lutheran Church of Hope (601 13th Avenue SE) in Minneapolis, MN.
December 3, Sunday at 4PM – organist David Cherwienleads an Advent Processions of Lessons & Carols featuring the 55-rank 1966 Schlicker pipe organ at Mount Olive Lutheran Church (3045 Chicago Avenue South) in Minneapolis, MN. Free/donation.
December 3, Sunday at 6:30PM - the annual tradition of a Community Sing-Along of Handel’s Messiah with the Minnesota Chorale at Saint Olaf Catholic Church (215 South 8th Street) in downtown Minneapolis, MN. Bring your score, or a score can be provided. Freewill donation.
December 5, Tuesday at 12:35PM - guest soloist Simon Pick (Assumption Church, St. Paul) continues the 2023-2024 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.
December 7/8, Thursday at 12:10PM – repeated Friday at 7PM – a program of music for flute and organ for Christmas featuring Donna Hryniewicki and Stacie Lightner featuring the 32-rank Möller-Obermeyer organ at St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church (100 North Oxford Strreet) in Saint Paul, MN. Free/donation.
December 9, Saturday at 7PM – a winter concert, Luminous Night of the Soul, with the choir of St. Mary’s Basilica (Minneapolis) and University of St. Thomas faculty soloists Jacob Benda (organ) and Allison Ostrander (violin) for music inspired by Advent and Winter, with works by Ola Gjeilo, Jessie Montgomery, Stephen Paulus, Antonio Vivaldi and others, at the University’s St Thomas Aquinas Chapel (Cleveland at Ashland) in Saint Paul, MN. Free
December 9, Saturday at 7PM – resident organist Rachel Kresha and a chamber choir present an Advent Lessons & Carols service based on the “O” Antiphons, featuring the 39-rank Glück pipe organ at the Cathedral of Christ the King (1111 Belknap Street) in Superior, WI.
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.
December 10, Sunday at 4PM – guest soloist David Lim plays the first program in a rescheduled series of celebratory concerts featuring the 44-rank Hendrickson pipe organ at 1st Lutheran Church (1114 West Traverse Road) in St. Peter, MN. Free/donation.
December 12, Tuesday at 12:35PM - guest soloist Benton Schmidt (Newman Center, Fargo, ND) continues the 2023-2024 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.
December 12, Tuesday at 7PM – the Bemidji Brass Quintet teams up with organist Sarah Carlsonand the Casavant pipe organ at 1st Lutheran Church (900 Bemidji Avenue North) in Bemidji, MN.
December 20, Wednesday at 12:30 (following noon Mass) – guest soloist David Jenkins plays the 4th concert in the 2023-2024 Noontime Series featuring the 67-rank 2001 Lively-Fulcher pipe organ at the Catholic Church of St. Olaf (215 South 8th Street) in downtown Minneapolis, MN. Free/donation.
December 21, Thursday at 7:30PM – join James Olcott and the Twin Cities Trumpet Ensemble with organist Bill Chouinard for a Brass and Organ Holiday Concert, featuring the Mighty Wurlitzer theater organ in the Phipps Center for the Arts (109 Locust Street) in Hudson, WI. Admission.
January 7, Sunday at 2:30PM – guest organist Scott Turkington (Guadalupe Shrine, La Crosse plays a solo concert on the 87-stop Foley-Faker organ at the Cathedral of St. Mark (519 Oak Grove) in Minneapolis, MN. Free/donation
January 9, Tuesday at 12:35PM - guest soloist Raymond Johnston (St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, Minneapolis) continues the 2023-2024 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.
January 12, Friday at 7:30PM - .resident organist Samuel Backman plays the premiere of his original Symfonia Kolęd (Symphony of Carols) featuring the Hinners-Wicks-Orvold pipe organ at Holy Cross Catholic Church (1621 University Ave NE) in Minneapolis. This new work is based on beloved Polish Christmas carols, and its four movements are cyclically unified by the Gregorian melody of Puer Natus Est. This concert will also feature works by Polish composers, and it will be performed in memory of Janusz Zorawski. Free and open to the public.
January 14, Sunday at 2:30PM – guest organist Dean Billmeyer (U of MN Emeritus) plays a solo concert on the 87-stop Foley-Faker organ at the Cathedral of St. Mark (519 Oak Grove) in Minneapolis, MN. Free/donation.
January 17, Wednesday at 12:30 (following noon Mass) – guest soloist Stacie Lightner plays the 5th concert in the 2023-2024 Noontime Series featuring the 67-rank 2001 Lively-Fulcher pipe organ at the Catholic Church of St. Olaf (215 South 8th Street) in downtown Minneapolis, MN. Free/donation.
January 18, Thursday at 6:30PM – an hour-long multi-artist concert, organized by Edward Copeland featuring the 17-rank Möller-Wicks/Orvold organ at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church (2561 Victoria Street North) in Roseville, MN. Free.
January 20, Saturday at 6:30PM – organist Stella O’Neill and painter Olivia Wiering present Meditations on the Nativity: A Synesthetic Gallery, an insightful talk about Olivier Messiaen’s organ masterpiece La Nativité du Seigneur, his synesthesia (hearing tones related to colors), and display of some newly-created interpretive watercolors inspired by Messiaen’s music, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (2730 East 31st Street) in Minneapolis, MN. Free.
January 21, Sunday at 4PM – former resident organist David Fienen plays the second program in a rescheduled series of celebratory concerts featuring the 44-rank Hendrickson pipe organ at 1st Lutheran Church (1114 West Traverse Road) in St. Peter, MN. Free/donation.
January 23, Tuesday at 12:35PM - guest soloist John Stender (1st Presbyterian, Rochester, MN) continues the 2023-2024 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.
January 30, Tuesday at 12:35PM - guest soloist James D. Hicks (recitalist/recording artist, New Jersey) continues the 2023-2024 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.
February 6, Tuesday at 12:35PM - guest soloist David Lim (University of Oklahoma) continues the 2023-2024 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.
February 11, Sunday at 2:30PM – local organist Christopher Ganza (St. Paul Cathedral) plays a solo concert on the 87-stop Foley-Baker organ at the Cathedral of St. Mark (519 Oak Grove) in Minneapolis, MN. Free/donation.
February 11, Sunday at 4PM – Gustavus Adolphus College organist Chad Winterfeldt plays the third program in a rescheduled series of celebratory concerts featuring the 44-rank Hendrickson pipe organ at 1st Lutheran Church (1114 West Traverse Road) in St. Peter, MN. Free/donation.
February 18, Sunday at 4PM – guest soloist Nicole Keller (University of Michigan) presents the annual Benefactors Recital playing the 49-stop Sipe pipe organ in the Center for Faith and Life on the campus of Luther College in Decorah, IA. Free.
February 20, Tuesday at 12:35PM - guest soloist Pierre Zevort (Dourdan, France) continues the 2023-2024 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.
February 21, Wednesday at 12:30 (following noon Mass) – guest soloist Kathrine Handford plays the 6th concert in the 2023-2024 Noontime Series featuring the 67-rank 2001 Lively-Fulcher pipe organ at the Catholic Church of St. Olaf (215 South 8th Street) in downtown Minneapolis, MN. Free/donation.
February 24, Saturday at 7PM – guest soloists of The International Saxophone Quartet collaborate with facuty organist Jacob Benda for an exploration of music from around the world, featuring the Gabriel Kney pipe organ at the St.Thomas Aquinas Chapel of the University of St. Thomas (Cleveland at Ashland) in Saint Paul, MN. Free.
February 25, Sunday at 3PM – soloist Catherine Rodland performs the Organ Concerto by Gerald Near (along with Symphony No. 1 by Florence Price) as presented by the Civic Orchestra of Minneapolis (Cary Franklin, conductor) and featuring the Reuter pipe organ at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd (4801 France Avenue South in Minneapolis, MN. Free/donation. This event continues the 40th Anniversary Celebration of PIPEDREAMS.
February 27, Tuesday at 12:35PM - guest soloist Andrew Schaeffer (Luther Memorial Church, Madison, WI) continues the 2023-2024 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.
February 29, Thursday at 7PM – organist Aaron David Miller provides accompaniment to the visual conjuring of Manual Cinema (creating real-time cinematic experiences with puppetry) 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. Admission + streaming options.
March 5, Tuesday at 12:35PM - guest soloist Ju Yung Lee (Christ Presbyterian, Edina) continues the 2023-2024 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.
March 12, Tuesday at 12:35PM - guest soloist Paul Barte (Ohio University) continues the 2023-2024 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.
March 16, Saturday from 9AM-5PM – the annual Before Bach’s Birthday Bash, a sequence of five hour-long concerts featuring music by Bach played by a variety of local soloists at various venues in the Twin Cities. Details TBA. The first hour will be broadcast live on YourClassicalMPR. Check back here as more information is provided.
March 16, Saturday at 7PM - soprano Kelly Kruse, violinist Marion Judish, and organist/pianist Jacob Benda present a multi-disciplinary concert, The Earthly Immortal Soul and the Battle of Becoming, inspired by artwork on display at the University of St. Thomas by renowned artist Kelly Kruse. Selections include music by Samuel Barber, David Bednall, Hildegard von Bingen, Johannes Brahms, and Ralph Vaughan Williams, in the St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel on campus (Cleveland at Ashland) in St. Paul, MN. Free.
March 17, Sunday at 2:30PM – local teen-aged organist Henry Dangerfield plays a solo concert on the 87-stop Foley-Baker organ at the Cathedral of St. Mark (519 Oak Grove) in Minneapolis, MN. Free/donation.
March 19, Tuesday at 12:35PM - guest soloist David Jenkins (TCAGO Dean) continues the 2023-2024 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.
March 24, Sunday at 2PM – talented young song-writer, film composer and organist Nathan Avakian blends virtual instrument technology with the theater organ in a program devoted to contemporary film and television scores plus improvised accompaniments to short films from the International Youth Silent Film Festival, featuring the Mighty Wurlitzer theater organ in the Phipps Center for the Arts (109 Locust Street) in Hudson, WI. Admission.
March 29, Friday at 7:30 – Canon Musician Raymond Johnston leads a performance of The Crucifixion by Stainer featuring the Cathedral Choir and 87-stop Foley-Faker organ at the Cathedral of St. Mark (519 Oak Grove) in Minneapolis, MN. Free/donation.
April 2, Tuesday at 7PM – social media maven and exceptional performer Anna Lapwood makes her Minnesota debut with a program of popular film-music transcriptions from Hans Zimmer’s score to Interstellar, plus works by Debussy, Philip Glass, Florence Price and Bach, 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. Admission + streaming options.
April 9, Tuesday at 12:35PM - guest soloist Dean Billmeyer (University of MN) continues the 2023-2024 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 13, Saturday at 7PM – visiting Spanish virtuoso Loretto Aramendi appears in 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.
April 16, Tuesday at 12:35PM - guest soloist Gregory Hand (University of Iowa) continues the 2023-2024 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 17, Wednesday at 12:30 (following noon Mass) – guest soloist Joshua Lindgren plays the 7th concert in the 2023-2024 Noontime Series featuring the 67-rank 2001 Lively-Fulcher pipe organ at the Catholic Church of St. Olaf (215 South 8th Street) in downtown Minneapolis, MN. Free/donation.
April 23, Tuesday at 12:35PM - guest soloist Carolyn Diamond (Minneapolis) continues the 2023-2024 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 30, Tuesday at 12:35PM - guest soloist Kristina Rizzotto (Lake of the Isles Lutheran, Minneapolis) continues the 2023-2024 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 4, Saturday at 7PM – as the season finale for the St.Thomas Chapel Arts Series, resident musician Jacob Benda plays concertos by G. F. Handel, Howard Hanson, and Naji Hakim with the St. Thomas Festival Orchestra led by Matthew George, featuring the 56-rank 1987 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, Tuesday at 12:35PM - guest soloist Jeffrey Patry (1st Lutheran, Saint Paul) continues the 2023-2024 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 11, Saturday at 7:30PM – Canon Musician Raymond Johnston leads a season finale concert including music of Ravel and the Poulenc Gloria, with choir and orchestra at the Cathedral of St. Mark (519 Oak Grove) in Minneapolis, MN. Admission.
May 14, Tuesday at 12:35PM - guest soloist Kathrine Handford (Church of St. Mark, Saint Paul) continues the 2023-2024 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 15, Wednesday at 12:30 (following noon Mass) – resident musician Joel Anderson plays the final concert in the 2023-2024 Noontime Series featuring the 67-rank 2001 Lively-Fulcher pipe organ at the Catholic Church of St. Olaf (215 South 8th Street) in downtown Minneapolis, MN. Free/donation.
May 21, Tuesday at 12:35PM - resident artist Larry Martin concludes the 2023-2024 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.
