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Liturgical Arts Festival of Springfield . . . "This inter-faith celebration of the arts is presented every two years and has evolved to include a juried liturgical and sacred art exhibit, music celebrations of faith held in local houses of worship, and sharing of religious traditions."
— from the website
Brown Bag Concerts
Every year First Presbyterian Church Music and the Arts hosts musical events that include two Brown Bag Concert Series. This concert series is the longest continuous lunchtime concert series in Springfield. The four concerts in Advent and the six concerts in Lent take place at lunchtime on Wednesdays during these winter and spring seasons. Students, retirees, and business people looking for a refreshing break in the middle of the day have enjoyed the diverse programming.
The half-hour - midday - free concerts offer a variety of musical presentations by the finest local and visiting artists. Artists have included a vocal chamber ensemble, an early music ensemble, organists, a brass ensemble, a soprano soloist, and a string quartet, among others. (Emerging young artists are often highlighted in the Brown Bag Concerts, and they are additionally showcased in the annual Central Illinois Young Musicians' Concert each May.)
The audience is invited to enjoy lunch during the concerts, and delicious brown bag lunches may be purchased at the door for $5. You may bring your own lunch, if you wish.
We are grateful for your generous contributions as your donations sustain this free concert series.
Read more here . . .
Fall, 2011 — Advent Brown Bag Concert Series
— Offered at lunchtime: 12:15 p.m. - 12:45 p.m. —
Wednesday, November 30 - Agnes Wan, piano
Praised as a “big pianist, big musician, big potential” with “compelling artistry that draws the listeners in and envelops them with musical joy” at the Los Angeles Liszt International Piano Competition, she has performed at Carnegie Hall and Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center in New York. Critic/pianist Rorianne Schrade wrote of her New York debut, “Ms. Wan put her all into a substantial program that she clearly knew down to each millisecond … an excellent performance … Ms. Wan’s joy in music making is infectious … Her encores of Chopin were meltingly lovely … an enjoyable debut.”
Wednesday, December 7 - Joel Tinsley, baritone
Since 2005 Mr. Tinsley has been on stage at the Muni Opera Theater, Jacksonville Theater Guild, Hoogland Center for the Arts, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. He was awarded the grand prize in the 2008 Talent Among Us competition, sponsored by the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, and he performed "It Is Enough" from Elijah by Felix Mendelssohn with the Symphony in March, 2008. In December 2008 he was a guest soloist in Handel's Messiah with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra.
Wednesday, December 14 - John Sherer, organ
——Dr. Sherer is Organist and Director of Music at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago. In addition to his work at Fourth Presbyterian Church he is a frequent guest conductor with the Chicago Chamber Orchestra, has done numerous lectures and clinics on church music and is a published author and composer.
Wednesday, December 21 - Rudolf Zuiderveld, organ, with Nichol DelGiorno, soprano — - Christmas Music and Carol Singing -
