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Monday, August 27, 2012

Keweenaw Heritage Center to host Pipe Organ and Harp Concert Aug. 29 in Calumet

CALUMET -- A Pipe Organ and Harp Concert will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 29, at the Keweenaw Heritage Center at St. Anne's in Calumet.

Christina Harmon, of Dallas, Texas, has been smitten by the Copper Country and its historic organs so is returning again to share her talents. Twice she was the featured artist for Pine Mountain Music Festival organ recitals and has made subsequent trips here to produce a CD on eight of the historic pipe organs of the Keweenaw.

Harmon will be partnering with local harpist, Sidney Butler, principal harpist for the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra. To add a little extra fun to the concert, a 15-minute silent comedy film will be shown: Mind the Baby, Mr. Bean with Christina Harmon providing the organ accompaniment.

The two musicians will perform Aria in Classic Style by Marcel Grandjany (1891-1975), who was a French-American harpist and a master of the instrument.

"I'm thrilled to be playing a piece that was composed especially for harp, not a transcription," Butler says. "Grandjany was known for his giant 'spatula' hands making large chords effortless. There is a left-hand chord in the piece that spans a 12th!"

Tickets are $10 -- benefit concert for maintenance of the historic organ.

"Organ Crawl" to be Aug. 30

From 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the following day, Thursday, Aug. 30, an "Organ Crawl" will take place at 4 venues:  1 p.m., St. Albert the Great Catholic Church in Houghton; 2 p.m.,  Trinity Episcopal Church in Houghton; 3 p.m., First United Methodist Church in Hancock; and 4 p.m. at the home of David and Carol Waisanen in Hancock. Christina Harmon will play and speak about all four historic pipe organs, along with local organists.

Audience members may also try the organs and take a closer look at how they operate.  Admission is $5 to include all 4 venues. However, an RSVP (370-0380) is requested for limited seating at the Waisanen home.

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