See World-Renowned Organist Thierry Escaich In Concert At Our Lady Of Refuge Tonight

Tonight at 7:30pm Thierry Escaich will perform a concert at Our Lady of Refuge Church (2020 Foster Avenue).

Escaich, who is from France, has been hailed by the French news magazine, L’Express, as one of the “the new French geniuses.” He plays all over the world and has been called the “prince de l’harmonie.”

You can catch a glimpse of what is to come in this video, which shows Escaich performing on Our Lady of Refuge’s beautifully restored pipe organ.

Joe Vitacco, of Our Lady of Refuge, wrote to us that:

Most of tonight’s concert will be improvisation based in specific musical forms such as: choral variations based on a chorale in the Baroque style, passacaglia and fugue in the Romantic style, and theme and variation. They will span a wide spectrum: soft, loud, fast, slow, cerebral. The theme of the improvisations will be sung by the Salvatones, a professional choir, including such pieces as, ‘Simple Gifts,’ ‘Good Night Irene,’ ‘New York, New York,’ and then Mr. Escaich will improvise on those songs. He will also play written works of Charles Tournemire, César Franck and Maurice Duruflé.

The audience will be able to see Mr. Escaich’s performance projected on a 10-foot screen.

The Ocean Avenue doors open at 6:45pm, and those who plan on attending are asked to please come early to avoid the last-minute line just before the performance. Tickets are $20 each. The full program and additional details are available here.

Photo courtesy of Joe Vitacco.