2014-2015

Our 2023-2024 season draws to a close with Pipes Alive! featuring St. John’s artist-in-residence Christa Rakich playing the St. John’s organ Sunday, June 2, 2024, at 12:30pm. This event will be presented in person and by livestream.

The concert is free admission – donations welcome in any amount. Checks payable to Music at the Red Door or click here to donate online.

Learn more about St. John’s famed Austin pipe organ.

About the Artist:

Concert and recording artist Christa Rakich performs widely throughout North America, Europe, and Japan. She is Visiting Professor of Organ at Oberlin Conservatory. Near her home in Connecticut, she maintains two Artist-in-Residencies: St. John’s Episcopal Church in West Hartford and the Congregational Church of Somers. Past Artist-in-Residencies have included the University of Pennsylvania and First Lutheran Church in Boston.

As a Fulbright Scholar, Christa Rakich studied with renowned Bach interpreter Anton Heiller at the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna, Austria. She holds Bachelor’s degrees in Organ and German from Oberlin College (Phi Beta Kappa).  After receiving her Master’s degree with honors from New England Conservatory, she joined the faculty there, teaching for many years, and serving ultimately as department co-chair. She has also served on the faculties of Westminster Choir College, Brandeis University, and the University of Connecticut, and as Assistant University Organist at Harvard.

Join us for half-hour organ concerts featuring St. John’s magnificent Austin pipe organ, on the first Sunday of the month, November through June, 12:30 p.m. with regional organists. Free!

The Pipes Alive! series continues with our own Scott Lamlein playing the St. John’s organ on Sunday, May 5, 2024, at 12:30pm. This event will be presented in person and by livestream.

The concert is free admission – donations welcome in any amount. Checks payable to Music at the Red Door or click here to donate online.

Learn more about St. John’s famed Austin pipe organ.

About the Artist:

As our director of music and organist, Scott plays the renowned Austin pipe organ, and directs the Royal School of Church Music-affiliated St. John’s Choir School and our semi-professional Adult Choir. He also serves as artistic director of the Music at the Red Door concert series.

Cited by The American Organist magazine as infusing his music with “virtuosic flair and fire,” Scott’s organ performances bring a unique emotional and spiritual inspiration to his audiences. In demand as a concert artist, Scott has performed in the United States, Canada, and Europe, with appearances at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in South Carolina, Methuen Memorial Music Hall, the Überlinger Münster in Germany, and St. Thomas Church, New York. Upcoming recitals include Schopfheim, Germany, and St-Sulpice, Paris. Scott’s concerts have been broadcast in South Carolina, Boston and Worcester. Previously, he served as Artistic Director of the Music Alive! Concert Series, the a cappella chorus, Sacred Voices, and the South Hadley Chorale.

Scott has three CDs in current release—The Organ at Worship, and In Quiet Joy: Music of Advent and Christmas, and a CD of his piano compositions, entitled Peace. He also is featured on the CD, Great Organs of Worcester. His compositions are often featured as part of the online Jesuit daily podcast, Pray as You Go, and his organ compositions have been published by Lorenz. Scott is a 1994 graduate of the Hartt School, University of Hartford, where he studied organ with John Holtz and Larry Allen. Active as an organ instructor for over 25 years, he is adjunct faculty at the Hartt School and at Holyoke Community College, where he specializes in organ education for pianists. More info can be found at www.scottlamlein.com.

Scott’s greatest passion, however, is his work at St. John’s, where he sees music as a ministry and a real connecting point with the sacred. Each person involved in our music ministry plays a role in helping others through the ups and downs of life by providing moments of solace and wonder through beautiful music. He loves to talk about all aspects of St. John’s, especially the music program, so feel free to be in touch!

Join us for half-hour organ concerts featuring St. John’s magnificent Austin pipe organ, on the first Sunday of the month, November through June, 12:30 p.m. with regional organists. Free!

The ancient and beautiful service of Choral Evensong is presented on the fourth Sunday of selected months at St. John’s. Join us on April 28 at 5:00pm for this time of music and worship. This event will be presented in person and by livestream.

Sung by The Anglican Singers; Simon Holt, choirmaster.

This event is free admission, donations welcome in any amount. Checks payable to Music at the Red Door or click here to donate online.

The Choristers who are The Anglican Singers have a deep interest in music of the English choral tradition and hail from a wide variety of musical and personal backgrounds.

Each of the singers is individually auditioned, highly motivated, and drawn to the beauty and rich tradition of the group’s music. Many of the singers are members of other professional and non-professional choral groups within the southeastern Connecticut area. The Singers rehearse from September through May with upwards of eight performances during this period, including one or more venues outside of the local area.

Because of their high level of dedication and performance, the group has been invited to sing at numerous venues throughout New England and beyond. The Berlioz Historical Brass requested the Singers to premiere Clifford Bevan’s Mendelssohn’s Seasons for choir and historical bass at the 2009 Amherst Early Music Festival. The Singers have also premiered two works by the eminent composer Robert J. Powell: the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in G minor (written in 1965 but not performed until 2007) and Benedictus es, Domine, written and performed in 2008 to honor the retirement of the group’s founding director, Marianna Wilcox. In December of 2012, the singers performed the world premiere of a new carol, “Unto us a child is born,”  written by renowned composer Peter Neidmann for The Anglican Singers. The piece is currently in publication by Paraclete Press.

The Singers have served as resident choir for a week at a time at several cathedrals in England: Bristol Cathedral in 2012, Ely Cathedral in 2014 and Truro and Exeter Cathedrals in 2017. They are planning another trip to England in 2023.

The independently organized Anglican Singers are fortunate to have been guest Artists-in-Residence since 1996 at historic St. James Episcopal Church in New London, Connecticut.

Read more at anglicansingers.org.

What is Choral Evensong? “Evensong … is a very tiny fragment of something else:  it is a fragment of the worship which is offered to God by Christian people every hour in every part of the world. When you come to Evensong here it is as if you were dropping in on a conversation already in progress — a conversation between God and people which began long before you were born and will go on long after you are dead.”

A Requiem is a prayer for rest, traditionally for those who have died. The five movements of Dan Forrest’s Requiem for the Living, however, offer a new twist—a narrative just as much for the living, with all our struggles, as for the dead. Join us on Saturday, April 27, 2024 at 3:00pm and fill your soul with this transcendent music that speaks to all of us. The event includes a major organ solo piece by Mr. Houlihan. This event will be presented in person and by livestream.

The St. John’s Adult Choir and Choir School with orchestra; Scott Lamlein, choirmaster; Christopher Houlihan, organist.

A reception will follow this concert.

The concert is free admission, suggested donation $20. Checks payable to Music at the Red Door or click here to donate online.

The Pipes Alive! series continues with organist Frank Zilinyi playing the St. John’s organ on Sunday, April 7, 2024, at 12:30pm. This event will be presented in person and by livestream.

The concert is free admission – donations welcome in any amount. Checks payable to Music at the Red Door or click here to donate online.

Learn more about St. John’s famed Austin pipe organ.

About the Artist:

Frank R. Zilinyi currently serves as Director of Music and Organist at South Church in New Britain, Connecticut, as the 6th Artistic Director of the Mystic River Chorale, and Director of the University Singers at the University of Bridgeport, where he also teaches music theory and choral conducting. Outside his work at the podium, Mr. Zilinyi is a freelance collaborative pianist and concertizing organist. Mr. Zilinyi has received numerous awards and recognitions for his playing, including the 1st prize in the Agnes Fowler Organ Competition and the Strader Organ Scholarship at the University of Cincinnati.

A New York City Native, Mr. Zilinyi has performed with the Choir of The First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York, The Oberlin College Choir, The Oberlin Musical Union, The Oberlin Baroque Orchestra, The Kronos Quartet, Malcolm Dalglish, The Connecticut Chamber Choir, The Meetinghouse Chorale, The CCM Philharmonia and Concert Orchestra, the Easter Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, and the Farmington Valley Chorale.

Frank completed his musical studies in Organ, Conducting, and Keyboard Pedagogy at the Oberlin Conservatory (B.Mus.) and the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati (M.M.). He has studied organ William F. Entriken, Roberta Gary, Marie-Louise Langlais, Andrew Reisinger, and James David Christie. His conducting teachers include Hugh Floyd and L. Brett Scott.

Join us for half-hour organ concerts featuring St. John’s magnificent Austin pipe organ, on the first Sunday of the month, November through June, 12:30 p.m. with regional organists. Free!

Join us on Friday, March 15, 2024 at 7:30pm for an evening of exquisite chamber music with Hartford Symphony concertmaster Leonid Sigal and friends. Mr. Sigal always creates a program sure to mesmerize audience members and take full advantage of the beautiful acoustics of the St. John’s nave. This event will be presented in person and by livestream.

A reception will follow this concert.

The concert is free admission, suggested donation $20. Checks payable to Music at the Red Door or click here to donate online.

About the artist

Leonid Sigal has enjoyed a multi-faceted career as recitalist, chamber musician, orchestra leader and soloist, as well as conductor. Since early performances he was praised by audiences and critics for his virtuosity and musical sensitivity. The Miami Herald wrote: “He demonstrated what a fine violinist he is, playing passionately and cleanly with a soaring tone;” and the Hartford Courant echoes: “His tone is consistently sweet. He brings a clear sense of phrasing, articulation and effortless virtuosity.” And most recently: “The richness of his interpretive voice remains fascinating.”
Born in Moscow, Russia into a musical family, Mr. Sigal began violin studies at age five and was accepted to the renowned Gnessin School of Music. He went on to graduate with excellence from the Moscow Conservatory, where he studied with Maya Glezarova. Winner of several violin competitions and recipient of the Meadows Artistic Scholarship Award, he moved to the U.S., where he continued his studies under the tutelage of Erick Friedman, Joseph Silverstein and Emanuel Borok. In 1995 he was invited by Michael Tilson Thomas to join a prestigious orchestral fellowship at the New World Symphony.
Mr. Sigal’s vast performing experience includes recitals, chamber music performances, festival and orchestral appearances in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Russia, Japan, South Korea and throughout Europe. He has performed under Sir Georg Solti, Leonard Bernstein, Christoph Eschenbach, Michael Tilson Thomas and Herbert Blomstedt, among others. A passionate chamber musician, he has collaborated with Mstislav Rostropovich, Evgeny Kissin, Edgar Meyer, James Ehnes, Roberto Díaz, William Wolfram and Jason Vieaux. He founded and has served as Artistic Director of the celebrated Sunday Serenades, a popular chamber music series at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford. Now in its 12th season, the series has been highly regarded for creative programming of both traditional as well as rarely heard Baroque, Classical and Romantic repertoire, along with notable works by 20th-century and contemporary masters.
Mr. Sigal’s appearances as soloist include highly acclaimed performances of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, Bach’s Double Concerto with Joseph Silverstein, Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy, concertos by Mozart, Brahms, Sibelius, Stravinsky, Barber, Prokofiev and Shostakovich, Waxman’s Carmen Fantasy and Chausson’s Concerto for Violin, Piano and Strings. In 2011, he performed a world premiere of Stephen Michael Gryc’s violin concerto Harmonia Mundi, specially commissioned and written for him.
Recent and upcoming seasons’ highlights include Brahms’ Double Concerto with cellist David Finckel, concertos by Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Glazunov, Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with Margreet Francis and Wendy Warner, and Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole, Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade to commemorate the composer’s centennial, as well as Winton Marsalis’ Violin Concerto. In addition to a busy performance schedule, he had served on faculties at the University of Florida and University of Hartford’s The Hartt School.
Mr. Sigal has been serving as Concertmaster of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and the Atlantic Classical Orchestra, and since 2012, at the invitation of Music Director Gerard Schwarz, he has been part of the Emmy Award-winning nationally syndicated program The All-Star Orchestra alongside fellow principals from major American orchestras, including Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Cincinnati, Minnesota, among others. Previously Associate Concertmaster of the Florida Philharmonic, he has performed with the San Diego Symphony and Boston Symphony, and is in demand as a guest concertmaster and conductor. He served as Artistic Director of the Miami Chamber Symphony, and has made frequent returns to podium, most notably in recent performances of Mozart, Schubert and Beethoven symphonies, Poulenc’s Sinfonietta, Bachianas Brazileiras by Villa Lobos, Tchaikovsky’s orchestral suites and works by Glazunov, Prokofiev and Schnittke, as well as crossover projects like Focus: The Stan Getz Tribute and The Classical Mystery Tour.

The Pipes Alive! series continues with organist Natasha Ulyanovsky playing the St. John’s organ on Sunday, March 3, 2024, at 12:30pm. This event will be presented in person and by livestream.

The concert is free admission – donations welcome in any amount. Checks payable to Music at the Red Door or click here to donate online.

Learn more about St. John’s famed Austin pipe organ.

About the Artist:

Natasha Ulyanovsky is a concert pianist, organist, and vocal coach. A graduate of Odessa Conservatory, Ukraine, she continued her musical studies at Moscow Conservatory and Queen’s College, Oxford. In the former USSR she was an orchestra artist and vocal coach at Odessa Opera House, and concertized under auspices of ” Soyuzconcert,” booking agency for professional musicians. She performed in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Poland, Israel, Italy, Virgin Islands. In 1988 she earned the title of Honored artist of Abkhazian Republic of USSR.
After immigrating to the USA, she taught music at Hotchkiss and Kent Schools, Hartt School, CCSU, and performed at Bushnell Concert Hall, Carnegie Hall, Interchurch Center in NYC, CCSU, Jacobs School of Music, IU, Wesleyan University, Columbia University, Paderewski Musical Academy, Poland, Odessa Conservatory, Ukraine, and Trinity College.
Her recent performances include ” Chopin In the City” festival in Chicago; International Organ festival in Ravenna, Italy; Summer music festival at New Britain Museum of American Art; Beth Israel Organ Sounds; and Congregation Beth Israel, West Hartford.

Join us for half-hour organ concerts featuring St. John’s magnificent Austin pipe organ, on the first Sunday of the month, November through June, 12:30 p.m. with regional organists. Free!

The ancient and beautiful service of Choral Evensong is presented on the fourth Sunday of selected months at St. John’s. Join us on February 25 at 5:00pm for this time of music and worship. This event will be presented in person and by livestream.

Sung by the Choirs of St. Patrick – St. Anthony Church, Hartford; Gabriel Löfvall, choirmaster: Madison H. Thompson, organist

This event is free admission, donations welcome in any amount. Checks payable to Music at the Red Door or click here to donate online.

Numerous volunteers, eight section-leaders, and two choral scholars bring their musical gifts to the choirs of St. Patrick – St. Anthony Church, which is featured at the 10 a.m. Mass on Sundays and major feasts, at St. Patrick – St. Anthony Church, Hartford.

The members provide music leadership through sacred choral repertoire that bring scriptural poetry to life through music. The Gallery Choir explores a diversity of different music styles, including Medieval and Renaissance motets, beautifully crafted Baroque, Classical, and Romantic works, through dazzling twentieth-century pieces that include Gospel, world, and contemporary sounds! Their varied repertoire includes music sung in English, French, German, Latin, Russian, Spanish, Zhosa, Swahili, and Zulu. The Gallery Choir also joins forces with its P&A choral “siblings,” the Treble Clef Choir and Bass Clef Choir, to present unforgettable renditions of choral-orchestral masterpieces, such as Johannes Brahms’s German Requiem, John Rutter’s Gloria, and Handel’s Messiah, to name just a few of our past collaborations!

Read more at spsact.org/ministries/music-ministry.

What is Choral Evensong? “Evensong … is a very tiny fragment of something else:  it is a fragment of the worship which is offered to God by Christian people every hour in every part of the world. When you come to Evensong here it is as if you were dropping in on a conversation already in progress — a conversation between God and people which began long before you were born and will go on long after you are dead.”

Sure to fill every seat in the church as always, the 2024 Jazz at the Red Door event will feature pianist Mary DiPaola and her spectacular trio of well-known jazz artists from the Hartford area. Their program of jazz standards and original compositions is sure to amaze. Join us on Friday, February 9, 2024 at 7:30pm for an evening of incredible jazz! This event will be presented in person and by livestream.

A reception will follow the concert.

The concert is free admission, suggested donation $20. Checks payable to Music at the Red Door or click here to donate online.

About the Artist:

Mary DiPaola began her musical career at the Hartt School, where she received degrees in piano performance: jazz studies (BMus) under the direction of the legendary Jackie McLean, and music education (MMusEd) . She has been performing music throughout CT since, appearing in Litchfield and Hartford Jazz festivals, and has recorded twice as a bandleader (“Cat’s Cradle” and “Seventh Sign”). In addition to performing Mary is an educator, having taught private piano lessons, on faculty at the Hartt School, and in East Hartford Public schools at Sunset Ridge Academy. She currently teaches at Aiken Elementary School in the West Hartford Public Schools district where she teaches music grades K-5 and conducts the Gr 4-5 Choir.

Click here for more information about Mary.